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Telly addicts

Child Genius anyone??

783 replies

Allthingspretty · 11/06/2013 21:04

should be interesting

OP posts:
Davros · 19/06/2013 15:54

.... And typically AS

Moominsarehippos · 19/06/2013 16:05

Indeedy. I had a conversation with a relative who is s senior child psychologist. He agreed with my threory that everyone is 'on the spectrum' somewhere, some more than others.

These children are indulged in their eccentricities and behaviour. I do wonder if the parents expect their kids to grow up to split the atom (or whatever the future 'thing' will be) or worry of they will 'be happy'. I suspect some would sacrifice the latter for the former.

Don't you just want to see all these kids don their wellies and find some mud to play in (and not anaylse/write a haiku/study the playing habits of their subjects playmates)?

pussycatwillum · 19/06/2013 17:50

I suppose most kids would come across as irriating and little pains if filmed - not just super-smart ones!
Which is why most of us don't let TV cameras into our homes ;)
I was glad to see Hugo's family skiing instead of swatting.

Sunnymeg · 19/06/2013 17:50

The 'Theory of Mind' is definitely missing in some of these children and they have no idea about the consequences of their comments and actions on others. I was poignantly reminded of my own DS 11 with Aspergers, who will quite happily correct his teacher if he is wrong. DS came out of school one day when he was about 8 and asked me why he had to spend all day in school 'surrounded by idiots'. He still struggles with less able classmates, but school and Autism support have done lots of social skills work with him and he is now so much better than he was. His IQ level is on a par with those on this series, but though we have our problems, he seems to be a much more rounded individual than those on the show.

Fudgefase · 19/06/2013 18:30

Hugo the trainspotter is absolutely obsessed. He could do with learning how to treat people a bit better - though I'm hoping he's just showing off for the cameras. He treats his mum like muck.

Jinsei · 19/06/2013 18:50

Surely true genius occurs irrespective of social status.

Or are the really, really clever dc in state primary schools not identified as such?

There are "gifted" kids from all social backgrounds, and I think that the really, really clever dc in state primary schools are identified as such, but perhaps the parents who send their children to state primary schools are just not quite as invested in putting their dc in front of the cameras on a programme like this. Wink

RedHelenB · 19/06/2013 19:48

I think Hugo's mum was OTT about him not swotting! If that was really the case she wouldn't have take the encycopedia on holiday with them!

squalorvictoria · 19/06/2013 19:57

Not sure if it's been mentioned elsewhere, but I wonder what happened to the kids from the original series? They must be well into their teens by now. I can remember the Chinese girl (piano prodigy), the boy who wrote novels with his Oxbridge don mother and Dante Minghella.

SauceForTheGander · 19/06/2013 20:04

We're entering into a nature/nurture territory. Does the cream always rise to the top? I don't think it does. I think fantastically bright children are missed. The answer IMO is you need both the innate talent and a fertile ground.

Oscar's family are incredibly impressive and providing stimulating opportunities. He seemed grounded - not remotely show offy.

Jinsei · 19/06/2013 20:13

We're entering into a nature/nurture territory. Does the cream always rise to the top? I don't think it does. I think fantastically bright children are missed. The answer IMO is you need both the innate talent and a fertile ground.

I agree with much of what you have said, but I don't think the absence of children from less affluent backgrounds in competitions like this really tells us anything about how effectively potential is being identified in state schools.

The demographic of the contestants says much more about the warped values of their parents than it does about the abilities of the children concerned.

RedHelenB · 19/06/2013 20:21

Squalor - there was a follow up & the piano playing girl was concentrating more on poetry & I think she'd stopped playing the piano (or at least wasn't doing the competitions any loner) Trying to remember what happened to Dante - had a feeling he got into trouble over a weapon unless I'm getting confused with Little Man Tate ( I can't remember a pack of playing cards lol!!)

SauceForTheGander · 19/06/2013 20:43

Yes I think that's true Jinsei.

I'm sure plenty of parents could have gone this route but opted not to.

thegreylady · 19/06/2013 21:00

My dh says that the programme reminds him of Toddlers and Tiaras which dgds like.A lot of pushy parents exploiting their children in public.
I disagree...I think.

