Posts by Harold Cook2

urbantinker8 said:In my oldest child's group, there are three girls who were held back.
And, if I'm being honest, all three of them were kept back just to give them more time to play.
I know one of them pretty well, and she’s incredibly mature for her age—I'd say she's actually more advanced than most of her peers, let alone the younger kids.
The decision to delay her start was really just a whim, nothing more. She was born in January, so when she finally starts school, she'll be about seven years and eight months old.

Look, my little one is going to be almost that age too, so I don't see what the big deal is.
I finished high school at 17, while some people in my class were 19. Seriously, I have no clue what anyone gained from that extra time.

Brian Jones8 said:I’ve been scrolling through these last two pages and my blood is starting to boil. Honestly, who am I even supposed to argue with here!?

Do you seriously think there’s some idiot out there who would hold their kid back from school just so they could enjoy an extra-long weekend for another year? Give me a break. 😠

It’s easy for people like you to talk—you know, the ones whose kids don't face any actual hurdles—so the idea of delaying school seems totally alien. But some of us are actually out here doing the work, regularly hitting up speech therapists, child psychologists, or specialists. There are real issues at play: emotional immaturity, health concerns, neurodivergence, speech delays... things aren't always black and white.

I started school when I was six, but those were different times. I distinctly remember having a reading list of ten to fifteen books in first grade alone. Back then, nobody expected us to walk in already knowing every single letter of the alphabet or basic math, and heaven knows no one was "prepping" us in preschool the way they try to do everything nowadays.
You can't even compare the two eras.

Personally, I’d love nothing more than for my kid to start at six and just be ready to go. But he isn't! And let’s get one thing straight: delaying enrollment isn't some impulsive whim; it's a decision made alongside a team of professionals.

I'm totally with you on all of this.
And that’s exactly why we’re asking for a delay.
It really ticks me off when certain people act all shocked by the idea of delaying, like we’re asking for something crazy.

northerntiger9 said:And what did they tell you at school regarding testing? No enrollment forms or surveys or anything like that?

Man, they didn't just tell me when I was a freshman that we had testing coming up in senior year.

northerntiger9 said:When you applied back in January, you should have received a packet with all the necessary forms—the appointment notice itself usually lists exactly which documents or forms you need to bring along. Same goes for the physical exam paperwork; it’ll specify what to have ready for that too.

The process here in Cleveland is a bit different than it is in New York City—so there's really no point in expecting the NYC rules to apply to us. Even within our own area, things vary from school to school; our school just does one big testing window for everyone, whereas the school down the street breaks it up over three separate days.

Just double-check the papers you were handed at each stage. Honestly, the smartest move is to make a few copies of every opinion and medical report you have and just carry them all to every appointment—it won't hurt to have them on hand, and it might actually help secure a deferral if someone needs to see proof. Also, try to be proactive about asking for a deferral at every single instance; don't wait for them to bring it up. Insist on it. I know people who were persistent enough to get the deferral without any issues, but I also know cases where they asked and were denied—only to end up being told by a teacher, "Well, your child isn't ready for first grade," leaving parents stuck with no recourse. If you ask for a deferral and they say no, you can't exactly pull the kid out of school mid-year and put them back in preschool. So—if you think you need that extra time, stay firm.

I didn't get any paperwork in January besides the dental record thing and the date we had to show up for the medical exam.

rowdypanther12 said:No one is saying that a six-year-old isn't capable. But honestly, a full year makes a massive difference in how much a child matures. You’ll find a much higher percentage of seven-year-olds who can handle their responsibilities independently compared to those who are just six.
I really think there should be a sort of transition period—maybe about six months—where kids are observed more closely so we can make decisions based on their individual readiness.
For example, from January through March, we could take a more personalized approach by using more testing and actually listening to what parents and preschool teachers have to say.

Spot on. Exactly how it should be.

So, what kind of paperwork am I supposed to drag along for the testing process?

Seriously, they’re out of their minds, keeping people hanging in limbo like this.

So, how did you guys handle it—did you do the testing first and then the doctor's visit, or was it the other way around?

I’m dying to know when we actually get the word on whether that deferral got the green light or not.
Seriously, I’ve got testing scheduled at school for April 4th, and I’ve already gone through the whole marathon of gathering every single scrap of paper from psychologists, preschools, and speech therapists.

So, I guess we can just kiss the whole idea of keeping tabs on our own threads and everyone else's goodby?

amberfox99 said:The general consensus is that anything north of 90 is ideal. You’re sitting just a hair under that, but honestly, if your eGFR is at 85, your kidneys are doing just fine. I don't know how old you are, but those numbers tend to dip slightly as you get older anyway. They calculate eGFR using two different formulas—CKD-EPI and MDRD—taking into account things like sex, age, blood creatinine levels, and race. Bottom line? Don't sweat this result.

Thanks, at least I won't spend the day spiraling. I was actually starting to freak out thinking this was another thing going wrong. My health has been a total wreck lately, so I figured my kidneys were finally checking out too.
My last test showed 85, and about 20 days before that, it was 88.

amberfox99 said:Seriously, don't sweat it. Everything looks totally normal here. 🙂

So it's all good then?
then why did it flag mine as low?

amberfox99 said:That’s just shorthand for "estimated glomerular filtration rate." Basically, it’s a metric showing how well your kidneys are actually doing their job—how fast they’re "cleaning your blood" and flushing out all the junk through your pee.
If that eGFR number drops, we’re talking about some stage of chronic kidney disease (there are 5 stages total), meaning for whatever reason, the kidneys aren't firing on all cylinders anymore.

