Why is my 6 year old so immature?

Question

I have a beautiful 6 year old girl. I've lately begun to worry about her though. She doesn't live with me. She lives with her mom full time yet i get her every week. I've always noticved that she seemed to be a bit behind where my other daughters were at her age. I have 3 other girls. She's just started 1st grade and she just seems to lack some of the basic skills. Examples are that she still doesn't know what foot goes in what shoe. If i tell her to put on her shoes most of the time she walks out with the wrong ones on the wrong feet. I have a two year old that knows how to do this by now. Other things she does is that she is extremely random. It doens't matter what you're talking about she will come out with the most off the wall sentence that has nothing to do with what your talking about. It's almost like she's in her own world. If we ask her to do something (clean up, etc...) Se says okay like she hears you and then just wonders off to doing something else. It gets so frustrating. She's also still wetting her pants almost every day. IT has me worried. Mainly because she's not a "bad kid" per say. She's a very sweet child. Loves to please. It just seems like she's on another planet most of the times. My mother has mentioned Autism. I'm just not sure. Like I said she really is a sweet child. She's just extremely immature. ANother example is if we show up somewhere where there are a bunch of other ids her age she will find the 3 and 4 year olds and play with them instead of kids her age. It worries me. Has anyone else dealt with anything like this? I feel like I've tried everything on my end except take her to a pshycologist. It doens't matter how many times I show her how to do soemthing it's like it never sticks.

Answer 1

Sounds like she has a small mental disorder or something. I'm not a dr, so I don't know for sure, but it does sound like she is a little slow. It could even be something as simple as she can't get adjusted to having to live in 2 different homes and searching for attention. Be careful with an autism diagnosis as it is always over diagnosed. So, half the people that are told that's what their kid has, really they don't. It's just an easy answer. Good luck to you.

Answer 2

Maybe because she's 6 not 16!

Answer 3

maybe ur child is worrying about something but u must remember she is only 6! not 16 all children learn at different rates and if the school had any worries about her Im sure they would let u know! why dont u call the school and tell them ur concerns hopefully they will put ur mind at rest! I have a boy who is nearly 6 he sometimes shoves his shoes on the wrong feet Ive also noticed he doesnt have a great attention span its nearly zilch so when he returns to school next week Im having a word with them as they mentioned it before but it was also mentioned at the end of a week he was at a school holiday club I was worried and a little angry that they left it to the end to tell me he is not focusing on anything longer than a few minutes then walks away to find something else good luck

Answer 4

h**l my older brother still has trouble distinguishing between his right and his left.  and he's almost 50.  Stop comparing your children you are doing them a great disservice by expecting one INDIVIDUAL to behave the same as another INDIVIDUAL.  Nothing you have posted says the child has any problems, she is behaving as a 6 year old behaves.  Sounds to me as if you expect your children to behave a like as if they were clones rather than individuals.  You are going to be in for a rude awakening when they become teens.  

Answer 5

i would take her to see the doctor, something is going on with her. I'm not sure if it is autism or not they are so many different kinds of autism. It is worth finding out for the sake of all involved. She must notice that her mental state is younger to feel more comfortable playing with the younger kids.  At 6 she must be in school what do they say about her performance at school? They may be able to help with some type of testing as well.

Answer 6

well she is only 6 yr old. and i would take her to the pshycologist if your soo worried

Answer 7

Does her school teacher have any concerns regarding your daughter at school?  Does she interact with her classmates?  Is she working on age-level school work?

You could request an assessment through the school district.  I would definitely discuss your daughter with her teacher and get her thoughts/concerns.

Answer 8

dicipline

Answer 9

If I were you I would discuss your concerns with her mother and suggest that you both take her to the doctor.  I believe that she does need some kind of testing.  She does have some signs of a

Asperger's, mostly that she is immature and in her own world.  It may be nothing, except she is distracted and just not as mature, but I think it would be better to have a professional look into it.  She is starting the first grade and if she has Asperger's or another form of autsim, the older she gets the harder school will be for her without a proper diagnosis.  You don't want to wait too long.  If she is diagnosed, then the school will be required to provide special services, such as speech therapy for her.  At least it will give you peace of mind to know one way or the other.

Answer 10

There is a term for that(I am not sure what at the moment)  it is part of the developmental process.   Autism, I don't know enough about its definition to classify her as that.  This condition is known to  affect children of mothers who drank alcohol during pregnancy, or took certain medications to relieve morning sickness. It affected the child.  She may very well proceed at a slower pace than you other daughters and may level off sooner(at a certain level) and cannot go any farther.   My sister is like this(mentality of a 14 yo and she is 54).   Schooling stopped for her in grade 11.  She was pretty bright up till the last couple of years and the teachers were ignorant of the condition"calling her "lazy and stupid" in class.     She stopped comprehending regular schooling and socially that was a non - issue.   Talk to  your doctor for possibly special educational training.    Be wary when they suggest drugs......that is NOT the answer.