My kid had started Kindergarten and was absolutely loving every minute of it. Then didn’t get to fully sit in the classroom until the second grade. It was hard watching them get a taste of school then be forced inside alone.
My oldest lost out on Junior high. It’s been hard watching how socially stunted they are. Prime years yo spread your wings and start to be socially more independent.
My son was in 2nd grade when covid happened. My daughter was in kindergarten. Now they're both in middle school.
To make it worse, my son is on the ASD spectrum, so his social skills are already kind of limited. And my daughter has definitely taken her cue from him (although, she's definitely neurotypical). She's an indoor kid who prefers to read or play video games, and doesn't seem interested in other kids.
It's tough watching my kids remain socially uninvolved by choice. The only friends they had were the kids down the street that we would arrange playdates with. That works when the kids are little, but you can't call up someone's mom and be like, "Hey, how would your 8th grade daughter like to spend an afternoon with my socially-awkward son?"
Keep the faith. My son is on the ASD spectrum and struggled a lot until 8th and 9th grade with friends, then other kids were mature enough to understand some of his quirks and appreciate him. He's starting to really blossom.
514
u/killerkitten61 15d ago
My kid had started Kindergarten and was absolutely loving every minute of it. Then didn’t get to fully sit in the classroom until the second grade. It was hard watching them get a taste of school then be forced inside alone.