He ended up being the only boy in a large group of girls. But seeing him among so many kids of the same age makes me kind of scared - he looks at least a year younger than all of them - tiny and skinny like a very small 3-year old, not a 4. Makes me think twice about sending him to the Kindergarten in next school year. Anyone had an experience of holding a kid back from a Kindergarten/first grade because of the size?
@annied Sure, but it kind of holds him back a bit - he is rarely daring to do the same things big kids do and reacts as very "hurt" if anything happens to him. So in a big group of same-aged kids, he will let everyone else do things, just passing on and watching rather than equally participating.
@vera365 hopefully the teacher will encourage him to participate and he will settle in - I have had big kids who do that too - it isn't always about size but self esteem and confidence
I've always been the shortest and I acted similar to him when I was a kid. The only time my size was really as issue was in soccer. As I got older the other girls were 2-3 heads taller than I was and very aggressive/competitive. I didn't like soccer the way they did and was afraid of getting hurt so I ended up dropping out. They were just too big compared to me when I didn't want to fight back.
Plenty of other short kids still played soccer, and were great assets to their team, but that was because they liked it. They didn't mind getting hurt and were just as aggressive/competitive as the normal height and tall kids.
He might just be naturally passive and introverted, or it could be self-esteem like Annie mentioned. Or of course he could feel left out, unwelcome, different, etc because he's so small. For me it was a combination of all of those things. I'd say just try your best to encourage him, build up his self-esteem, and don't treat him differently for being small.
I haven't heard of holding them back due to size, either. Actually one of my 11-year-old's best friends is a very small boy who's closer in size to my own 8-year-old... But he is in the grade he should be in, very smart and incredibly well-spoken - but I know it all depends on the kid and his reaction... You still have about a year, perhaps he'll change? If not, perhaps you'll trust the kindergarten principal and have a candid discussion, see what they think... As for the photo, very funny with all the little bums in the air! :)
@claycameras Thank you so much for your story! I always was pretty short, but in no way skinny, so being short didn't really affect me that much. We do encourage him to do things, of course, but you can see by the way he moves, very often he is in the self-preservation mode just as you describe it - trying not to get hurt. Despite of it, he is a happy, goofy, silly and very sunny personality!
Thanks!
@vera365 You're welcome! I hope it was at least somewhat helpful. It sounds like he's just one of us "weird kids" who don't like falling down, haha. He'll be okay :)
Some kids take a little longer with their growth spurts. My oldest son was born in late May and the school encouraged me to hold him back because he was a young boy. I did. My friend didn't. I know she struggled all through school with her son. His birthday was even later. That was about maturity, not size.
Fantastic shot Vera! My daughter is 5 years old and is tall as her friends, but is very shy and emotional... She is joyful and loves to play with the other kids, but often she prefers more to see than to act! I encourage her to "make a run" and not to be afraid, but always respecting her times.
Last Monday she really surprised me! She started her swimming course and told me, crying, that she didn't want to enter inside the swimming pool, but only watch the others swimming... I told her not be worried and to do what she felt and that I would have been proud of her anyway! After few minutes of hesitation she entered inside the swimming pool and started to swim like a fish! She didn’t want to come out at the end of the lesson and asked me to come back the following day! :) I'm sure your little boy will succeed!
Plenty of other short kids still played soccer, and were great assets to their team, but that was because they liked it. They didn't mind getting hurt and were just as aggressive/competitive as the normal height and tall kids.
He might just be naturally passive and introverted, or it could be self-esteem like Annie mentioned. Or of course he could feel left out, unwelcome, different, etc because he's so small. For me it was a combination of all of those things. I'd say just try your best to encourage him, build up his self-esteem, and don't treat him differently for being small.
Thanks!
Last Monday she really surprised me! She started her swimming course and told me, crying, that she didn't want to enter inside the swimming pool, but only watch the others swimming... I told her not be worried and to do what she felt and that I would have been proud of her anyway! After few minutes of hesitation she entered inside the swimming pool and started to swim like a fish! She didn’t want to come out at the end of the lesson and asked me to come back the following day! :) I'm sure your little boy will succeed!
With your support, he will do fine.