Jesus Christ this mother on Child Genius, AIBU to think it's so ironic?

[MamaPain]

Putting aside the fact she has in all seriousness pointed out how she is far more intelligent than her daughter who can only operate in an intelligent manner due to her parenting.

Is it just me who thinks it extremely a tad ironic that she is a psychologist, yet seems to lack the insight or understanding as to how her comments may affect her child or appear to others. Also surely being so informed and intelligent, she knows that yes you can parent without a detail understanding of neurolinguistic programming?

[tenderbuttons]

I don't know the technical questions, but I do know that IQ scoring has been altered over the last 20 or so years. While the old high was 200, the new high is 160, so I suspect that Shosana is not measuring like against like when she says hers is 175.

And I think I do know how Jocelyn entered herself - or at least asked to be entered - as the makers of the programme had a stall at a weekend event for gifted children which I think was utterly wrong of the organisation involved. So it would only involve some basic curiosity.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Thanks, pointy.

I think it's perfectly fine to be excited if you/your child does really well ... it's just mind-boggling to think of someone treating it like this.

[tenderbuttons]

And yes, icimoi I agree. Every time they say 'the brightest children in Britain' I shout at the tv, 'No, the brightest children whose parents were insane enough to let them enter. That's NOT THE SAME.'

[ouryve]

I did join Mensa, for a year, way back in 1986. At that point, there was a special sub-club for the highest something like 0.1%, which was a score of 178. When they tested me, they used the standard stanford-binet scale booklet (the type they also gave out to test yourself at home) plus a quick fire test based largely around pattern recognition called something like Vanity Fair. I scored very highly on that one and I think that DS1 would, too. He wouldn't do so well on the S-B tests, as they're so heavily language dependent and he still retains some higher level language disorder (he has ASD)

[Hakluyt]

Well,ni obviously have a very low IQ because I just wasted 30 minutes of my life doing what I thought was a free SB test online only to be told when I got to the end that my results were available once I sent them 19.95!

[2rebecca]

I thought he was Aliyah's stepfather not her father and the mother was on about her 4th husband from the stuff about her on the telly addict thread.
I didn't think the mother came across as intelligent at all. She was completely uncritical of all the alternative stuff she espoused and seemed quite gullible. If I told my teenagers they had to regularly drink weird juice to be more brainy they'd want to see the evidence. The mother seemed as though she belonged in a cult where you go along with the leader without engaging your brain and looking at the evidence.
Most self made millionaires like Phillip Green etc aren't particularly intelligent and couldn't be arsed memorising the tube map. They are successful because they understand people and money markets and are prepared to work hard and build up contacts.

[ChazsBrilliantAttitude]

ouryve
I think the the pattern recognition was Culture Fair (or similiar) as its intention was to iron out some of the cultural bias that can creep into the more wordy tests (yet another problem with IQ tests).

[TeWiSavesTheDay]

I used to score (fairly) highly at iq tests because I am good at certain types of pattern recognition. But I am also dyslexic - I can't memorize a phone number or spelling very easily at all unless there is a pattern to it.

I really don't think I am any smarter than other people who are good at different kinds of intelligence!

It's annoying because my mum has a big thing about my 'wasted potential'. I hope the kids on the show never feel like they have to live up to their parents expectations - only their own.

Possibly that's why I liked Jocelyn's parents so much.

[silveroldie2]

The whole thing was awful. Yes to child abuse by some of the parents - Shosana was particularly awful - that poor little girl.

I won't be watching future episodes.

[sillystring]

I thought doing well in IQ tests just meant you were "good at IQ tests".

[SweetSummerSweetPea]

I really think most of this programme comes out as child abuse

I agree I was horrified and disgusted. I felt suffocated when Alisyahs mother was so close to them on the sofa , her chair was pulled up and the poor child was just so brow beaten and the horrfying way she had to apologise for normal child angst at all this work.

I really do think thats mad control, its like the child is in north korea, i was digusted...can anyone do anything about it?

[notallthatitseems]

Shocking! Remember the awful stories about aliyah mother have been written by aliyah ' s mother. Considering her terrible abuse she is very close to her father? Having read her story, i expect she would call this forgiveness??? Also aliyah ' s father is not her biological father. He is her stepfather. How can this kind of parenting be condoned?

[DiaDuit]

What is the problem with him being her stepfather?

[Aeroflotgirl]

The Alaiahs parents were horrid, and the mother is a Psychologist, she is a disgrace to the profession, she should know better. The parents will reap what they sow. That little girl and the others will probably burn out in a few years, and rebel.

Tudors parents especially the dad, were disgusting. Instead of wrapping their arms around him, and telling him how proud they are of him, dad said that he could have done better . The little girl, whose parents homeschooled seemed to have exactly the right idea. The girl was happy and enjoying her childhood, just as it should be.

[Aeroflotgirl]

Its boardering on emotional abuse some of these parents behaviours

[fuzzpig]

Just watched this.

One thing that really stood out was Curtis' grandma. Did you see her expression as he was struggling in both rounds?! She had a face like a slapped arse. Contempt, it felt like. Dread to think what she would've been like if his score hadn't been enough to get him through.

Unfortunately the DM link above didn't work, does anyone know where I can read it? Googling didn't bring anything up so I wonder if it was deleted?

What I also really want to know is how they selected the final 20 from what must have been hundreds of applicants.

Off to read the other even bigger thread now.

[Lesleythegiraffe]

I watched most of this open-mouthed and feeling sorry for the children. Curtis dressed up like a mini male model in that ridiculous white suit and shoes, Aliyah with her "regime" (the bit where she had to do chin-ups almost had me shouting at the telly) and Rubaiyat's attempts at what he thought was social conversation with another boy - poor kids.

Aliyah's mother's claim along the lines of, "I just don't know how people without our levels of professional expertise can parent at all" shows just how far removed from the real world people like this are.

To be honest, I found it heartbreaking at times - I just wanted to take these children away from that world. If this is what it takes to be a genius, I'm glad my kids are idiots (who are both at uni) compared to this.

[notallthatitseems]

If you believe the articles she has written herself about herself? I'm confused as she is very close to her father whom she claimed abused her?