My 5 year old is in year 1 and I have been told by her teacher I need to see a doctor because of her emotional behaviour. My daughter shuts down and it takes them awhile to get her out of. My daughter had a major melt down and my husband picked her up. When we spoke to our daughter she said that 2 girls were calling her names. A reaction my child did because she was upset.
But now this teacher thinks I need to see a speech therapist and should get checked to help with her emotional behaviour.
My daughter doesn't do it at home only at school. I feel there is nothing wrong with her and feel silly going to a doctor and saying my daughter gets upset and shuts down.
Should i repeat her or give in and pay to see if there really is something wrong.
Emotional Behaviour
Emotional Behaviour
Posted in:
Behaviour
7 Replies
She is very young to be in year 1, most kids are at least 6 already if not turning 7 that year. Why is she in that class already?
Maybe she isn't socially ready for the higher grade and because of the large age gap between her and her peers she is getting bullied (as kids can be so cruel and her maturity level would be so vastly different).
Can you send her back to prep where most kids are 5?
In WA prep/pre primary is compulsory and you start the year already 5 or turning 5 my daughter is in year one and has only just turned six. Our cut off is June 30. So anyone born between July 1st- June 30 are in the same year. My daughter started kindy at 3.5 and prep at 4.5 however my sons started Kindy at 4 and 1 month and prep at 5 and 1 month. If you choose not to send your child to Kindy they will be started in Prep the following year. It depends on what state the lady is in. To what advice she should take into account. If the teacher is suggesting that their may be something wrong with her emotional regulation then there’s something up or something triggering the reaction she’s giving and of course you’d want to investigate what’s going on as a mother to ensure she’s the best she can be and you can work on the issues with the teacher.
An appointment with a peadiatrician never hurts and is never a waste of time.
She could be fine. She could be too young to be in year 1.
The issue is though rather than talking about what happened to her she can’t speak up for herself at school. She does need to learn to do that other wise school is going to be a nightmare for her.
The school has a duty of care to your daughter but they can’t act on that if your daughter can’t speak up. Most kids her age could say ‘so and so was mean to me’.
She may be academically ready but not emotionally there yet.
Surely any help would be appreciated because who wouldn’t want there child to be able to advocate for themselves at school???
Also a peadiatrician or child psychologist can give the school some strategies to help your daughter at school and advise on your daughters school options. They’d do a far better job than us, we’ve never even seen your daughter.
Actually no, most 5 year olds can't explain what's happened and how it's made them feel with complex interactions or big feelings. They just display the emotion or get angry frustrated, or shut down. That kind of emotional resilience comes with age and development, around 7 or 8, if she wasn't in year 1 it wouldn't be expected.
Jeez the 5 year olds I know must be super advanced then. They generally can say that person was mean or called me names..
She's only 5 trying to interact with 6 and 7 year olds. You're right, its not unexpected
however a psychologist can help you with gentle strategies to improve emotional intelligence and coping strategies, it will help her.
I doubt the teacher would have suggested getting a doctor's opinion based off of 1 incident (unless it was a really extreme reaction). Remember, teachers spend almost as much time with our kids as us parents do and because they don't have that familial connection with the child, they're able to see things more objectively than we can. Sometimes as parents we're too close to see the issue. She may well not exhibit this shut down mode at home but she's not experiencing the same pressures, stressors or expectations at home. It's an entirely different environment.
It really can't hurt to get a professional opinion, anything that gives a child more support is a positive in my books. Learning how to regulate and express ones emotions is an important life skill, it will be much easier to get and use the tools now rather than down the track when she's a pre teen that's shutting down emotionally.
Good luck x