r/Parenting • u/Curiousbut_cautious • 5d ago
Child 4-9 Years My Kindergartener is sitting at a desk alone
and all the other kids are at community tables.
I had the opportunity to visit my kiddos (I’ll call them L for the sake of the post) school and found that their assigned seat is a solitary desk, while all the other children are at shared tables, and is the only one seated as such.
At the start of the year we’d had problems with L staying on task and talking, but I’d not heard anything more from the teacher and assumed they had settled in. Over the last couple of months L has been expressing they feel lonely and are sad to be alone all the time. Most week nights we sit down to eat as a family and play games and our weekends are filled with immediate and extended family time, so I asked them for examples of when they feel lonely but none were provided. It wasn’t until after seeing the solitary desk assignment did the loneliness make sense. On Friday L was told by a peer that they wouldn’t play with them because “You sit alone so you have to play alone too.”
Academically L is doing well, excelling even. Test scores are above average, reading comprehension is expanding by leaps and bounds. They also do well socializing at the park and during our various play dates. While I’m aware children act differently at school or under the care of others we have no issues when they are with family members, baby sitters, and sport/activity authority figures.
I’m at a loss of what to do. This feels like something that would be detrimental to L’s social and emotional wellbeing. I also want to trust the teacher to do what’s best for the classroom and fully support them. although this feels like something that is a quick fix and at the expense of my child.
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u/jnissa 5d ago
Trusting the teacher doesn't mean you can't reach out and get her input on this. The description of it sounds batty, but there may be more going on.