Jinsei · 19/06/2013 21:07

I agree with your DH thegreylady.

MrsRickyMartin · 19/06/2013 21:49

Watching this has made realise how bad my brother must have felt when compared to me. I was the one with higher than average intelligence according to my mum. They did an IQ test but I did not know until I was 14 I think.

My brother has always been more artistic. He learned to play musical instruments on his own, is good at drawing, dancing and I can't do any of this. But that was obviously not good enough for my dad.

I was the one who loved books and that's why my father and I were very close.

I was also told by my mother (only after I grew up) that I was (?)hyperactive... so now I also feel bad for my parents, it must have been hard for them.

I have lots of problems with social skills read rudeness. I saw myself as a child when I saw Hugo. What he said to the interviewer: I thought you learned English at school, reminded me of something I said to a Dr when he misspelled a word: I thought you had to study for a long time to become a Dr (where I was born it takes seven years to do medicine, just the undergraduate).

pigletmania · 20/06/2013 07:46

Sorry but I find Hugo and Leo very annoying tbh, they do need to be corrected when they get too big for their boots. Hugo should have been disqualified for disrupting the others. I do like Oscar and the Indian girl (not sure of her name) they were very grounded

pussycatwillum · 20/06/2013 08:41

I think Hugo's mum was OTT about him not swotting! If that was really the case she wouldn't have take the encycopedia on holiday with them!
Come on, that encyclopaedia was a bit feeble. I think that was done for the cameras.
I keep thinking about Hugo. My DS is nowhere near as intelligent, but he has AS and I know how wearing it is constantly correcting the same behaviour. Whilst I am not diagnosing Hugo, there are similarities. Mind you I would never in a million years have agreed to put DS on television. It's bad enough having to cope with the reactions of friends and neighbours.
My money is on Oscar to win, because they have suddenly featured him a lot more.
I like the Chinese boy.

pigletmania · 20/06/2013 08:53

My dd has asd (not as intelligent as Hugo at all) but I would certainly correct her if she is rude

Moominsarehippos · 20/06/2013 08:59

I like Longyin (?) and his dad. He seems very ambitious for his son but not as pushy and starstruck as some of the other parents (is it just the two of them?). Funny there isn't any really scary Tiger Moms on there!

I had my IQ tested a few years back and it was not too shoddy. God knows what it would be now! It is (was) all about memory. I did 'mind maps' before they were 'invented' as that's how my memory works. I don't have a photographic memory but could recall what my study notes pages looked like and what the headings were, how many bullet points, key words, etc, especially if colour coded. Just tricks, not real genius (or else I'd be running the counrty by now heh heh heh).

DH half heartedly suggested we get DS 'done' - he is now saying 'no way!'.

VonHerrBurton · 20/06/2013 10:04

You like Longyin's dad, moomin? Really? I think he's awful. Passive aggressive and sinister. You can see the poor child is scared of him.

Dh said he could imagine the dad being very angry with him off-camera. Iykwim. I tend to agree.

Moominsarehippos · 20/06/2013 10:41

Do you think? I saw him as ambitious, although hauling the kid halfway across the world for an education does seem excessive... I know a few folks from HK/Singapore who have done the same thing and the kids have done really well.

iseenodust · 20/06/2013 10:49

Moomin you didn't think chess mum was a scary tiger ?

VonHerrBurton · 20/06/2013 10:53

Ugh, chess boy's mum, the American woman, she was awful as well. Making the boy get up on that stand after vomiting in the car with nerves....

Ugh. Just ugh. Horrible people.

lirael · 20/06/2013 11:27

I don't think Longyin's dad is that bad - when Longyin talks about him off camera he just says the sort of bantering stuff that a lot of pre-teens say about their parents, but I don't think he seems scared of him. Its not the way I would choose to parent, but L seems a well-adjusted, personable child - I've noticed that he's usually with a group of other children when they film before the competition starts. And he's done badly in some rounds and well in others, but stays calm, which makes me think he's not just out to please his Dad.

pigletmania · 20/06/2013 12:11

Joshua mum (chess tiger mum) was certainly pushy and ott.