are really bright kids harder to parent?

[Anonymous]

I have only one so far, a 5 yo, so I will start by admitting that I will be speaking in absolutes. I think that she is really bright and so do her teachers (she is also a bit of a "smart ass" ). Despite the challenging, debating, negotiating, constant request for information/explanation and the occassional request that I "use my brain" or "think/think", I do not find her difficult to parent at all. I actually find in fun and it definately keeps me on my toes. I draw the lines when I need to, but otherwise I usually just let her make her case and I have to say that she has won a few battles and dealing with her has made me a bit more flexible in my parenting approach which #2 (due in August) will likely benefit from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have only one so far, a 5 yo, so I will start by admitting that I will be speaking in absolutes. I think that she is really bright and so do her teachers (she is also a bit of a "smart ass" ). Despite the challenging, debating, negotiating, constant request for information/explanation and the occassional request that I "use my brain" or "think/think", I do not find her difficult to parent at all. I actually find in fun and it definately keeps me on my toes. I draw the lines when I need to, but otherwise I usually just let her make her case and I have to say that she has won a few battles and dealing with her has made me a bit more flexible in my parenting approach which #2 (due in August) will likely benefit from.

Is your kid as smug as you are? Sounds like another "princess" in the making. Just what the world needs!
What will you do if kid #2 is dumb and you can't brag about that kid and your "flexible" parenting skills?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have only one so far, a 5 yo, so I will start by admitting that I will be speaking in absolutes. I think that she is really bright and so do her teachers (she is also a bit of a "smart ass" ). Despite the challenging, debating, negotiating, constant request for information/explanation and the occassional request that I "use my brain" or "think/think", I do not find her difficult to parent at all. I actually find in fun and it definately keeps me on my toes. I draw the lines when I need to, but otherwise I usually just let her make her case and I have to say that she has won a few battles and dealing with her has made me a bit more flexible in my parenting approach which #2 (due in August) will likely benefit from.

Is your kid as smug as you are? Sounds like another "princess" in the making. Just what the world needs!
What will you do if kid #2 is dumb and you can't brag about that kid and your "flexible" parenting skills?

I actually find PP refreshingly lacking in smugness...

[Anonymous]

She didn't sound smug at all PP -1.

I think you are a bit defensive.

[Anonymous]

My kid is a f*cking genius. You people are funny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yawn

Yes. and one thing that makes them harder to parent is that except in an annoymous forum of this one, you can never ask for advice about any concern related to how smart they are. Because that is the reaction that you get.

I am fortunate that I have a friend whose son clearly is very smart as is my daughter, and we have been able to discuss openly some issues that could very easily come across as obnoxious. For example, we have discussed whether accleration or enrichment are better approaches for the smart child. Is is better to move several grades ahead in math or to spend less time on math and more time on music? which will be better for the child? A gifted an talent program will do more acceleration? a private school with lots of very bright kids (and not all privates can honestly say this) that only goes a grade ahead a most but spends lots of time on other things? What about socialisation? We have both remarked that our kids play differently with each other than with some other kids.

Yawn.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for factoring in many things in addition to intelligence. My sister and I were both in a gifted program. She's 5 years younger and always was a challenge to my parents. I was the good girl older child - good grades, stayed out of trouble (or knew how to avoid getting caught). My sister was constantly bored in school, so channeled her intellect and energy into poor choices. She was smart enough to do what ever she wanted in life, but lacked self-confidence and always chose to hang out with kids who were her not nearly as smart as she was. She is now a 30-something, unemployed addict who has fried way too many brain cells.

[Anonymous]

"She is now a 30-something, unemployed addict who has fried way too many brain cells. "


Must be much, much harder to parent this kid now.

[Anonymous]

My son seems bright but I have no idea what his IQ is. He read very early and pretty much taught himself. He is an only child and he often pushes and tests the limits. He loves verbal sparring with any adult. He is a lot like my brother who had a high IQ. My son isn't easy to parent but I am used to it so I wouldn't say he is hard either. Is being a limit tester a quality that first born kids have?

[Anonymous]

If you're questioning whether you can tell a child at 1 is bright, you obviously haven't seen a bright child at 1. It's pretty obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're questioning whether you can tell a child at 1 is bright, you obviously haven't seen a bright child at 1. It's pretty obvious.

Ha, ha, HA, HA, HA!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you're questioning whether you can tell a child at 1 is bright, you obviously haven't seen a bright child at 1. It's pretty obvious.

LOL!

[Anonymous]

If you're questioning whether you can tell a child at 1 is bright, you obviously haven't seen a bright child at 1. It's pretty obvious.

I agree. It can be obvious. The tell-tale signs aren't "high-maintenance," has to be chased a lot, and won't sit down to play with a toy, though. Ha.

[Anonymous]

Ask the Duggar baby-machine.

[Anonymous]

f you have a truly exceptionally smart kid -- say, IQ in the 140's or above -- that kid probably will have intellectual abilities that are WAY out of sync with his/her emotional abilities. The kid may have a really hard time finding peers who will accept him or her and that he/she can relate to. High-IQ children often also have elevated levels of anxiety.

Yes, yes, and yes.

We are grappling with the anxiety right now. My child has a very difficult time relating to his peers, and they do not seem to like him very much. His social skills, ie, the 'emotional abilities' from above, are not too great. The rejection by most of the kids at school makes him understandably anxious, and he's just about given up on having friends. It kills me to write this.

You know who he relates to? Teenagers with a penchant for math and engineering. But it's an unrequited love because they are 16 and he is 8.