I may be a dissenting voice in the crowd, but I can speak from personal experience. I tested at at 12th-grade reading level when I was in the first grade, and my parents decided to move me ahead a grade.
This was difficult in the early years, as I was always one of the smallest girls in every class, wasn't as coordinated as my elder peers, and it took a while, probably three years, for me to adjust socially.
but if MY child is the only child out of the bunch moving along that way in a public school system and social environment, I would hesitate before making such a decision.
Roni makes some very good points.
I've written elsewhere in this forum on my experiences. I was able to connect to other boys through sports. This made it a lot easier for me once they got old enough to carry a conversation - around age 12 or so.
Other parents on this forum have posted about their children making friends within a given social group as well. Theater and music sticks out as one environment.
Finding a social group or two that your kid fits into is seems to be a critical task for raising a G/T kid who is accelerated.
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Today, Mr W went to two parties with his age peers and then hung out with some older boys. I was able to observe his behavior with all groups in the same day.
As a 24 mo old boy, he prefers and has the most fun with 3-5 year old boys. He hung out with them today and ignored the 2 year olds. The older boys are much more stronger and rougher than he is, but he just guts it out. (And he goes to bed at 6pm and sleeps 12 hours!!!!)
For Mr W to be socially balanced, he will need to interact with kids older than he is.
