To think everyone's children can't be "very bright"

[DrinkFromMyFountain]

Because a good 80% or posters/people in RL seem to refer to their kids as "very bright", surely 80% of kids can't be above average?

As the proud mother of a three month old I'm not fussed if my DS is "bright" or not, if he isn't academic I'm sure he will have other talents!

I hereby declare I shan't constantly boast about how bright he is unless he is a full in genius . As my mother always said, there is nothing wrong with being average.

What does bright actually mean though?

I've never met a child who is not bright.

According to their teachers my DC are performing 'at expected level', although I know for a FACT that they are very, very clever indeed. They are also both the cutest kids in their class by a country mile.

My children are so bright that everyone around them has to wear sunglasses so they are not blinded by their brightness

Statistically, the biggest determining factor in a child's educational achievement is the mother's.

MN is a highly educated group. Ergo, their DC are statistically more likely to have bright DC.

The second biggest factor is wealth.

MN is a reasonably wealthy group...

Mine are bright, but I believe bright or not everyone is good at something. DH is not the brightest button in the tin (he will admit it), if I say to him "I fancy x piece of furniture, can you do it?" He will be off with his note pad and have it sorted in no time.

I was quite good at school, not the brightest, nothing like my kids, but I can make a fantastic chocolate fudge cake and knit some pretty good baby clothes. I have embroidered some fine samplers too.

Academia isn't everything.

I think that most children are "bright". To me, "bright"ness is not so much about how clever they are but about how alert, engaged, wondering and curious they are about the world around them. Actually, most young children are bright in this sense - it is how they learn and grow.

I am constantly amazed by how much better my kids are than anyone elses.

It's more the fact that they 'need to be stretched' that gives me a funny picture- or that the teacher won't be able to cope- as if they never come across bright children!

I wonder how many of the bright children are considered bright by their teachers?

I thought I was bright, then my dad tidied his attic and gave me my old school reports.....not so bright apparently....

Then there are the teachers who think you should be surprised when three of them in 30 mins say 'she is really very bright' - hmm I live with her she has been arguing like a QC since she was three.

I would describe bright as being able to learn new things quickly.

Which children do by definition. As their whizzy bang bang neuro thingamies are still growing or joining or whatever.

My children are so bright, that the sun shines out of their little chubby bums. Nappy changing time for my 1 year old is particularly difficult.

Mine are!!

Well, DD1 I thought was clever, but not clever enough to learn from my mistakes. Where I went got married at 18 and did not study and am now finally getting round to doing a degree at 46, she has given up on education and has moved in with her BF. She will hopefully learn education can be done again later!

DD2 is not so good on paper (she is the youngest in yr4 though and that makes a bit of a difference), but doesn't miss anything going on in the world around her!

DS seems bright and is ahead BUT he is the oldest in his year and in year 2, so I know that makes a massive difference at his age. He has his head in the clouds most of the time though, so hides any cleverness well!

As long as they are happy..................................

I reckon that all kids shine in different areas but it also depends on the environment they find themselves in. At home my DS talks constantly, never stops for breath (can't imagine where he gets it from!). Just had his first week at big school and I bet he didn't say 5 words! School may think he's a bit timid etc. Wait til next week - full force!

DD is...an individual. Good at the things I'm not, like music, making friends, maths.

Also inherited DW's lovely feet, which means she won't have my orthopaedic problems.

I've never heard anyone IRL refer to their own DC as "very bright".

Ah, it’s not that my kid is brightest at everything, it’s just that the things my kid is brightest at just happen to be the most important things in the world. The things that other people’s kids are brightest at just aren’t as important. Obviously.

YANBU

Mine are though, seriously at 4 my dd1 has been told she'll definitely get a scholarship to the best schools because of how forward she is, by an actual teacher her aunt so it's a fact.

Yanbu.

My daughter is the smartest brightest girl I've ever come across. Her IQ was tested as part of her AS investigation. Everyone was astounded at how high she scored. Although considering her Dad is a rocket scientist type it shouldn't have been quite so unexpected. Unfortunately she's bone idle so it's completely wasted on her.

A parenting website.

I've joined a PARENTING website.

I always thought of it as an antidote to parenting.

I don't think there is anything wrong in parents thinkkg their child is very bright.

My parents thought I was, and I was indeed in comparison with my peers until around 15 then lots caught up with me. Is the way things go.

The only friend I know who goes on about it is one whose daughter contracted meningitis before she was 2 years old. I think in the main it's a relief reflex that she has fully recovered with not ill affects (now 6/7). I don't begrudge him it.