..most of the negative comments I got were along the lines of "A grade skip/early entrance may not be a big deal NOW, but when they hit puberty/get to middle school/ get ready to go to college at just 16 . . . ." That makes it almost impossible to argue.
I argue it this way: "We realize that DS9 probably won't be ready to move away to college when he's 16. Our plan is to give him a year or two to explore his options. He can take classes at one of the local community colleges to find out what he's most interested in. He can get a part-time job, do an internship, or a combination of these things. He can do something else that strikes his fancy, like improving his ice skating. We think of this as giving him a gift of time."
The only response I've ever, ever received to this statement is "Wow, that's such a cool idea." (Because it is!
)
If it helps, I typically don't volunteer anything about my kids' (I have three) grade and subject accelerations. But if someone asks, I'm honest in a matter-of-fact way about it. This seems to help.
An interesting thing is that some people will open up and say things like, "You know, my daughter's Kindergarten teacher told me she reads her words very easily, and maybe she should try harder ones...."
