By The Free Press | Created at 2026-09-04 02:11:50 | Updated at 2026-09-04 02:57:17
53 minutes ago
As the end of kindergarten neared for Kelsey Padgett’s 5-year-old daughter, Emersyn, the Michigan mom started getting nervous.
Her daughter was born at the end of July, making her among the youngest kids in her class. “I don’t think that’s ever a good thing,” Padgett, a former kindergarten and first-grade teacher, told me.
“Emersyn was really good at academics,” Padgett said, “but socially. . . ” She paused.
“She’s fine now,” Padgett said. But what about when she got to middle school? Down the line, social maturity would be vital in making friends and building relationships, in dating, and in navigating a world with potential bullies.
Padgett went to the school’s office and told them her daughter would be repeating kindergarten.
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