How do you make sure your bright child continues to do well?

[Marne]

Just had dd1's parents evening and was told she is top of the class, she's just started year 5 and is working at a level 5a in literacy, reading and maths, her teacher is really pleased with her and her progress. I am worried that as she gets older this may all change, at the moment she enjoys learning ( she's like a sponge ) and will even spend her weekends doing maths on the PC or researching history.

Will she stay interested?

Retired TA here -

If she is well supported at home, doesn't have any emotional worries, or trauma to cope with, then I don't see any reason why she should change.

Our DS went through school OK, did well at grammar school, good university degree in Computer Science, and good jobs in IT. Now aged 30, he wants a new challenge, so has gone to another university to do a Master's degree in Meteorology.

I guess boys are 'easier' than girls, as teenage years for girls have various pressures, and modern society isn't very savory sometimes.

Does she have good hobbies or extra curricular activities? Drama, dance, music, sports, community support, etc are all good to keep an intelligent young person stimulated, and (hopefully) on the right track. There is a lot of 'peer pressure' of course, that some kids find hard to resist, but with a stable, loving home and frank and open discussion of possible temptations or problems, then I hope she will continue to do well.

She sounds fab OP! Just carry on encouraging her and there is no reason why she shouldn't excel.

My top tips for bright children:
Always focus on/praise the process, not the result.
(At school bright children are rarely stretched, so they may not naturally develop the skills of concentration and perseverance.)
Find something that requires hard work: musical instrument lessons are great.
From time to time find safe opportunities for her to be challenged to the point of failure, so that she learns it's ok to fail sometimes.

Dd1 has Aspergers but her teacher thinks she is coping well socially ( although at times she does prefer her own company a little too much ), she doesn't have a lot of hobbies, she likes playing piano/ keyboard but doesn't do much sport as she has mild mobility issues ( she has physio for this ), I will look into drama as that might be something she likes, we live in the middle of nowhere so it's hard to find things near by for her to do other than sport.