A lot of this is going to depend on the child, school, teacher, and where you lived.

My eg/pg son (at 5) accelerated through the pre-k/k/1st grade curriculum at a private traditional, gifted school within 2 1/2 months - then he started to act out because he was bored. I was then told the school could no longer accommodate him. The headmaster refused to put our son in the 2nd/3rd grade class because he felt he wasn't ready socially or emotionally.

We then placed our son in a non-traditional, creative gifted school. There are 30 kids (pre-k to 8th grade) and 3 teachers in a one-room type school setting. The setting is mixed-aged and self-paced learning which seems to better suit our son. So far, he seems to be doing well. He doesn't stand out and he can work at his own pace.

We live where there is no gifted education. So it's either private education or homeschooling for pg kids. The public schools refuse to accommodate them.

I don't know if you've read this article, but you might want to read it - http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10115.aspx

With eg/pg kids, you've got a number of issues.
1. Multiple grade skipping may work, but this depends on the school district. One grade skip is unlikely to be effective with pg kids; they're probably going to need multiple grade skips.

2. Acceleration - pg kids seem to absorb information or go through developments in great gulps. It can feel like Pac Man some days. Schools and teachers seem to be more receptive if you have a child who is advanced or accelerated in one subject, but seem particularly flummoxed when it's 3+ subjects. Then, you've also got to contend with the real possibility of your child standing out. That's one of the reasons why we pulled our eg/pg son from the traditional, gifted school.

If you can find a school that has mixed-ages and self-paced learning, you're probably better off. I think it can be a mixed bag with classrooms based on chronological age rather than ability. Of course, the problem is that's how the vast majority of public schools operate.

3. At the younger ages, eg/pg kids can be quite, how should I put it, complex. Some of these kids can be less receptive to teacher-driven curriculum. They can be rather challenging and demanding at home and at school; they can zoom through reading, writing, or math developments so quickly and succumb to coasting through things. So it can be quite a feat to find the right setting and environment in terms of school.

These eg/pg kids often seen the older kids as their peers than kids with the same chronological age. This can be an issue, because sometimes eg/pg don't want to have anything to do with kids their own chronological age and will not wait for others to catch up.

4. You're right - I think it's easier when eg/pg get older. With the younger ages, people don't know what to make of it, especially if they've got no experience with it or have strong opinions on it. In HS, you've got AP and honors classes and other activities to challenge them, but at 5 years old they're seen as being too young for much of it.

Anyway, I hope you're able to work with your school district or find a private school which will fit your son.