Child Genius.. anyone watching

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Its quite interesting, can't believe 5yrs have passed since previous show.

That's a bit sad really ... I think it is all fascinating.

I was distracted by William's hair too. I'm surprised he is allowed it at his new school. Ds had fab curly hair that when wet was the length of William's. Got cut off for school to comply with above collar and above ears stipulation. He now only has it longer over the summer holidays.

I wonder how much daily contact Peter has with other children.

Just watched this.

I have met Peter a few times and it always surprises me how well he comes across on TV. He can barely string a sentence together and doesn't look at anyone in the eye. His social cues are also weak, but then so are his parent's. That's not to say they are not a nice family as they are but his main contact with society is his dad. He was offered a full scholarship to a famous senior school but they turned it down. I don't think they made the right decision.

I can't remember what made William special? They said he read 'Robinson Crusoe'. What else? His IQ was high but not like in the first series. How was he selected for the programme? Do you think it was because of his background?

Well I thought it must be his background but our background is very similar except it may not be obvious because in the first series we got slated for being middle class, which I still find hilarious!

He was a bright lad but as you said, nothing amazing.

William from the Channel 4 website

Where is Peter's LEA in all this?

It was said they weren't happy when he was originally taken out of school but 7 years on he's still semi-educated. He looked lost and not a little bit 'odd' which isn't being helped by keeping him so isolated and away from his peers.

Does he have a mother, as she wasn't featured? His father may be well-meaning ( or be nursing unfulfilled ambitions of his own) but he seems to have made some catastrophic decisions about his son's health and happiness.

I feel worried for him.

Based on his mother's testimony from bruffin's link he is clearly a bright boy but not what I'd have thought was a genius. When I was 5 I had a reading age of 9 and no one said I was a genius! I just got to choose which books I wanted to read at school rather than following a reading scheme.

I do wonder with all the focus on Ofsted, league tables parents think more about their child's place in class and their education in general. I don't really think my parents gave my education much thought at all, other than to ensure that I had a quiet place to do homework when I was at secondary school and attending parents' evenings.

I don't know if you'd call him a genius and clearly his mother doesn't like that idea, but it sounds as if she feels that there's not enough support for a child who's getting upset and bored because he's precocious. That must be tough. I can remember being so bored in the first couple of years at school (for the opposite reason, I was very behind), and it is really horrible. I remember my mum getting so upset, so I can imagine it is very hard for her.

From what she said, the school couldn't or wouldn't adapt to the child.

I think William was chosen because of his background, parents who were quite obviously not the usual pushy middle-class types.

Felt really sorry for the Ahmed boys, working for 25p per hour on holiday, their degrees and careers already chosen by their parents... can't help secretly hoping they'll rebel like mad. The problem is, when you graduate aged 17 you are special, but by the time you're 21 everyone else has caught up.

Art boy Kieron really was a genius. Not coached, not really taught, just a real natural talent. I agreed with the comparison to a young Mozart.

Another thing that really intrigues me is that almost all of the children are either the firstborn or the only child. Even in the case of the Ahmeds, the older child tested higher.
This can't be all biologically dictated, can it?

By the way, I'm not disputing for a moment that they're all very bright children, but I have a sneaking sympathy for the Ahmed dad's point of view.

FWIW I know the Ahmed family and they are all delightful! The father isn't the driven automaton he comes across as, it's just they hold certain values- but believe me, they're not the only parents sharing those values at the boys schools! Their DSs are either side of my 2 at the same schools so my boys know their boys, if not particularly well.

I thought the Ahmed boys seemed to benefit a lot from each other - they were obviously teasing each other and their parents, they seemed affectionate and pretty relaxed - much healthier maybe that equal (if unusual) treatment of both children rather than one being special and different to the detriment of siblings (and probably themselves too).

Though it must be very difficult if one child obviously is in a different league to the other(s) - a bit like trying to get the balance right if one child has frail health or something else that constantly needs parental attention.

What I found sad was that their father wanted them in the work place earlier than most who'd gone down the uni route. Why would anyone want their child to work earlier than they have too?

Singersgirl, there have been surveys that show first borns have higher IQ's than their siblings. I suspect it is because of the individual input and the responsibilities that are put on first borns, even when parent's don't mean it. The amount of times I've said, "make sure your brother, da,de,da".

I don't necessarily think they are more successful or happy in the longer term though.

I've watched it now.

I feel sorry for the Ahmed having their careers planned out like that. And I disagree with the praise the Dad gave of state education. He doesn't use state education around here!

Does anyone know how much Prof Freeman charges for these assessments? she must be making quite a bit from the publicity of these programmes.

I asked my DS (8) the lotus question and he said "it's the second fastest car ever made in Britain".

Peter looked like such a sad lonely figure. I hope his mental health doesn't suffer in a few years.

I've read that before, RSS. And it does suggest that 'input' has an effect on the results of IQ tests - so actually the IQ test result doesn't disprove the Ahmed's dad's theory.

I was at the Ahmed boys when I started watching but found I really warmed to the lot of them by the end

I was very surprised they were (state) schooled, and at the dad's endorsement of state schooling in this country (not that I disagreed with him- I didn't- it just didn't fit with what I expected of him)

as for Peter- fwiw I've read his dad's comments on Simon Webb's home ed blog and, according to him, they were much misrepresented on the programme. He said they filmed loads of stuff of Peter at groups with his friends, and didn't use any of it.

I also wonder how these boys will be viewed by society and more importantly in the work place. Is a company going to employ a 18 or 20 year old graduate over a 22 year old graduate. I would opt for the latter as two years older at that age is 2 years more maturity and life experience.

If we had allowed DS to continue at the speed he was progressing then at 11 he would have been doing an OU degree during his Maths class at school. But we realised, not as early as we should have, that it was pointless and, whether it's right or wrong, one gets on better in life if they conform to the norm. So attending school, going to uni at the correct age and trying not to draw too much attention to oneself!

Just read the comments on Simon Webb's blog. Not to generalise but I do think male directors are very ruthless. The first episode was directed by a man and he made us look as if we ignored our other child. Also, although the Grafton-Clarkes were a little odd, they really are very nice but the moment it cut to them they put spooky music on to change the tone. The director also kept asking me to ask DS questions which made me look as if the questions came from me.

The next director, a lady, was fabulous. Although there were a few sections I wasn't happy about, on the whole we did ok. We were humming and hahing about doing CG3 but when we found out it was a male director we decided against it.

Interesting that he painted the old ones in a bad light. It makes good TV and he probably knows they won't take part again so he may as well make good TV at their expense.

Can you do a link please?

it's on this bit

So he was filmed at a taekwondo lesson and trampoline club, but these weren't shown. Not exactly socialising with his friends though is it? Ds does a load of different activities and whilst he enjoys going to them the friends he sees outside his activities are his friends, not the other children he does activities with. Maybe it is different if you are home ed and you may make more effort to mix with children you meet at activities. Ds's friends ae from nursery and school. I can't think of one friend he has whom he has met at an activity.

Can anyone tell me if there is another programme scheduled? I have looked at next week's listings and can't find it.

I had a look last week at the website and it seems to be a one off programme. I think they have probably struggled to maintain the involvement of the original participants. Having said that I'm sure Joan Freeman has a ready supply of child geniuses (genii?) the programme makers could use!

Thanks. That's a shame