If you had an ‘academically’ bright preschooler, did they continue to be smart as they got older or does everyone catch up in the end and they are just regular for their age? Just wondering.

[luckycat888]

Stupid question really but basically wondering if being (somewhat) advanced now (I think) is an indication of being smart when they are older. DC very normal socially and is confident, gets in with others, happy to participate etc so no worries there.

A lot of children who start very strong and then find academic work increasingly challenging could have poor working memory. This isn't such a problem when e.g. learning to read and they are able to capitalise on their other skills, but as tasks become more complex and require the management of large amounts of information it becomes more difficult for them. This is what happened with my DD1 - we were told the gap between her and her peers would widen as WM became more important, and that's exactly what happened. It's often a symptom of ND, but by no means always.

NC for this at risk of being a humblebrag. I was one of those academically gifted preschoolers and yes, it did extend through for the rest of my life. Looking back I had obvious undiagnosed ADHD (possibly ASD) but it was below the threshold of needing medication and I still cope reasonably well without. During school I got high marks in all subjects including maths, language, science, sports and art. From my own perspective I just didn't find learning difficult. Whatever was explained in a subject I found it easy to understand and remember.

I did struggle a bit with MH through my teens and 20s, with the hardest crash being adjusting to motherhood because it was so relentless and not "predictable" like academic work. However I built a successful business after university and earned a lot of money. Met a partner who is also ND but highly successful in his own field and I feel my life turned out fairly well. We struggle with everyday life admin and our house is always somewhat disorganised and messy but we have a big social circle, lots of friends and no financial worries.

Ds1 was bright when little (my opinion, not officially tested). He could pull off plug socket covers aged 8 months and was doing 70 piece jigsaws independently aged 2. He got 7-9's in his gcse's and AAA in his a levels.

Ds3 was part of a research study from aged about 9 months to 4 years to try and find out if going to the children's centre regularly improved the lives of the families. So he had his intelligence, happiness, social skills etc tested on numerous occasions and I was told he was bright. He hasn't done any GCSE 's yet but I would say he is still bright. He has adhd though so struggles to concentrate.

All my dc were read to, helped with homework when needed, encouraged etc although we didn't pay for tutors or anything like that.

There's a reason the "former gifted child" trope pops up so much in autism groups on social media 😬. I could read fluently by 3 or 4, moved up a year in school, was too clever to see the point of working, got a 2:2 at a bog standard University, have basically been a vaguely contented arty dropout for most of my life.

DS2 is basically a mini me. Could read fluently by the age of 4, constantly has his nose in a book, recently completed an old SATs paper lying around in the Y6 classroom for fun and got full marks (he's Y5), teachers amazed by his intelligence etc.

I was diagnosed autistic a few years ago, he's awaiting an assessment.

I just hope with more knowledge of what makes him tick, it'll be easier to help him utilise his strengths and acknowledge his weaknesses and he'll do better than I did in life.

I’m not sure the OP is talking about a ‘gifted’ child though, just one who is showing early academic promise.
Neither of my DDs were early talkers, or walkers or anything like that, however from an early age they showed an aptitude and keenness for learning. That has continued throughout their childhoods and they are still very academically able (and hard working). They’re not ‘gifted’ though.

Using the word "gifted" isn't really appropriate nor relevant. This thread is about "smart" kids. There's a World of difference. Someone like Einstein was "gifted". Someone, like our DS, who got a First degree in Maths was just "smart" - he's certainly not gifted. He doesn't really have any interest in academic matters - he's just a "plodder" who went through school doing what he was told, i.e. homework, revising for tests etc., with nothing "extra" at all, and got a full suite of 8/9 at GCSE and A* at A level. He'd never "read" for fun during secondary school, never "go the extra mile", never really show any extra interest in any subject beyond the syllabus. He regarded it as a means to an end, which in his case was a good professional career! We're both the same, both professionals with masters equivalent qualifications, but neither of us were particularly interested in education/academic pursuits - we did what we had to do to pass the exams, nothing more nothing less. Certainly not "gifted". A "gifted" child really is a genius who goes above and beyond - completely different.

Mine talked first, walked first, read 1st and had a reading ageof 18 at age 9 apparently.She is still super bright and has an offer from Cambridge- to learn a self taught language / history. Her knowledge is incredible. She is also autistic though which I think explains the smarts more than the early development.Her sister was also seen as super smart at pre school/primary and is the same as the rest of her mates now but more socially capable than her sister.

