I skipped first grade in '75, and as it turned out I would have been better off staying with my own age group. Ends up I was 11 going into 6th grade. I would stick with searching for a gifted program.

Tough call , our son is in 2nd grade reading at almost 3rd grade level ,great in math, loves science ,so I really worry about him getting bored . But I also worry about the social part of growing up . Is he going to get picked on for being smart and being the smallest in his class or will he fit in with the others.

Ok, here goes...

I was already on the younger end of the bracket for my grade...two weeks into first grade I was moved to second grade. Socially, it wasn't too bad since kids don't run around constantly asking each other 'How old are you?'. It still came up once in a while, and it was a little nerve racking dealing with the 'genius' and 'wonderkid' crap. But, not too big of a deal...

...fast forward to high school. I didn't turn 16 and get my license until Jan. 31st...of my JUNIOR year in high school. Socially, a MAJOR pain in the ass!! I had a lot of angst to constantly deal with from almost the beginning of 10th grade until that day as I had to constantly be the 'Come pick me up?' guy...

Needless to say, being a skinny little runt didn't help my cause for playing HS sports, either...

So, here I am; 33 years old, and didn't finish college (fishing, hunting, and hanging out were more important). I still ended up with a good job, nice toys (sled, drifter, truck, etc.), played some semi-pro ball, and am mentally balanced (I think?).

The whole thing would've worked out even better, I think, without the parental units divorcing when I was 12. My mom claimed me and proceeded to move 4 times in 5 years chasing her career. Right before the last move, I called BS and moved back here to my dad's as I knew I wouldn't have to move again (Hanford). THAT was the cause for the 'friends are the most important' attitude that left me not finishing a degree.

Alright (I can't believe I just put that on the internet), as for my advice...tough call.

Where are her social skills at right now? Look hard. If they are really good, I think she'll be ok. If not, I wouldn't do it. As I said before, it's not the early years that it will matter as much. HS is the major challenge, and if she's not ahead of the curve socially now, it may sink her then.

Good luck,

I skipped high school.....

Isn't the term for that "I dropped out"

Thanks for the great advice!

I went to a private school through fourth grade, then we moved to Whidbey and homeschooled for fifth and sixth grade. My mom and I started to fight since we were always around each other. After that, I skipped seventh grade due to high test scores.

I was (and may still be ) a bit socially behind due to the homeschooling and skipping the grade, especially since I didn't have much interaction with other kids during adolescence. As far as being challenged academically by skipping a grade, I wasn't. It's not the grade itself that is a challenge, but the level of your peers. I only had one class in all of middle and high school that truly challenged me. It took going to an Ivy league college to really get pushed.

Besides the social aspect, another bummer about skipping a grade is you are a year younger than other athletes in sports. I still did well in football, wrestling, and track, but I only placed in state twice in wrestling. What really stung is that two guys I had beaten won state in different weight classes the year after I left, and another guy I destroyed took second. My coach still gives my parents a hard time.

Everything has turned out great for me, so I wouldn't go back and change it if I could, but I just thought I would share some of the negatives of skipping a grade. Hope that helps.

As a side note, In my opinion, most public schools suck and are getting worse. For example, many high schools are switching over to a goofy math system that doesn't teach basic skills, but focuses on story problems and crap like that. My brother took through pre-cal in this curriculum, and he sometimes struggles with basic algebra. I call it "fake" math. I definitely benefitted by getting my academic foundation from other sources than public school. If you can't afford private school and aren't able to home-school, then definitely spend a lot of time searching for the best public school you can find.

I took a hiatus