Five kids. One average, two below average with some some learning disabilities, one very gifted and one average

My kids are both advanced, but in different ways.

One has a spectacular memory, such that she's quickly picked up a second language despite us only speaking English at home. She's 5 yo and learned by watching cartoons in Spanish. She's taught herself to read in Spanish too and can recite from memory long passages from books in Spanish. Her conversation skills are still emerging, but it's impressive how much she's taught herself in a few months.

The other excels at solving problems and strategy games. She was beating adults at Settlers of Catan as a 5 yo and loves Suduko, math and games like Mastermind and Labrynth.

They clearly have different strengths. I don't expect either to graduate from high school at 12 yo or anything, but they're both really smart kids.

I don’t know. Ask your gifted kid to answer that question.

My kids is more gifted than yours.

Three kids. One gifted, one average, one with learning disabilities. Parenting has nothing to do with it. They were all parented the same.

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

I have 3 very bright children. They have two very bright parents.

Nope. One below average kid, one above average kid. We meet their needs at their levels. Both wonderful children that we adore.

Anonymous wrote:A friend once told me studies show children are normally very close in IQ, but that is not my personal experience. One very gifted child (in MCPS magnet programs straight through) and one academically average child who is socially precocious. Could not be more different!

ITA.. my two kids are so different. Different strengths. Like the other PP, the highly gifted one may be smart, but my "above average" one has a higher EQ and is way more creative and artsy, and empathetic.

One is "gifted", the other is "above average".

I will say that the older "gifted" one got more reading time with us than the younger one, but I think the older gifted DC also just liked to read more, period.

They are very different, and I think it's part nature, part nurture.

One of my kids is quite gifted, especially in math/science. The other has a completely average IQ. The gifted one is not nearly as adept socially while the non-gifted one clearly has a career in some sort of caring area -- teaching, therapy, social work. They're both older teenagers so it's very clear what each path will be. They will be equally successful in their own ways because although their IQ's are 45 points apart, they each have very strong talents.

The one with the lower IQ definitely benefits from the fact that they have had a very strong education and hangs around with very educated people. We discuss pretty sophisticated topics around the dinner table and they have been exposed to a lot of museums, music, travel, etc. So I think the level of achievement has been higher than "should' have been because of this.

The IQ is thought to be due to a loss of oxygen during an emergency C-section. There were many delays and years of therapies of various types. I have no worries about their future potential now, but I did during those years.

I find the topic very interesting as we are 2 high-achieving parents educationally and it's kind of weird to have a kid who isn't and on the other hand I'm so impressed with the other skills that I really don't care about that with this kid.

A friend once told me studies show children are normally very close in IQ, but that is not my personal experience. One very gifted child (in MCPS magnet programs straight through) and one academically average child who is socially precocious. Could not be more different!

Good question. Both my kids were accepted into the CES(gifted) program in mcps. I did know a lot of families whose siblings have gotten in. I think genetics has more to do with it than nurture. Me and my spouse both were in gifted programs as kids and went to a "good" college where we met, so I think genetics were on their side. Sure we read to them a ton, but I still vote nature over nurture.

Anonymous wrote:Are your other children also? Just curious how often all all the kids of a family are advanced or if it is usually individual talent vs parenting

Every parent on here will post that their kid is.

Are your other children also? Just curious how often all all the kids of a family are advanced or if it is usually individual talent vs parenting