Parents of “gifted” kids are so annoying!

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who does this a bit but the kid is genuinely very advanced in one subject (on thee own, no prepping him.)

it probably helps that our kids are 10 years apart in age so there is not really a comparison going on (even unspoken) and it really does seem like it’s hard on the kid so I get why it’s on her mind!

(Still poor form in your situation, op. it just doesn’t bother me.)

[Anonymous]

Sometimes it’s fun to bait people like this and see how far they will go, just to amuse yourself.

Or, just smile and nod and try to escape and avoid like the plague.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the issue is just that the kid is gifted, the child should be able to supplement with personal work. Most likely the child is neurodiverse, and the parent's behavior indicates it might be hereditary.

I think this is it. Most likely there is something bigger going on, maybe the kid has ADHD or is on the spectrum (in addition to being "gifted")

Ive known lots of 99th percentile kids, and it's a non issue when they are also neurotypical. They find ways to amuse themselves and don't act out. But it is a problem when the kid has something else going on, and the parent might just think it has to do with "giftedness."

Maybe there is a real problem. Also possible she's just bragging!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the issue is just that the kid is gifted, the child should be able to supplement with personal work. Most likely the child is neurodiverse, and the parent's behavior indicates it might be hereditary.

I think you are correct! The child does not seem neurodiverse but I think the mother perhaps is. Does that mean I should give the mother a break?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A fellow parent is always complaining to me that her child is “gifted” and hence bored at school. We have had literally dozens of conversations about this. So far, I have been polite. Her conversations imply that my child and other children in the grade are too dumb to be in the same class as her kid. She should either take action and have her child skip a grade or enter a talented and gifted program or just shut up. Da Vinci and Einstein and even Bill Gates are/were geniuses but I seriously doubt the giftedness of this child is going to make a difference to the world.

The proper response to this is truly gifted children are never bored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the issue is just that the kid is gifted, the child should be able to supplement with personal work. Most likely the child is neurodiverse, and the parent's behavior indicates it might be hereditary.

I think this is it. Most likely there is something bigger going on, maybe the kid has ADHD or is on the spectrum (in addition to being "gifted")

Ive known lots of 99th percentile kids, and it's a non issue when they are also neurotypical. They find ways to amuse themselves and don't act out. But it is a problem when the kid has something else going on, and the parent might just think it has to do with "giftedness."

Maybe there is a real problem. Also possible she's just bragging!

Saying your kid is bored because he/she is gifted is a form of humble bragging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A fellow parent is always complaining to me that her child is “gifted” and hence bored at school. We have had literally dozens of conversations about this. So far, I have been polite. Her conversations imply that my child and other children in the grade are too dumb to be in the same class as her kid. She should either take action and have her child skip a grade or enter a talented and gifted program or just shut up. Da Vinci and Einstein and even Bill Gates are/were geniuses but I seriously doubt the giftedness of this child is going to make a difference to the world.

Truly gifted children are not bored - they are in their heads. I took my DD for evaluation for ADHD - she never was attentive in class, didn’t understand the directions on assignments, etc. she always “looked” (to the teachers) like she was paying attention. She wasn’t. She was checking out the birds outside or thinking about swimming. She wasn’t bored! She wasn’t interested, which is different. Anyway, she is truly gifted and has already skipped a grade. To me, this is about stubbornness- we all have to pay attention to and do crap we don’t want to. Heck I don’t want to cook dinner tonight or fold the laundry, but it’s not a function of my giftedness - it’s because I don’t like those things and have to do them anyway. Similarly, my kid needs to pay attention and do the work in class - nothing to do with her giftedness and more to do with her manners. Apparently the mom you refer to also has bad manners

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A fellow parent is always complaining to me that her child is “gifted” and hence bored at school. We have had literally dozens of conversations about this. So far, I have been polite. Her conversations imply that my child and other children in the grade are too dumb to be in the same class as her kid. She should either take action and have her child skip a grade or enter a talented and gifted program or just shut up. Da Vinci and Einstein and even Bill Gates are/were geniuses but I seriously doubt the giftedness of this child is going to make a difference to the world.

Truly gifted children are not bored - they are in their heads. I took my DD for evaluation for ADHD - she never was attentive in class, didn’t understand the directions on assignments, etc. she always “looked” (to the teachers) like she was paying attention. She wasn’t. She was checking out the birds outside or thinking about swimming. She wasn’t bored! She wasn’t interested, which is different. Anyway, she is truly gifted and has already skipped a grade. To me, this is about stubbornness- we all have to pay attention to and do crap we don’t want to. Heck I don’t want to cook dinner tonight or fold the laundry, but it’s not a function of my giftedness - it’s because I don’t like those things and have to do them anyway. Similarly, my kid needs to pay attention and do the work in class - nothing to do with her giftedness and more to do with her manners. Apparently the mom you refer to also has bad manners

The mom has bad manners and I’m glad your child isn’t bored but it’s simply not true that “gifted people” are never bored! Yes, may escape into daydreaming but plenty get bored sometimes. (And no, I’m not replying because my kid is gifted and bored.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A fellow parent is always complaining to me that her child is “gifted” and hence bored at school. We have had literally dozens of conversations about this. So far, I have been polite. Her conversations imply that my child and other children in the grade are too dumb to be in the same class as her kid. She should either take action and have her child skip a grade or enter a talented and gifted program or just shut up. Da Vinci and Einstein and even Bill Gates are/were geniuses but I seriously doubt the giftedness of this child is going to make a difference to the world.

Truly gifted children are not bored - they are in their heads. I took my DD for evaluation for ADHD - she never was attentive in class, didn’t understand the directions on assignments, etc. she always “looked” (to the teachers) like she was paying attention. She wasn’t. She was checking out the birds outside or thinking about swimming. She wasn’t bored! She wasn’t interested, which is different. Anyway, she is truly gifted and has already skipped a grade. To me, this is about stubbornness- we all have to pay attention to and do crap we don’t want to. Heck I don’t want to cook dinner tonight or fold the laundry, but it’s not a function of my giftedness - it’s because I don’t like those things and have to do them anyway. Similarly, my kid needs to pay attention and do the work in class - nothing to do with her giftedness and more to do with her manners. Apparently the mom you refer to also has bad manners

The mom has bad manners and I’m glad your child isn’t bored but it’s simply not true that “gifted people” are never bored! Yes, may escape into daydreaming but plenty get bored sometimes. (And no, I’m not replying because my kid is gifted and bored.)

It’s 100% true that gifted children don’t get bored. Anyone who says they have a gifted child who is “bored” doesn’t have a gifted child. The child might be advanced academically but they aren’t bored. Gifted children can always find something to entertain themselves and don’t need the direction of a teacher.

I have had more than one teacher explain this to me, including those who work with gifted children.

Unfortunately, we mix advanced and gifted children in programs. They actually have different needs. But the typical child in, say, AAP isn’t “gifted.”

[Anonymous]

It's DC. No one is average and every child is gifted.

[Anonymous]

On Da Vinci’s “to do list” was to draw the inside of a woodpecker’s beak. This is an example of a gifted person never being bored!

Why do parents worry so much about their “gifted” child? If child is self-motivated, the child will find a way to utilize his/her “giftedness”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's DC. No one is average and every child is gifted.

This is so true and so tiresome.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry you don't care about education, OP. You are surfing America's flush down the world's toilet bowl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you sound jealous.

We found the braggy mom.

Knowing your audience is a legitimate social skill that many adults somehow have not yet learned.

[Anonymous]

Can you just keep your distance from this woman?