My daughter is 7 and has already changed schools 3 times could this have a negative impact on her later on?

Question

We have been taking her to private schools and she seems to be coping well with the changes, but how does a parent know for sure.

Answer 1

Children need routines. She may have social issues and not make the time to learn how to trust and make friends.

Answer 2

That mostly depends on you, basically, you are going to become your child's best friend which could be a good thing, since she most likely has not had the opportunity to make any lasting friendships, this could be a problem later in life if this practice does not change, having childhood friends seems to be a thing most people enjoy and depend on. I think it will have some sort of negative effect on her, but it is hard to say how much. She may be a loner, not the best outcome, she may become very dependent on others, the outcome really depends on you and her, but if it were me, I would figure a way to keep her in the same school, no matter what you needed to do, stability is very important in all aspects of life. My source is me, I attended 15 schools by the time I finished the 10th grade. You will be happy to know, I`m not a felon, criminal, hooker, alcoholic, or on welfare. I have a good profession, I do change jobs after 18 months to 2 years, was married for 27 years, have 2 step kids, and 5 grandsons who all think the world of me, but as far as childhood friends, none, never went to a reunion, or anything like that, my advise is still, stay put, give her the chance to grow with her friends.

Answer 3

Three schools, in just the past few years? Why? If you have lived in the same area all this time, why? Yes, it could very well have a negative impact on her as she gets older. That is not fair to her. She needs to have friends her age, she needs to be taught the same stuff as the other kids, at the same pace. Some teachers may differ from others in the level of skill for each age. Do you not like the teachers she has had? What is the problem? It's one thing when your parents have to move because of jobs, military, etc., and change schools accordingly, however, what you are doing if you are in the same location the past few years., you are NOT doing your child any favors. My father was in the military, so moving every so often was okay. But the stability of your daughter knowing what school she will be going to, and for how long, and her friends, the social skills she needs to develop as she gets older are so important. Believe me, she may seem to be coping okay now, but keep it up, and there could be some big problems later on. Her school work can be effected too. Stress of the constant changes is not good. Please, settle down. I don't know why you keep changing schools on her. I have a neice who has gone to 14 schools in 8 yrs.-she is tired of it. She is a highly stressed young lady. She is in 8th grade, and it is so important to her to stay where she is - for social skills and her friends as well as the education she is getting. I know when I got into high school, I was happy to finally get to go to the school I wanted to go to, dad was retired from the military. The sense of security of going to the same school helps in studying. Unless there is a bullying situation, or something really bad, please, don't change the school. If you can, just change the classroom, or the teacher, but not the school when possible. Take care.

Answer 4

I know first-hand that it *can* have a negative impact in the short-term. We're a military family, and our kids have changed schools several times each now. Sometimes the transition is smooth, sometimes it's really bumpy. But long-term, the biggest negative I see is that my older kids miss having that "lifelong best bud" from kindergarten to HS graduation, and sometimes my oldest daughter has mentioned that she feels a little left out when she's around some of the kids who *have* been friends "forever".

So far, though, I've mostly seen my kids turn all of the potential negatives into positives-- they are now great at making friends no matter where they go, and they always have interesting stories to tell about the places they've lived!

Answer 5

Private schools? Big deal. I don't know why parents think they're so much better. The truth is, many private schools don't have the same education standards for their teachers as public schools, and few private schools have all the resources a public school does.

Your daughter is probably coping with the changes socially, but academically she could be missing out big time. Schools don't teach things in the same order, so she could miss entire sections of math, english, etc. and it may not show up until later on, when she's in a higher grade and never learned certain math skills, spelling words, etc.

Also, it becomes almost impossible for teachers to grade her fairly and assess her progress when she's skipping around like that. I say, pick and school and stay with it. If you must change, do it between grades and not during the year.

Answer 6

You should really be asking your daughter this. If she seems to be coping well with all the changes then I'd say it's fine. Just as long as you don't continue to keep changing schools. Then she might start to feel like not making any friends at all because she'll have to say bye to them anyway. Kids need routine. A lot of change isn't good for kids, especially when they start getting older and puberty hits.

Answer 7

Guess every child is different. But you should not be changing schools unless due to unavoidable circumstances. My dad used to have a travelling job where he had to change country every year or two. This meant we, his family, moved around a lot too. I always portrayed myself as being ok with it and did very well at every level of my studies. But deep within I was sad and at most times lonely that I had no real long-lasting friends. So maybe you need to re-think the situation the next time you need to change her school.

Answer 8

Well, if you can find a place that she's comfortable in and learning in, that would be an ideal place to leave her.

We have my goddaughter staying with us during the school week. It's her third school this year. Her mom moved her across town in December in a district with a K-6 elementary school (she's in 6th grade) and she absolutely hated it. We have 6-8 middle school by us, and we thought that rather than try to put her in another elementary school, we'd try this for a while, so we brought her here after Christmas break, and she's doing better than she ever has in school.

So, it's going to depend on many things. usually I wouldn't recommend moving a kid to different schools when you don't have to, but you also have to consider your daughter's best interests: Academically first and foremost, but also socially and her comfort level.

She has to go to school at this point in her life. It might as well be somewhere she enjoys going!

Answer 9

Ask her.
I changed school 9 times before I got to high school. I felt sad that I didn't have any life long friends, but every person is different. She may be okay with it, but I'd still say try to keep her in an stable environment if possible. It helps all people feel more secure.

Answer 10

the first few years of a child's life at school is when they settle in and learn heaps its very important not to change schools so often as although change is hard for kids they wont let on it is,one of the hardest things for a parent is knowing what is right for your child if you notice a change in her behaviour then that could be a sign of her not coping well

Answer 11

well im a kid and if you dont know if the kid is have problems then ask the kid about it. and make sure u dont talk down to them talk her like you would an adult juss no cussing treat her like she has a brain and youll probaly get an answer out of her but from a kids point of view put her in public school and keep her there because every time u put her in a school the jerk her out of tht school the kid will stop making friends and she will be a loner and then shell close up in a shell and tht u really dont want tht so try to keep her in one school it would be better for her