Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To worry I'm holding my 7 year old back?

4 replies

depressionpitofdoom · 08/09/2023 09:53

My 7 year old is awaiting an ADHD assessment, she's got a fantastic range of friends at the moment which I'm really happy about but I'm noticing that more and more children her age seem to be becoming more mature (which I also find a little sad - 7 is still tiny) while she is still very silly and loud and makes jokes that don't make sense at all - for example random knock knock 'jokes' made up of random words.

I don't allow things that a lot of her peers have, such as TV in her bedroom and I don't allow her to play certain games like roblox and fortnite. She can't read very well, and hasn't got the focus for longer stories, so the books and stories she has are aimed at younger children too. She is a really sweet, sensitive girl but I know she can also be bossy and very loud, especially when she's over excited and it takes a lot to try and calm her down when she is in that stage.

She doesn't seem to receive a lot of support at school - they say they will try certain interventions but my daughter says they aren't happening. (On the other hand she's not the most reliable source of information so I'm sure her teachers are trying!) I'm worried because her behaviour itself isn't particularly disruptive in class she's being left to it and is falling further and further behind. She is bright - she just needs a lot of reminders and encouragement, which is understandably difficult when you have 30 other children in the class to consider.

I feel like I should be doing more to help her but I have no idea how too, we read together daily, I try and do extra work at home but I won't push her because I don't want to put her off and frankly the meltdowns we have when she doesn't want to/finds it too hard is not fair on any of us, I'm worried I'm being too strict with certain things but equally I can't trust her to be sensible with them either. For instance I wouldn't trust her to walk ahead with a friend because she would run out into the road without thinking or talk to any random stranger she meets along the way (and tell them her whole life story!). I don't know why but the differences between her and her peers just seem to be more obvious this year, and I feel like that gap is going to widen as they grow.

OP posts:
ImGoingThroughChanges · 08/09/2023 09:58

You said it yourself - 7 is still tiny. FWIW I have a neurodiverse child who has stood apart from others in terms of “sophistication” while growing up - the random knock knocks went on for years - eventually my child found a tribe of other little geeks and has never been happier.

it sounds like you’re already doing the right things with reading, prompts and not pushing her. The only thing I can suggest that made a big difference to literacy for us is audio books - especially if you have a library app where she can learn how to download and listen to books herself. She sounds lovely by the way - enjoy!!

Weatherwax134 · 08/09/2023 10:08

I got my daughter a yoto and it's been brilliant for books. It's easy for her to use (you just slot the story card in), plus it's helped with her knowing our routine because I can set the clock to have a 'sun' when it's time for us to be up and awake. My non-ND DD loves it too.

Hankunamatata · 08/09/2023 10:11

She sounds lovely. Your doing great, reading with her. I'd try some online or apps to help with reading like nessy or reading eggs.
I personally would let play roblox if her friends are playing as they can play together and you can set parental controls and age limits

depressionpitofdoom · 08/09/2023 12:03

Thank you for your replies 🙂

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page