Unschooling mom enrolls 7-year-old son who's still in diapers in 1st grade, is convinced he'll be too smart for the class: 'She wants to email the teacher ideas because 1st grade curriculum is too simple'

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Jan 5, 2025 1:00 PM EST

It's always kind of funny when a parent thinks that their kid is a genius. I don't really think there's any real harm done in thinking your kid is going to Harvard because they rolled over a month before babies typically do so. It's something that most parents grow out of by the time their kid is no longer going to the bathroom in their pants, but not all of them can move on from this superiority complex. This mindset in parents goes from funny to sad when they continue to believe in their kid's intellect despite them being extremely behind other kids their age. That's a level of delusion that only harms the kid. 

One aunt recently went viral on r/Teachers after sharing her concerns about her nephew's schooling. Up to this point, he has not received any formal education. 7-year-old olds should at least be able to count to 10 and know their colors. He hasn't even been homeschooled, and his aunt isn't sure if he's literate. Despite this, his mother is convinced that he's a genius who will be better than all of the other kids in his first-grade class. Did I mention he isn't potty trained yet?

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    via u/Fantasie_Welt

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    My sister is going to be this teacher's worst nightmare...
    via u/Fantasie_Welt
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    My younger sister is a hot mess. She has two kids, 6 and 4. She was always firmly adamant she would homeschool so the 6 year didn't attend Kindergarten last year, but she also didn't homeschool, she "unschooled". Needless to say, my nephew is extremely behind. Almost 7 and still not fully potty trained. I convinced her to enroll him in to school this year and he starts soon, 1st grade. My sister is convinced he's a "genius", he's going to outperform all the other kids and be bored. She wants
    via u/Fantasie_Welt
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    to email the teacher “ideas" for her to adapt her lesson plans for him because first grade curriculum is too simple for him. She also wants her to exclude him from group work because she is "worried about him outshining the other kids". I kid you not. But... he still needs a diaper to I have no idea how this is going to go for him or for my sister. But Godspeed to this 1st grade teacher.
    via u/Fantasie_Welt
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    Major-Sink-1622 - 18 hr. ago I'm sorry but a neurotypical, able bodied 7 year old not being able to wipe their own should be considered child ab e. or use a toilet
    via u/Major-Sink-1622
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    Fantasie_Welt OP. 17 hr. ago I totally agree. I think she is very guilty of neglect. Her 4 yr old's teeth are rotted out. I live in a different state and have called social services before on her. They didn't do anything. They live in rural Illinois.
    via u/Fantasie_Welt
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    spac3ie 17 hr. ago The school will also be calling DCFS if the kiddo shows signs of neglect and/or ab
    via u/spac3ie
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    boringgrill135797531. 16 hr. ago Yep. And then the parents will get offended and pull the kid out to "homeschool" so they can be abused and neglected without child services meddling.
    via u/boringgrill135797531
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    YoureNotSpeshul - 16 hr. ago That was my thought as well. When she's getting calls constantly to come change his diaper and she finds out he isn't the best and brightest the school has ever seen, she's likely to flip her lid and pull him out. Hopefully DCFS gets involved before that happens.
    via u/YoureNotSpeshul
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    theefaulted 15 hr. ago Yep, this happens at my school probably once a month. Parents get tired of the CPS calls and either move or pull the kids to "homeschool".
    via u/theefaulted
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    Youre NotSpeshul - 14 hr. ago And of course, "homeschool" has zero oversight in a lot of states, so the kids just sit home on the iPad or playing video games until the parents get sick of them and try to enroll them at another school. Then they start the process all over again since the kid is even further behind than they were before, so they act out. Rinse and repeat.
    via u/YoureNotSpeshul
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    stevejuliet 17 hr. ago Communicate this to the school. They need to be in the know. This will help them if they are weighing whether they should call or not.
    via u/stevejuliet
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    Fantasie_Welt OP. 17 hr. ago You mean call up the school and say I am the aunt and have concerns with a student? I live across the country, will they take me seriously?
    via u/Fantasie_Welt
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    Resident_Ninja_1485 17 hr. ago Yes. They absolutely need a heads up that a normal 7 year old doesn't know a thing or can go to the bathroom on his own. Your sister frankly doesn't deserve custody of her children. I work with kiddos 0-5 and a lot of my 2s are fully potty trained.....
    via u/Resident_Ninja_1485
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    Youre NotSpeshul - 17 hr. ago I am so sorry that this is your sister. She really sounds like a nightmare, and I'm not saying that to be mean. My sister is a nightmare too, but in a different way. Thankfully, she doesn't have kids..... yet. I just can't believe that this kid is near seven, still in diapers, and she of an somehow thinks he's going to outshine all of the other kids. She really needs to adjust her expectations, i feel like this will be a interesting year for all involved. How is the
    via u/Youre NotSpeshul
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    Fantasie_Welt OP. 16 hr. ago He's honestly a sweet kid. But he has zero experience with anything. Has never had a friend, has never really interacted with other kids, has never been away from mom. She claims he can read and write (but I've never seen it). He's extremely isolated and basically spends 90% of his time playing on an iPad.
    via u/Fantasie_Welt
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    Katyann623 18 hr. ago Um a lot of public schools will send a child home of they are in pullups or diapers in elementary school. By 1st grade (really kindergarten) teachers are not allowed to assist children with bathroom related incidents. The child would be sent to the nurse and possibly sent home. There is also the social implications that his peers will see that he is in pullups and going in his pants. Unless the child has a developmental disabilty or medical diagnosis that makes potty traini
    via u/Katyann623
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    Fantasie_Welt OP. 17 hr. ago He doesn't have any sort of diagnosis and as long as I've known him I've thought he was a normal little boy who just has zero support from his parents. The dad is a pothead and my sister is just seriously lazy.
    via u/Fantasie_Welt
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    Cinerea_A 18 hr. ago Lord save us all from these "expert" mommies.
    via u/Cinerea_A

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raising children unschooling school child elementary school kids teaching diapers at school teacher homeschool reddit thread diaper Reddit raising kids children
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