5. You can only make decisions based on the needs of the child in front of you right now. Available resources, and more importantly, the child's needs, can change very quickly. A skip (or no skip) now doesn't necessarily lock you into any particular path.
I want to echo this sentiment from aeh. I would advise that, if a skip is available now, the cognitive abilities that justify that option will still be present in future should that option not be exercised now.
Through middle school, I was only accelerated one grade. My parents had unsuccessfully advocated for early entry in a recalcitrant district, and later opted against a double grade skip offered for me in elementary school. I was able to compact high school and first year university such that I ended up 3 years accelerated upon entering university anyway, even without the earlier double skip.
IMO, the back-end-loading of the acceleration in my case allowed me to be extremely involved in a wide range of competitive athletic and extra-curricular activities through university. I also had an active social life and was able to take courses across a wide variety of disciplines. As someone with cross-disciplinary interests, the opportunity to have a hand in many fields as I was deciding on career direction was important. Social fit was excellent, but it is easier for females to blend in with older peers than for males.
So take heart. You aren't making an irreversible decision.