My 15yo DS was an exceptionally bright baby/toddler and outstripped his classmates academically all the way through school. Then he hit his teens and while he's still very bright, he's also a lazy so-and-so and he no longer stands out. He's top set for every subject but gets very average marks because he puts in no effort whatsoever. He now has classmates who are just as clever as him but work harder and it shows.

That's interesting, because until recently I gather that most British primary (and secondary?) schools had some kind of "gifted and talented" provision. Does that mean that each school had tens of kids on the level of Einstein? 🤔

This thread is also about signs of intelligence at preschool level- was your son really an "academic plodder" at that age?!

I thought my eldest was gifted, she was incredibly bright at 2/3.

shes 11 and she’s still very able but I would say there’s been a lot of catching up from peers too.

Yes. DS1 was noticeably bright from a very young age, played in a logical way, had zero imagination. Went through school also top at Maths, left school with top grades and is now at Uni studying business economics

Yes it’s about 5 per cent statistically which is at least one or two in most year groups, quite a few in a school. But intelligence is a continuum in any case.

My youngest son is very intelligent. He was put up a year in primary school, l thought having his elder brother helped, he was in all the top sets. I never really had to do much with him academically he picked things up so easily.
However in secondary school things started to go very wrong. He suffered with anxiety disorder and panic attacks which led to him being home schooled. I feel a really bad parent by saying this but he did literally teach himself from there on. He took total control of his education and passed all his exams successfully and is now studying software engineering at University.
He is so much happier now, a very kind and loving young man, and to me that is more important than achieving good grades.

One of mine was exceptionally bright, reading very early, you could have an intelligent conversation with him. Knew every train by number by two years old. Played sport for his country and did other sports to a high standard. He was very competetive and was successful in everything he did. Passed all his exams and did his degree but not to a high standard, he got lazy. Now he is a multi millionaire and retired and a few years short of fifty. He was also privately educated in small classes but was wth one child who won Mastermind, another was Young musician of the year, so in with really bright children. My other child wasnt in the same league was was stii smart but got better exam results and graduated with a first.

DS was slightly ahead of the curve as a toddler. Colours by 18 months, numbers before 3, letters by 4. Nothing special in reception, poor hand writting. Interesting that some one upthread mentioned age 7 as pivotal- DS's yr 3 teacher took us to one side and mentioned that we should think about a SS for secondary. He is taking his finals doing a STEM subject at Oxbridge- hoping for a first, so yes quite bright.

@BananaPeanutToast I hadn’t - tbh I think her reading and writing indicate it probably isn’t dyslexia. I think more like ADD. It is now pretty obvious looking back that my many of my immediate family (parent and siblings, me) have some form of adhd.

I have a very bright 9 year old that has excelled since he's started to speak, he was above his peers at nursery & still for the most part is .. I have a 4 year old girl who is starting school in September & is the same she can already read & is very starkly beyond her peers.. however I think it depends entirely on the child & just because someone is academic it doesn't nessarily mean they will be better off in life..

ds self taught to read from 3, initially recognising words from his story books out in the world. His reading was quite phenomenal, by 4 he was reading everything. Newspaper headlines, menus in a restaurant, the sky breaking news moving text in the waiting rooms. He got constant attention from it as he did this very loudly and of course couldn't get the context of most of it. I remember everyone fussing and saying he was a genius. I admit it was amazing to witness especially as I work in childcare, I've never before or since met a kid like him. He is still young in his last year of primary and is good academically, in the top 5 or so but not abnormal or gifted. He isn't often interested and zones out. He struggles socially and finds life overwhelming sometimes, so I worry about him a lot. On the other hand, his twin who was very average as a young child and who often felt less clever is doing brilliantly in school. Similar grades to DS academically but also very strong social skills, good at sports and an all rounder. I feel life will give her more options.

Yes my bright toddler is now an emergency doctor , he could have chosen a better paid career though if he'd had more sense

Interesting question! My little one was also ahead academically at preschool, especially with reading and numbers, but it’s true that by the time they hit primary school, the gap seemed to narrow a bit. From what I’ve seen and read, early advantages do help later on, especially if they love learning and stay curious. Using simple things like preschool worksheets has made a real difference for us in keeping that love of learning going. It’s lovely to hear your child is confident and happy in their social life too — that’s just as important as being ‘bright’ academically!