To think children who are bad sleepers are clearly much more intelligent than dream sleepers?

[Picante]

Ok slightly inflammatory thread title... I wonder if you can guess what kind of sleepers my children are?!

Any truth in this?

Me thinks I will get YABU's from parents of good sleepers, and YANBU's from parents of bad sleepers!

Oh God, let this be true..there has got to be SOME fucking compensation for over 2 years with barely a handful of undisturbed nights.

2 dc, 4 years without a proper night's sleep. They'd BETTER be blooming gifted. No signs of excessive cleverness yet though.

My big sister told me this when Ds was tiny and I loved her for it. Always made me slightly less desperate...

here?

Bloody hell...whatever next...and I suppose juvenile delinquents are actually just frustrated highly gifted intellectuals...Sounds like the typical friendly garbage expounded by HVs...Actually mine are (fingers crossed) generally contented sleepers on the whole ...and thank goodness....! But I can see why it would be a good thing to cling on to.

Tosh.

I think that myth comes from the fact that some research into those child prodigy types (you know, the ones who study Advanced Maths at Cambridge when they are 8 yrs old) once showed that they slept much less than other children in their age group

I have a poor sleeper and a great sleeper and they are both geniuses, obv

Based on a sample size of 2

DS was horrendous sleeper for first 8 weeks. Then turned into great sleeper. Appears to be pretty intelligent.

DD was much better at first than DS. Unfortunately stayed at newborn sleep levels at night until nearly 2. Daytime sleep never great ever. Got better by about 2.5-3. Now 4 and also appears to be pretty intelligent.

I think there is something in it. I think quick minds = fitful sleep.

I think my DTs are pretty bright but nothing special. Both are excellent sleepers. On my PN thread the absolute worst sleeper (5am starts on a good day) is by far the quickest developmentally.

Maybe its cos they are awake more so they have more time to learn.

My sister was a terrible sleeper and she was by far the brightest out of all four sisters, did everything really quick. It didn't really transfer to when she was older, though. She was really clever but not a genius or anything.

All mine have been excellent sleepers (like their dad!) and we have a wide range of intellects ..some wayyyy above average, a bit above average, average, below average etc...i don't think sleep has anything to do with it.

Just because gifted children are bad sleepers, it doesn't necessarily follow that bad sleepers are gifted.

They bloody better be bright cos I'm knckered. But tbh my sane side tells me it's all boll*s. Genetics me thinks. My siblings and I were appallingly sleepers. I have 2 appalling sleepers, my sisters kids: bad sleepers. I have read somewhere that only 16% of babies sleep "well", whatever that is. So maybe we're all just normal. Sorry rambling post, v tired.....

Here are a few links saying gifted children need less sleep

www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/adhd_and_gifted.html
giftedkids.about.com/od/5/f/less_sleep.htm
en.allexperts.com/q/Gifted-Children-3267/Sleep-gifted-kids.htm
www.sengifted.org/articles_counseling/Webb_MisdiagnosisAndDualDiagnosisOfGiftedChildren.shtml
www.giftedchildren.org.nz/national/article3.php