'My 5-year-old gets taken out of class everyday, I'm not sure why. Is this normal?' UPDATED

Every school is different, but there are some policies and practices that are fairly universal. So if you're a first-time parent taking the temperature of "what's normal," asking other parents about their experiences can be helpful.

In a popular post on the Kindergarten subreddit, a mom asked if her son getting regularly taken out of class was normal. She wrote:

"My 5-year-old gets taken out of class everyday but I'm not sure why."

My son recently informed me that just about everyday, some type of aid lady takes him from the class and brings him to a different room with games, balls, scooters, other sensory type equipment. He says they play things like Uno or Mother May I, Sometimes they ride the little scooters down the hallway, other times he does exercises like jumps and stuff.

I guess I’m just surprised his teacher never told me any of this not in an email or parent teacher conference. I was just wondering does anyone here know why this happens? I feel like I'm not doing something right at home for them to have to go out of their way and take him out of class.

Apparently it's only him, and two other boys that get taken out of the class to do this. He is not special ed or diagnosed with anything. I will obviously ask his teacher but I wanted to know if anyone else had this in their school. I know growing up I had nothing like this in elementary school so I'm so confused.

People had a lot of comments and questions in response.

Geneshairymol wrote:

They should have discussed this with you, having said that- it seems cool that they are trying to accommodate your high energy child instead of punishing him.

OP replied:

Yea I agree! I love his school and his teacher is amazing. Well I sent her an email because I’m curious, also I feel bad like there’s something I’m not doing at home with him that could help. He’s in karate and is very high energy, limited screen time and I try to get him outside as much as possible.

nombre_unknown replied to OP:

At that age their little bodies are telling them to move because that's how their bodies build muscle and grow.

HereToKillEuronymous also replied to OP:

Have you had him tested for an Attention Deficit Disorder? My sister was like this, and didn't really change until she got therapy for it (she tried meds but didn't like them. They taught her coping skills instead).

OP replied:

No, wasn’t even on my radar to be honest. I feel like half the comments are telling me to get him tested asap and the other half is saying it’s normal 5-year-old boy behavior 😭

Illustrious_Cut_4837 wrote:

It might be both! One does not exclude the other. He very well could be ADHD, but that doesn’t mean some aspect isn’t regular little boy energy. But keep in mind - there are other little boys with little boy energy, that apparently do not need to be taken out of the classroom. That indicates your kiddo just might need a little extra support.

Never ever ever ever ever hurts to get them tested - and testing at this age, is really just a play session. You have literally nothing to lose.

Scorp128 wrote:

If your child was disrupting the learning of others or being disruptive in the class room the teacher would have told you. If the teacher has not mentioned getting your child tested for ADHD, it is probably not something to worry about. Just something to keep in the back of your mind. Not something that has to be acted on ASAP.

Do have a conversation with the teacher. But this sounds like the teacher realizes your child is high energy and is giving the appropriate opportunities to your child so their energy levels do not become an issue. Does this school follow a Montessori program?

OP replied:

Not Montessori, just public elementary! And yea that’s what I figured, if this was a problem I would have been notified by now. I guess they haven’t told me because it’s not a big deal, and then that had me wondering if this was a thing now that all public schools did. He is definitely high energy tho so I’m so grateful they accommodate for him and not punish him for it!

OP added another comment describing her son's behavior.

He is very high energy. Also recently discovered during carpet time, he as well as the other two boys as I mentioned above, they have to sit in these “special” chairs while all the other children sit on the floor. They almost look like a rocking sled or something. Im almost wondering if I should get him tested for ADHD.

The next day, OP added an update.

I got a lot of responses asking me to update once I emailed his teacher! It's not Occupational Therapy, which is what some people here thought, but I was clarified that I would have had to consent if that was the case. So basically the school has built in "universal supports" for ALL children.

Some of the tools they use for my son in particular is that rocking chair he sits in at circle time, and "sensory breaks" being done by a para. He doesn't go everyday like I was originally lead to believe, but usually 3-4 times a week (pretty much when they have the extra para available to help).

This is also why his teacher didn't formally tell me because she said it wasn't a certainty that he'd even be able to go everyday. Also because it's just part of their tools they implement for students who they feel need it. It's not like an IEP plan. He doesn't get taken out of class during any type of important instruction time, it's during snack rest time.

I am very grateful for his teacher!! She said my son is very funny and makes her laugh all the time, he just has lots of extra energy and is really benefiting from this kind of reset time. She didn't mention anything about ADHD in her reply email and didn't mention he's causing any disruptions to the rest of the class.

The internet was happy to hear such a positive update.

throwawehhhhhhhh1234 wrote:

This is so cool, I love a positive update! Honestly I wish all schools could have this, it sounds fantastic.

Crafty-Shape2743 wrote:

It’s a good teacher that recognizes the needs of their individual students and can provide simple accommodations outside of an official plan. When I was a kid, I think it was 5th grade, back in the dark ages, we didn’t have any special programs, but one of the teachers got a hyper kid involved in running his own “marathon."

They figured out the distance around the large play field and the kid would keep track of how many times he ran around it. He would run before class, at recesses and after lunch. Don’t think there was a prize, maybe it a gold star on his running record. Whatever it was, it worked! In winter we had a school cross country ski program around the same field and he rocked it!

misguidedsadist1 wrote:

I’m glad you went to a teacher sub to talk about this. Lots of folks here aren’t in education so the posts saying the school was providing OT were so wildly and comically wrong.

That is a violation of federal law. I’ve seen a lot of shady s**t as a teacher, but a school straight up providing evals and services without parental consent or notification is WILD and, while I’m sure something like that has happened somewhere in the world, it’s just not a logical conclusion given the other possibilities.

HalcyonDreams36 wrote:

I love this! "While Timmy seems to need a rest after snack, Fredo likes to read, and James needs to get some wiggles out."

Neenknits wrote:

This sounds to me like a great school! One of my kids is brilliant, and has LDs. In 2nd grade, kid was being pulled out for reading. “Push in” aide for writing. All part of the IEP.

And informally, got “pulled out” but didn’t require permission, because it was informal, to go play fun math games with a parent volunteer, with a couple other kids, during the weekly math review class, because these 4-5 kids already knew the math, and didn’t need it. So, rather than have them bored, fidgeting, and getting in trouble, they let them play fun, advanced, and enriching math games.

I always found it amusing that the same kid was getting pulled out for having trouble in one class, and pulled out for being too advanced in another. And delighted that the teacher recognized the need!

lilxenon95 wrote:

I was gonna say, it's hard enough for me to get services for my son who's severely in need! 😹

That is so great they have that support for him, honestly more kids could benefit from that 🏃🏽💨

Luckyducks wrote:

I can't tell you just how awesome this is. My kid needs those kinds of services and is feeling ostracized because she is singled out. If it were universal it would make a world of difference to her self confidence. The resources are just too limited at her school to make it possible even though most little kids would probably benefit from more movement.

In a refreshing departure from most internet content, this situation ended up being quite wholesome.