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Don't kill me- must ask! Do 99% kids have 99% parents?
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Anonymous
| I wonder if kids are therefore less intelligent and dumber today than their parents of yesteryear? |
Anonymous
|
Both DH and I regularly sis very well on standardized tests (IQs over 160 each time tested and no scores that I recall under 99%). I don't know how much stock to put on such tests, but being generally quite smart is a gift each of us has. For me, it has made certain aspects of life much easier. I never worried about the SATs or other tests, and generally didn't need to spend much time on school work to do very well. As a result, I seemed to have a lot more time than other kid in the neighborhood to hang out and to pursue my other interests (mostly sports). I think it was a luxury to have had so much free time, and probably would be even more of a luxury given what I've heard about the current schedules of many kids.
As for whether testing well or being smart (in the way tested on IQ and other tests) impacted my life, it's certainly part of who I am and likely colors how I see things and how I make decisions. In the same way, I need to "work" harder than most to stay in shape, and put more effort into looking good than people who were born "with good bones" so to speak. Those traits also inform who I am. As for professional lives, I think that having had the benefits that went with being smart (multiple ivy degrees), and being good at logical reasoning, has helped me significantly in my profession (I'm a lawyer). In my experience, people seeking a lawyer, as well as those employing them, tend to rely on academic degrees and a reputation for being smart as a screening device, and I think that I've been given the benefit of the doubt to an extent others may not have been. This has been particularly true for me in the context of changing specialties. I've been able to change career paths several times based on my interests and family choices. Each time, I was able to transition into a relatively senior position in which "being smart," as opposed to knowing the mechanics of the specialty, were prioritized. So in that sense "being smart" has enabled me to do what I want with my time pretty easily. As for my husband, he is a tremendously hard worker and is at the top of his field. At times his work schedule is hard to manage with our family, but I don't think that's related the question about intelligence or good testing, unless you want to expand the question to whether good testers also make good life balance choices. On that point, I don't have any reason to believe that testing well makes people more likely to balance their lives better, marry the right person, choose or keep good friends, or have better family relations. Maybe there's a correlation, but I haven't seen it. |
Anonymous
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I was IQ tested at 140 and was in the gifted track growing up. I never felt super smart ,just smart enough to handle any subject if I put my mind to it.
My husband never was tested, is a terrible test taker in general, but I think is super smart. He is very successful in his career. I was successful but I stay at home know (and I hope that I am successful in this!). I have two children both scored 99%. The second one was a surprise to us, the first born we were not at all surprised. A ton of kids score in that range around here. As a doctor told me, 99% in MOCO or Fairfax or parts of DC basically means they are in the 85% here. We do private school but will be open to public down the road per APs, magnet or gifted tracks. But overall, I think it just means they can do the work and should be able to do well, but it will be up to them to put in the time and discipline. |
Anonymous
| Ok. PP. Clearly the 140 IQ does me no good. Forgive the spelling errors above (know should be now). Ha! |
Anonymous
I found this post to be a very thoughtful response to the question. 160 plus IQ is very high. You sound like you have handled your "smarts" well. |
Anonymous
No. They have literally changed the scales. It is no longer possible to get an IQ score above 160 on the WPPSI/WISC. There is extended scoring, etc., but that is not is what is typically referred to as full scale IQ. |
Anonymous
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Yet another yes with the one career success and one career failure. The "failure" is probably happier than the success story -- can't tell whether or not that's causal, LOL!! Could have had two successes and no kids. Went for one success and one kid. My income was less than 1/10 of DH's and I can do the work I love w/o title or pay, so this was clearly the right answer for us.
Can't tell if DC is smarter than we are -- she's growing up in a much more privileged environment than either of us did and she's an only child, so gets a larger share of undivided parental attention than we did. DC is certainly more sophisticated at an earlier age than we were and knows stuff we didn't at the same age. |
Anonymous
| DH never tested well or did particularly well in school until college...but he's the one making a 7-figure income now. I scored in the 99th percentile on every standardized test I took, was valedictorian, etc., and had a successful career that wasn't particularly well-paid (in journalism), and that I gave up to SAH. Kids have scored between 94th and 97th percentile on WPPSI and WISC, and they are strong but middle-of-the-pack students at their DC private schools. |
Anonymous
We all are. How long would you last in the woods with a bow and some arrows? Or move up the time line a little to our hero Henry David, borrow an axe and see how long you last solo. Topping out a verbal WPPSI means nothing in the problem solving and critical analysis realm. Not so long ago, people had to solve more problems in their daily lives than most of us ever will. They must have had synaptic (is that a word?) connections we can't even imagine. |
Anonymous
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Dunno. My kid's 99%, so does that mean I only have one percent left? Wait, her father contributed...so she has 99% and we're left with x+y-99/2 IF our contributions were equal... (Before someone starts Punnett squaring me, really, that's a joke.)
My aging brain cells are spluttering into oblivion as I type, never to be restored to their former glory. So I will live vicariously through my DC's WPPSI score to the end of my life. |
Anonymous
| one thing I've learned is that everyone wants to believe their kids are smart. Just like everyone believes their kids are cute... but that's another story. Lurking on DCUM for quite some time, I wouldn't be surprised if some parents overstate their sons or daughters wppsi III scores. I also wouldn't be surprised if some parents have friends who happen to be psychologist. |
Anonymous
| Hell no, I am virtually brain-dead! |
Anonymous
Didn't neighbors cook for him? |
Anonymous
I don't remember that part. I donated my last few brain cells to my kid. I'll go with your intact memory, and beat my dead horse here: The neighbors sure didn't have a Viking range in their kitchen or Balduccis around the corner. |
Anonymous
| To answer op- yes, my husband and I both scored 99% on tests as children but they weren't the WPPSI so not sure if that counts? To answer your other questions....Yes, we are happy and yes, we are rich, yes we are successful. Both have higher degrees of education (who doesn't in dc)? I am a SAHM. We never prepped our kid for the test. Our child is a normal kid and at a Big 3 and happy there. |