CFK: both my parents and DH's parents ADAMANTLY opposed acceleration for us. I was subject-accelerated in reading because it was clear that something had to be done, but that was as much as they allowed, and they were always uncomfortable even with that.
Now I wonder...(Though never to them! The not-second-guessing thing again.)
DH and I have always said that school is not a race: the first person finished doesn't win anything. (LOL!) But then again, getting the mandatory part of the education out of the way so you can actually learn something useful doesn't seem like a bad idea. Meh. I suspect that's one of those things that you'll feel like you did wrong no matter what you choose. There are no wrong choices, only different options.
The biggest thing I think I've gleaned from this wonderful forum full of all you wonderful people is that we all do the best we can do, make the best decisions we can make...and then we wring our hands and worry that we've screwed up anyway! Have we screwed up, really? Probably not. The fact that we care and we're trying our best is probably just about enough to serve our kids' needs.
My father-in-law says you put away money for your kids to use for one of three things: college, bail money, or therapy. With gifted kids, the therapy money should probably be divided between both kids and parents, since we both go a little nuts over this stuff! <grin>
Bossy perfectionists, unite!