The chart says anything up to 90 is fine, and mine is sitting at 85. I took my labs to the doctor to check, and they were just like, "Yeah, looks good." Should I be sweating this?

So, what’s the deal with eGFR?

Brian Jones8 said:Looks like we’re all fighting the same battle. We’ve been told we need to see a specialist or a child psychologist just to get a second opinion. ☕But honestly, I already know what they’ll say—that he’s just being immature, even though his speech issues are staring everyone right in the face...
I feel bad if being held back a grade ends up being a bummer for him tomorrow, but I really think this is the lesser of two evils.
Whatever hurdles we're facing now, things should hopefully settle down next year. Fingers crossed... 🕺

yeah, I'm with you on this one.
Who cares if he ends up being the oldest kid in the room? It’s not like it’s some huge deal. I was always the youngest in my classes from elementary through high school, and look at me now—didn't cost me a damn thing.

Brian Jones8 said:Do you honestly think that’s how their heads work?

Being gifted doesn't mean you're immune to social or emotional immaturity. Some kids are just struggling, regardless of their IQ.
Take my friend, for example. Her little guy was born in April—super bright, advanced, ahead of the curve in every way... but man, he can't seem to shake his mom's side. He deals with these anxieties that my own kid wouldn't even recognize (probably because my kid isn't nearly as much of a prodigy as he is).

it's the exact same story with this kid in our group born on April 1st. He lives right on the cutoff line. Super bright kid, but a total brat, cries constantly in preschool, won't leave his parents' side, and refuses to go to play centers without a meltdown. Naturally, the parents are pushing for him to wait a year before starting kindergarten.
Some people claim a single year doesn't make a difference, but if you ask me, it matters a whole lot.

Brian Jones8 said:Are you planning on asking for an extension?
I remember you from back when we were both dealing with that whole situation—we actually gave birth just a few days apart... We're definitely going to ask for a delay.

The speech therapist and the psychologist are totally on our side, but the preschool's administration is trying to push us straight into kindergarten. Even though they openly admit the kid has real speech issues (plus concentration problems and general immaturity...) that aren't something to just brush off.
They don't really have a clue what's best for the child; they basically just throw them into the deep end and tell us, "Good luck fighting it out." :/

I totally remember you.🙂
I asked for a deferral too. I mentioned it to the teachers at the preschool last year and they actually agreed with my call to let him have another year to grow—it would mean everything to him. He was tested at the preschool and the psychologist is totally backing my decision, even though his visual-motor maturity scores were actually above average for his age, and he killed it on the logical reasoning and inference tests. But because of his socio-emotional development and the fact that he needs speech therapy (he started stuttering out of nowhere over six months ago), we need that extra year. Right now, things are actually worse than before, which both the speech therapist and the preschool staff confirmed. Nobody knows why it's happening. One minute he was fine, then suddenly it flared up again.
But the school district? They don't care. They think my reasons aren't good enough and they've been giving me such a hard time. Showing them the preschool psychologist's report wasn't enough, so I had to get the speech therapist to write a whole new one, and even *that* wasn't enough. Now they're saying we have to go see a clinical psychologist for an official evaluation. It's insane. They're completely unreasonable.
And the kicker? I know three other moms who asked for a deferral last year or the year before for practically no reason at all, and they got it without any pushback whatsoever.

Karen Richardson3 said:Is it just me, or is everyone in New York City dealing with crazy overcrowding at specific schools right now, or is it basically everywhere across the country?

Seattle is actually the complete opposite; the number of kids has basically been cut in half, yet the number of classrooms hasn't budged because the school districts aren't letting teachers go.
The average class size over in Seattle is only about 15 kids 😁

I was reading this recent feature story in the Seattle Times about first graders, and my little guy's class was completely left out of the coverage because they have a whopping 28 students 😁
(And the reason it's so packed is because there are two different first-grade tracks—his is a full-day program, while the other group only stays for a few hours before heading home, so all those kids end up crammed into that one full-day "rush."
I went to the same school growing up, and back then, we had three classes per grade with about 30 kids in each.))

Man, things have changed so much around here. This year at my school, we’ve only got like 17 kids per class. It feels empty. Back when I was starting out at this same school, it was a totally different story—we had nearly 30 students in every single classroom, and they actually had four separate sections running. I ended up getting stuck in that last one, Section D. Total chaos compared to now.😁

Thanks for the reply...
Look, I don't have any clue what the logic behind this would even be, which is exactly why I'm hanging out here asking questions. I heard this rumor floating around and honestly? It was the first thing I'd ever heard about it, so it totally caught me off guard.

Honestly, sounds way too good to be true
The girl who told me this is actually working on school enrollments right now, and she’s swearing it's legit
To me, it smells fishy as hell
I'm gonna grill her about it a bit more once I run into her

shadowcrane91 said:First time I'm hearing that... I know a few parents who asked for a deferral, but they’re still paying their full tuition every single month.
I don't get the logic here—what kind of crazy loophole would even make childcare free just because they skipped a grade?

Sent from my iPad using Reddit

Look, I don't get it either, that's why I'm asking. A teacher friend of mine mentioned you might actually be eligible for free preschool, but apparently nobody wants to volunteer that info unless you go digging for it.
Honestly, I have zero clue who I'd even talk to about this.🤔

Quick question here...
Is it actually true that if you defer school enrollment and just keep your kid in preschool for another year, the daycare becomes free so you don't have to shell out any cash?

Wait, is this what you guys are talking about? Is it a spray?

I could swear I saw it in a different format too, maybe a cream or something. http://www.cvs.com/intim/john-doe.html