Are any of your children super clever?

[QuickTraybake]

I was a very good reader and mathematician from a young age. DS aged 7, he excels in everything at school. In reception he could count to 100. He is currently the best mathematician in his class and is a fantastic reader. He has recently received his “pen license” whatever that was. He is also great at history and exceptional at sports.
Are any of your kids like this or better?

DGS 5 has favourite prime numbers can tell you more than you know about marine biology and the solar system. His current focus is how the human body works. Having said that he was late to talk. His 2 year old brother has unreal communication and reasoning skills he is likely 2 years ahead but has no idea about fear near the roads etc even though he can ride a bike without stabilisers. Who knows what they will become! This Granny is exhausted trying to keep up with them!

My son is but it didn't show in primary at all. Mostly because it wasn't what interested him. He excelled at maths and science and computing at secondary.

It always made me laugh at the school gates where I think every single parent there thought their kid was top of something. None of them had a clue of course.

Oh dear lord 🤣

I agree with others that effort can get really good outcomes even if no ‘early promise’ is shown. Being literate and numerate is the most important as it lays the foundations for everything else. As long as your child can read at an age appropriate level and complete maths at an age appropriate level then that’s fine.

I’m wondering how you know he’s the best mathematician in the class? It’s an odd thing for a teacher to tell a parent.

my kids are average academically. Both could count to 100 in reception in English and welsh (welsh medium school). i would say most reception kids can manage this towards the end of year, particularly the older ones. Reciting numbers to 100 doesn’t mean you understand place value though

Having read the op again, I think the op is possibly quoting another parents cringey comment, and is hoping we will all take the piss.

My DD is v bright (more than ordinarily so) but doesn't have much drive, organisation nor ambition and although has a nice bunch of friends is quiet and introverted.

My DS is ordinarily bright - less academic than DD - but has a shed load of ambition and focus as well as loving people and "doing stuff" and coming up with schemes to do this and that.

I wouldn't like to bet which one ends up doing "better" (realise there isn't really any such thing anyway).

I'm enjoying your use of "mathematician", as if a sort of job, rather than saying great at maths😆

Is he also a musician and scientist?

My youngest son is GD too but it’s pointless it’s more of a hinderance than anything, whilst the rest of the class do work to easy for him, the teacher tells him to sit and read a book! He’s only in year1.

Thank you for posting this.

Your DC will get a job soon, I'm certain, but it's important to make the point that life is long and complex and all this school competitiveness means nothing.

All we can do is just support our children - for whomever they are - and help them through each stage of the rollercoaster of life

I think this is a joke post...surely....still school holidays here

Yes - my DD - was G&T throughout primary - excelled at everything and was teachers' favourite / all rounder / Top of every class / voracious reader/ popular etc etc etc

Then Year 5 hit - and a spectacular freefall into complete mediocrity (I have posted before about this!)

My son taught himself the russian and greek alphabets. Knows every flag in the world. Is currently teaching himself about planes, and how to animate them to scale, including the inner workings of the engines etc.

He has no interest in school Maths or English. Can do them no problem, but wouldn't sit high in any league table.

So, yeah, he's hugely intelligent. But wouldn't be classed as such when sat alongside his peers.

Sadly my DD is the opposite and has been since a young age. She works so hard, never gives up and has always been beautifully behaved. She unfortunately has always struggled at school (no SEN) and I think due to her great behaviour fell through the cracks years ago.

She's sitting her GCSES this year and whilst isn't predicted anything amazing o know that every pass she gains has been as big a mountain for her to climb as every kid who will be getting 7/8/9s. Actually she's possibly worked harder for hers than many.

Sorry to piss on peoples chips. I'm aware I sound incredibly bitter and if I'm honest I probably am a bit. Some days I'm so jealous of parents of high achieving kids.

But I'll step away from this thread now. Apologies.

Your not pissing on anything.

Your daughter sounds amazing and she can be very successful with her work ethic. You've done a fantastic job to raise such a hard working young woman.

My eldest DS (with autism) is a genius. He’d taught himself to read at 3 years old and by 5 years old he was doing year 6 maths. In grammar school his Physics teacher (who was a Dr) told me that he was the most gifted pupil he’d ever taught in his whole career.

He’s 30 now and has never had a job, and needs care to look after himself. Be careful what you wish for. If I could swap his abilities and lifestyle to be more in line with my other more ‘average’ children I’d do it in a heartbeat.

I didnt think any of mine were super clever at all, but if being able to count to 100 while in reception is evidence of that, then clearly I was wrong. Einsteins, the lot of them.

Your daughter sounds amazing and with that attitude she will definitely go far in life.

What I want most for my children is happiness and fulfilment in their personal lives, not academic or financial success (which are separate and very often completely unrelated anyway).

I’ll just say, since ‘gifted and talented’ has come up, that I hate the term ‘gifted’ with a passion.

A gift is something you’re given by choice. So in the context of a child’s academic performance it’s saying that the child had wondrous ability bestowed on them by some decision maker, like God. They were chosen. It’s a loathsome term.

I saw a poster on the gifted and talented board once maintain that ‘gifted’ applies to core academic subjects, but that ‘talented’ is merely for art, sport, dance etc. That made me even more outraged at the horribleness of pushy, gloaty parents.

This is so so true.

A friend of mine, (whose boys are now 18&20 and at college, skater boys, kind souls) once said she is so so grateful for her low-achieving children. And she's right, her life and theirs has been simple and happy - no driving around to a tutor for the 11+, no 5am drives to the swim pool for training, nothing, just a simple happy family life with both kids perfectly happy in the lower to middle sets with their 3s and 4s at gcse.

I think by the time your dc are teenagers, any parent will take a happy child any day over the unhappy child with the 9s. Of course 9s and happy is good too, but I don't think there's many.

My son is super bright. Is neurodiverse and struggled with his mental health. Would swop every A star he ever got if it meant that he could have good mental health. It’s a real be careful what you wish for when you have a child like that. They tend to be intense, struggle at school for all sorts of reasons and for us at least it’s been a rollercoaster of anorexia, depression & anxiety interspersed with very good exam results. They don’t make you happy and an A star guarantees nothing in the way of success. But you know the school reports were uplifting lol!

My PFB DS1 was exactly the same. I was convinced he was super gifted but he peaked too early and by the time he got to school he was never more than a bit above average in anything. He has stayed that way in adult life too. A wonderful young man, he has a decent and fairly responsible job, he's articulate and interesting to talk to, he has a degree from a well regarded (but not tip-top) uni and a lovely partner. He's travelled the world and I am very proud of him. But he's definitely not a genius. It doesn't matter. Bona fide geniuses are not necessarily happier, richer or more successful than anyone else.

I agree 100% @HeadDeskHeadDesk.

See my other post after that one - all I actually want for my kids is for them to be happy and form good relationships in life.