I hate feeling like I'm "bragging" whenever I ask for the thoughts of others on his progress and the decisions that we're facing. I hate the "don't you worry about him not being with his same-age peers" comments when we talk about acceleration.
That's why this forum is such a great place
I avoid conversations about this kind of with moms that I meet from other schools. Ours is a small language immersion / montessori dual track school, so many of the kids are clever, and some gifted. If your child is accelerated or in a gifted program, no one bats an eye. IT'S A.W.E.S.O.M.E.
How many friends does your son have? Is he happy? This matters more than what the other parents think. I know it's hard... but we need to listen to our kids first and the naysayers
second never.
The age-mate thing is tricky though. While I agree that grouping kids solely based on age is not a good idea, it's also true that cognition and emotional development are not always in sync, and both have a huge impact on the child's experience.
Does your son have any extracurricular activities (i.e. sports, arts, chess club, etc) that he is in where he is with kids his age?
One thing is for sure: you don't want your DS getting bitter about school because he's bored. I personally know two moms with sons (aged 9 and 10) who are getting themselves into some real trouble because of this (one is currently in counseling). In both cases the boys are in regular classes with age mates and their schools are refusing to accelerate them. With this in mind, I'd say don't let anyone talk you out of acceleration for your DS just because he'll be with older kids.
As for how far to push him... he'll let you know when he's bored Vs in over his head... just keep the lines of communication open
