Just returned from parent teacher conference and I'm feeling frustrated by feedback that my child is too serious and acts too much like a grown up. Then the teacher said a more positive thing which is that she's trying to help him stay well rounded and have fun.
I'm guessing others here have heard that as well. How do you handle it? I think it hurts because it's a criticism of who my child is and that feels unfair. This is just him being him.
He's happy, he has a few close friends... many interests. He plays music, likes sports, loves to read. He's just a little serious and introverted.
His teacher pointed out that he doesn't like to pretend or make believe and that sometimes he lacks creativity in story telling. So I can see that we can work on that. I don't really know what to do with the rest. Shake it off and move on, I guess?
DH thinks it may have something more to do with the fact the teacher knows we send DS to afterschool math. Maybe she thinks all he does is math? She was like "maybe you can sign him up for an afterschool art class?"... but he had fine motor delay and hates to draw. That's a terrible idea. But he does many other activities and I think he's very creative in his free time, which I'm very protective of.
In the same meeting the teacher said she's given him math 2 grades up and it's still too easy because he seems to learn it the first time she tells it to him and he's flying through it. So it was refreshing to hear someone else acknowledge that. However, I don't know how that part goes together with the rest? You would think she would understand it's us trying to meet his needs and not just push him, since she herself is expressing frustration with how to meet his needs when "he always wants more and more."
I know she cares about him. I know she's willing to try to give him advanced material. So I should really not be picky about the rest. He's VERY intuitive though... I hope he doesn't pick up on this sentiment because he would definitely feel hurt.
