To HATE Child Genius?

[ThePlatypusAlwaysTriumphs]

DH and dd are watching and I can't stand it. All those poor kids, crying from the pressure their egomaniac parents have put them under. IT DOESN'T MATTER!! Surely you can be proud of your lovely smart kids without pimping them out to tv. Makes me raging and sad in equal measure.

That is what it is. Different to Emotional Intelligence, which test how people react emotionally to situations. You can have an high IQ and low EI, and vice versa.

The opinions expressed in this thread are real life! I was real last time I checked.

It is fine for you to enjoy the programme and think the children are amazing, I don't think anyone would disagree that the children are all very bright and deserving of celebration for their achievements. Competition is not a bad thing in and of itself.

BUT this is a TV quiz show. It is also reality TV. In my opinion it makes the process less credible, adds a layer of unnecessary drama and a requirement for continual cliff Hangers and added pressure that would not be present in a non televised event. TV cameras change the way people behave.

you can have an IQ and have a low EI

You can have a high working memory and low IQ, as well. You can have high processing and low IQ. You can have a high IQ and low working memory. Your inference that "mental intelligence" equates to high working memory simply isn't true.

Is it really a quiz show? It differs from any other quiz show I have ever seen in that we, the audience, don't actually hear many of the questions, we just hear the children's answers, whilst having to listen to the constant inane commentary that seems to treat us as if we are terminally dim! Definitely reality TV more than quiz show.

With regard to cognitive assessments the WISC-V is probably the gold standard assessment for children over 6 years. The Working Memory Index is 1/5 of the total
assessment, and is less heavily weighted than Verbal Comprehension or Fluid Reasoning when determining the overall "mental intelligence" (lol)

Agreed it is a sort of quiz show but not one you are expected to play along with really. The reality element is more substantial.

I just think it is a poor decider of intellect, more a sort of guiness book of records attempt, televised. I don't begrudge the kids their title of child genius.

Yes if a child was correctly using some of those words they spelled in every day conversation, if they could relay how Edward Jenner s discoveries helped mankind at an advanced level. If they could answer a wide range of questions that they hadn't already been given, if they could speak several languages fluentl. I would say genius. Think the pudding was slightly over egged They are very very bright children though and have worked hard to try to win the trophy and probably learned a lot of life lessons along the way.

You could tell those spellings had just been pre memorised as Rahul kept pressing the buzzer before Richard had even finished saying the word, he just knew what word it was.

This is the first time I have ever watched Child Genius and i was actually a bit disappointed because, apart from the mental arithmetic, it is basically a memory test. Those kids don't have that amazing general knowledge, they have just learnt facts for a test. And lots of them couldn't actually apply the good mental arithmetic they did have to anything meaningful.

I did like Rahul though

Yes if a child was correctly using some of those words they spelled in every day conversation, if they could relay how Edward Jenner s discoveries helped mankind at an advanced level. If they could answer a wide range of questions that they hadn't already been given, if they could speak several languages fluentl. I would say genius

In a nutshell.

@Uokbing - although I do agree. I think you'll fine Rahul was going to press that button no matter what the word was and give it a go and Richard finished the word even after he had pressed the button.

Not a place where you'd normally expect to find a discussion of Child Genius, but Richard Osman was the teatime guest on Test Match Special yesterday, and he had some interesting things to say about what happens away from the cameras and about the children.

View from the Boundary : Richard Osman It's towards the end of the broadcast, maybe 25 minutes in.

I lost respect for Richard Osman because of that interview. Proves what a media whore he's become.

Rahul's father took the trophy from him and held it up himself.
Says everything to me.

I thought the whole way they were measuring intelligence was a complete farce and was mostly memory skills. I've actually taken the mensa tests and I don't recall any "memory" questions

It is very sad that we seem to be evolving in a society where stress is considered all evil to be avoided at all costs. This is why there are so many kids and young adults who have no resilience whatsover and can't cope with the most normal tasks.

Stress is part of life. Sometimes it makes you feel bad, but sometimes it takes you to successes that make you feel fantastic.

this.

I'd love to know how the final 20 are selected. They showed a huge hall of children sitting down to an exam paper, but presumably they don't just take the top scorers and that's it? Do they do interviews of the children and parents - cynical me says do they interview to decide who would make the best telly? I find it improbable (though of course not impossible) that in the top 20 there happened to be two sets of siblings, out of all the hundreds of applicants. Were they just picked because the sibling rivalry was entertaining? In which case isn't it even less likely to really find the cleverest child, as there may have been much cleverer children who weren't picked despite excellent scores?

I can't help but watch the show every year though :o

Stress is part of life of course, ridiculous tv quiz show induced dramatic tension is not.

There is room in the world for people who thrive on stress and competition and those who are actively harmed by it. Those that do not thrive on stress are not lesser, they have valuable skills, and are useful members of society. An adult can make an informed decision about the amount of stress they can handle, children need support to find their level.

I also found Rahuls dad picking up the trophy very telling. A large part of the premise of the show is the "extraordinary parenting" that creates these genius children, I object to that premise, it should be about the children's achievements.

although I do agree. I think you'll fine Rahul was going to press that button no matter what the word was and give it a go and Richard finished the word even after he had pressed the button.

Did he finish the word? I could never hear what the word was? Anyway, still fairly obvious they are pre learnt. A child could never have the contextual knowledge to just spell those words off the bat whilst not knowing the answer to some of the really simple science questions. Still, some amazing memories on there!

I also agree with the side point that we are doing a great disservice to our kids by not letting them be disappointed or cross with their own performance, how will they build any resilience or improve this way? I know prime time telly doesn't have to be the place for this though!

Cagliostro

walltowall.co.uk/childgeniusapplicationselection.aspx

The selection process is quite an eye opener.

*Strange Rahul
*
He's just a kid 😕 it's his father's fault.

Wow thanks serena (clearly the fact I didn't think to look for the criteria online indicates my lack of genius) that is indeed eye opening!

I don't think you should post derogatory comments about a named child on
Here .it us not in keeping with the spirit of a parenting website