Who are the clever kids in your class?

29 replies

tobejudged · 15/04/2026 22:55

AIBU to find this an unhelpful thing to ask a reception age kid?

My mum is quite judgmental so perhaps I’m being over sensitive but to me it’s encouraging him to pass judgement on his classmates and also letting him know other people are probably judging him.

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hiredandsqueak · 17/04/2026 18:54

Grandson 6 knows which table is the clever one and which one is the naughty table. Much like my kids knew the monkeys were the clever group and the snakes were the least able. I haven't asked Grandson and didn't ask my kids either but they mentioned it as a matter of fact.

EatingHealthy · 18/04/2026 08:45

TakeALookAtTheseSwatches · 15/04/2026 23:03

I knew who the clever kids were in Reception, when I started it was still 3 intakes so as a summer born I started after Easter. All the cleverest kids were on the blue table, all the new starters were put on the red table which was the least clever: and everyone knew it.

No it's really not helpful of your mum to be asking this!

That's not about who's clever at all, that's just who's been in school the longest and therefore already been taught certain things. That's like saying the year 6 kids are cleverer than the year 3 kids.

Original poster

tobejudged · 23/04/2026 09:43

ColdWaterDipper · 17/04/2026 18:32

How did your son answer? My boys certainly knew who else was clever in their (tiny) reception classes, who was best at reading, music, sport, solving problems etc. TBH we found it tended to be the same handful of children for most things and a lot depended on their age. My eldest was the youngest in his class and whilst pretty clever, he wasn’t the fastest runner or the best at sports then as he was small and almost a year younger than his friends. My youngest on the other hand was just as clever but also had the advantage of being the second oldest in his class and so was taller, stronger and faster than everyone else.

The kids all know, but I don’t think any of them judge, I think it’s just like us when if we have a friend who is better at a sport or a hobby than us, we are pleased for them. Reception children also know who is the kindest, who shares the best, who is really helpful etc.

Sorry I didn't come back sooner but he said "Me and Eddie" (his best mate) 😂I think our DS is doing fine but I happen to know that his friend has a lot of behavioural issues and struggles to concentrate so whilst he may be intelligent, I suspect he is not doing super well in class... FWIW he also says that he and Eddie are the fastest runners too so he is obviously not having a crisis of confidence 😂

I think you're probably right that kids are more 'matter of fact' about these things than adults.

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Original poster

tobejudged · 23/04/2026 09:47

ConflictofInterest · 17/04/2026 18:45

I don't think it's inherently a bad or judgemental question, depending on the tone or how she responds to the answer. I like to ask my kids questions like this as I get better responses than the general "so what did you do at school today"-"I don't know/can't remember". I tend to ask things like that and what was the worst thing that happened today, what amazing thing happened, what did you eat for pudding, which teacher is the loudest, which kid is the naughtiest, who is best at skipping etc., it lets you hear the more colourful side of school. My youngest has SEN so I have also sounded out which kids she does 'special extra jobs' with and how they group them up so I can figure out who is likely to be a good playdate for her as the teachers obviously don't share this info. Asking who is clever is a nicer way round than who isn't and my DD at least enjoys telling me about who writes the fastest, who can count backwards from a hundred, who can run the fastest etc, kids don't see it as a negative at that age.

"so what did you do at school today"-"I don't know/can't remember".

OMG tell me about it - it's like getting blood from a stone asking him about his day 😂

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