So my husband and I have decided that our eldest will be repeating Grade 7 next year. Why? Because he’s not ready for high school after the shit show that was quarantine home school. It’s not fair to push him to high school when he didn’t get a proper chance at anything this yr.

We’ve spoken to him about it and he understands and agrees. Most of the kids in his grade (all 10 of them!) are going to other high schools or leaving SA. So he’s not going to miss out on anything. Plus he’s the youngest in the grade so he will probably benefit from more time.

He didn’t cope well with lockdown or home school. It was an absolute nightmare. Parents are not meant to be teachers and I did him no favours. He deserves a do-over.

I’m not posting this for validation, or for anyone to tell me I’m a good parent. I’m posting this in case there are other parents out there agonising over the same decision. You can do it.

I also didn’t post this for people to convince me otherwise, or tell me we’re wrong. He’s not a prepared for high school emotionally or mentally. There’s no shame in that. Getting a do-over is in everyone’s best interest, but especially for him.

He will be at a massive disadvantage next year and will be completely unprepared for the massive difference between primary and high school. Come on, people. Why is that so hard to understand? He will spend his entire high school career playing catch up and that’s not fair.

The whole point of parenting is ensuring your kid is ready to take the next step. Why push them to the next level if they’re not ready for it? That’s a parenting fail right there.

This year has been TRAUMATIC, people. How can we just expect our kids to carry on and cope like nothing happened? The MOST happened this year. Especially for them.

People suggesting that my kid would “learn to cope” have no idea how harmful that mentality can be. Not addressing trauma sufficiently is going to have massive long term negative impact. He’s already suffered enough trauma LONG before the Rona.