What can your children do easily that you really struggled to learn yourself?

[ContessaferJones]

I thought this might be an interesting idea for a thread

DS1 is f*ing ASTONISHING at negotiation. He is almost 9 but has been developing these skills since the age of.... well, since he began to talk in sentences. He has just come in and asked for an extra 10 minutes of video game time, which he then graciously agreed to drop to 5 min. I thought we'd held a good parental line until I realised that the extra 5 minutes was his aim all along it would NEVER have occurred to me to do this at his age. I'd have said 'Can I have an extra 5 min' and stropped over the inevitable no! There are many other examples but this is the one that has just happened.

Please regale me with tales from your households (yes, I'm bored).

Bump

My dd5 can write really well whereas I really really struggled to write asa child (was still having letter formation help at 12). My oldest dd is much more like me so I sit and marvel at her perfectly formed little gs and es. Totally commonplace but like a little miracle to me

My DC are quite good at learning foreign languages, I'm hopeless!

My daughter is sensible and makes considered decisions.

I have no idea where she gets that from as it's definitely not from her dad, either!

Ditto AmyFl DS is trilingual, i can barely get by in a second language. I'll be embarassing him in his teens!

He's got a very logical brain, good mental maths skills like his dad. Another area i'm hopeless in.

Crochet!!

Maths. 6 yo dd loves maths at school and while we've been doing it at home during lock down it's obvious she can spot patterns and work out problems in her head. I always struggled with maths.

Whistle

Pretty much everything academic. I was diagnosed as being mildly dyslexic in 80s when I was at secondary school. I suspect if I was assessed now I’d be given an overlapping diagnosis of dyslexia, discalcula and disprayxia. I was alway being told I was clever but lazy and needed to try harder, I couldn’t explain to anyone that I found learning, especially retention of information and organisation, exceptionally hard. DDs journey through school, she’s y7 now, has been a revelation to me of how it’s meant to be as opposed to my experience. I marvel at how easily she picks things up, retains that information and builds on it. Education for her isn’t a miserable, banging your head against the wall experience.

Like the OP's DS, DS can charm the birds from the trees if he puts his mind to it.
He is also naturally gifted at music and taught himself to read music independently (while never actually being able to explain how he does it) - I never progressed past "please pudding hot" on the recorder

Anything like yoga/aerobics/dance/gym. I always stand at the back as I get my left and rights all wrong but if she sees a dance once she just nails it- she’s 4!

DD1 can just run.

I'm doing C25K at the moment and whilst I'm puffing and panting, and running at plodders pace, DD1 is chatting away the whole time, running ahead, coming back, picking up twigs, feathers etc to show me. She's 10.

Writing on their phones at speed with two thumbs. I simply can't do it...and continue to "mum text" ( as they call it) by tapping with my index finger...slowly.

Maths

Skateboard, follow directions or remember directions from one visit to a place to another, find easier ways of doing maths problems than just writing out the calculation (this has more to do with modern tech if than him though I think).

Enjoys school (I hated it)

Chooses and filters what information to give

High self esteem (really, really, really proud of her for that one!)

Maths. DS left me behind in primary school.

He just gets it.

Oh yes, DS1 is astonishingly physically capable as well. Early walker, does acrobatic feats like they're nothing, great thrower/catcher etc. I'm really not!.

DS2 OTOH is more like Me 2.0 (poor lad)

Roller skating! I was hopeless. Ditto iceskating.

JUMP ON A POGO STICK!
How?!

Ds just picked up music sitting next to a lady at band, she taught him to read music and play Baritone literally by watching her. He's picked up drums watching a friend and is trying piano and guitar during lockdown. I'm insanely jealous as would love to play something but am completely incompetent at reading music. He also swims and is a natural breaststroker where as I was a backstroker who didn't have the coordination for breaststroke! I think his brain is wired differently as I love to read but have to battle to get him to read at all.

DD is really physically coordinated and extremely sporty. Great at athletics, football, netball etc. I was the kid who tripped over my own feet and by the end of an entire summer term of tennis at school still couldn’t even hit the ball with my racket.

DS is a tech wizard. My tech trouble shooting abilities stop at turning it off and back on again.

She has an amazing sense of direction, whereas I have none. When we were holidaying in one of the old villages in Spain, I thought we were lost, but no, she knew the way, she took me by the hand, we only turned 3 corners and we were home! She was 5 years old at the time!!

I've just realised another one, coping with spiders! They actually like them!

My oldest DC is really good at making nice food last, wheras I just scarf it all down. Eg she's still got easter eggs left, she has a tiny piece a day and is happy.

Both of them are maths whizzes, I have no idea where they got this from as I'm awful. I'm learning along with my 9 year old from the home learning tasks (and she's better than me!)