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Child Genius anyone??

783 replies

Allthingspretty · 11/06/2013 21:04

should be interesting

OP posts:
curlew · 26/06/2013 22:01

It's still not on 4OD! Sad

noblegiraffe · 26/06/2013 22:01

They may well have edited out bits where Hugo was nice, or did something that his brother wanted to do, or thanked someone for something, but they really didn't seem short on segments were he wasn't very nice about other people.

cookielove · 26/06/2013 22:26

I really hope for Hugo's sake he has been edited in abad light. However I can't for the life of me see why channel 4 would not show a childs redeaming quality's well. As after all he is just a child and casting him as they have seems cruel if its not true.

Taffeta · 26/06/2013 22:33

Channel 4 will of course edit out all the usual workaday stuff. They will keep in all the "OMG did he just say that??" bits.

The programme isn't about a rounded picture of the individuals involved. They want ratings.

bico · 26/06/2013 23:00

Of course its edited to suit the programme style but they need to raw material to do that and it seems as if Hugo and his parents supplied plenty. Maybe deliberately (to have more air time). They seemed very proud of how uncontrollable there child was.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 26/06/2013 23:19

Curlew it is on my 4od on virgin.

OctopusPete8 · 27/06/2013 08:14

I saw it last night, lol when hugo realised he was being filmed, his mum seemed to laugh when he was being rude I noticed.
S
I like Longyins dad even though I'm sure he hothouses, why do we never see mum?

Shirini, I like her and Catherine...most of them really.

Moominsarehippos · 27/06/2013 08:31

You did see Longyin's mum and brother (if you looked carefully). I suppose they didn't want to be filmed (who'd blame them!).

olidusUrsus · 27/06/2013 09:45

I really like Longyin and his dad does seem nice enough, but I can't help thinking that if they have edited Hugo to be the 'weird, rude one', then they could well have edited Terence to be the 'nice, normal one'. I just can't shake the feelings that are brought up by the fact he keeps his kids in a military style routine as a homage to his Hong Kong police days.

Moominsarehippos · 27/06/2013 12:48

He seems gentler, less competative than Hugo (he talked about 'beating them' with relish but didn't want to study, so didn't).

Hugo came across as very self-centred, with an extremely high opinion of himself and his 'natural' intellect. Longyin and his dad acknowledged that although he was smart, the other kids were too and he needed to work for it.

SauceForTheGander · 27/06/2013 13:46

I liked Longyin's dad, though I thought L could do with a few more play dates that were just for the sake of them and not about learning some life lesson. But there was nothing wrong with doing a few chores around the house.

Did he still work though or was his time devoted to L? Not so healthy. But not unheard of amongst tiger parents.

pussycatwillum · 27/06/2013 14:24

I wonder what Longyin's brother is like and whether he gets the same treatment or whether Longyin is the favourite (I hope not). I didn't realise there was a brother until we saw the audience shot this week.

Davros · 27/06/2013 21:20

I thought what Hugo's dad said was hilarious!
Oscar and shrinidee are both soooo serious.

Longyin is lovely but his dad is extreme

BrigitBigKnickers · 28/06/2013 08:52

Just caught up with this episode.

Words cannot describe the revulsion I feel for Hugo's parents. What a nasty pair- they have bred a monster who will be universally hated and never develop any meaningful relationships unless they do something NOW! Poor boy- nasty as he is I feel really sorry for him. His poor little brother too- and the both of them having such toxic parents. Sad

Even if, as some have suggested, he has aspergers (and I have to admit- the first ten seconds of film of Hugo made me think this) there is no reason for him not to have been taught manners and humility. I can't believe they let him be so rude. What on earth is he like at school? He must be a teacher's worst nightmare!

I just love Shrinidi- such a natural little girl with such a passion for literature- I love the way she chooses books based on their smell!

pussycatwillum · 28/06/2013 12:08

Saw an article in the paper which said the words Asperger's syndrome and Autism had not been used by channel 4 because they didn't want to be accused of exploiting children with SEN. There was a big picture of Hugo and Mummy alongside, so maybe we were meant to draw our own conclusions.
I agree though, Brigit it is even mor important to correct children with AS because they do not just 'pick up' social behaviour. My DS2 has AS and it has been very wearing, but now, aged 18, most people don't realise.

olidusUrsus · 28/06/2013 12:50

I actually think it's quite interesting to watch the children without knowing if they do or don't have SEN, you're seeing the child without expecting them to behave in certain patterns that (rightly or wrongly) you associate with certain things like autism.

curlew · 28/06/2013 12:54

There is a big difference between rude through lack of empathy or rude through not understanding social cues and rude like Hugo...........

BrigitBigKnickers · 28/06/2013 14:06

What ever kind of rude-he should still be pulled up on it.

bico · 28/06/2013 16:16

I think if Hugo does have a condition that means he doesn't understand social cues then I'd strongly suspect his father has the same. Both seemed to be ill mannered. If I were Hugo's mother I'd be doing all I could to help him rather than sitting next to him and continually belittling him and excusing his behaviour. Excluding Connor I thought they were the saddest family in the series we've seen.

Moominsarehippos · 28/06/2013 17:27

I've worked with people with Autism (we had a programme at work). No, they weren't a bunch of rude arrogant people. I suppose there is no reason you can have Autism and just be a rude arrogant type, just like the rest of us.

I do wonder what type of job his dad does though.

Moominsarehippos · 28/06/2013 17:32

Interesting...

iseeautisticpeople.com/child-genius-documentary-2013/

bico · 28/06/2013 17:47

Interesting link. There is a lot of criticism either on this thread or the one in G&T about people associating poor social behaviour with being autistic and how the two don't necessarily go together. The writer you've linked seems to say it is important to show that the behaviour and autism are linked. I wonder if the programme didn't mention it because they don't want to be accused of linking the two. Seems a case if damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Moominsarehippos · 28/06/2013 17:54

I suppose if you have a child who is bright (but rather obnoxious) and go onto showcase them on the show then have people diagnosing them, then you'd be pretty annoyed! To some of these parents, the children's behaviour is a symptom of their genius and only that.

Its hard to diagnose from an edited show, but there have been a few folks on here who have children with autism who recognise some of the behaviour. I don't think that any of the parents on the show have hinted that their kids are though.

I don't think that someone with autism is necessarily rude/blunt/hurtful, just as a rude person isn't necessarily autistic.

SauceForTheGander · 28/06/2013 18:00

That's a very interesting analysis of the show.

curlew · 28/06/2013 18:02

What I'm interested in is the fact that everyone on the show seems to equate intelligence with "knowing stuff". Hugo, for example, knows loads, and that other boy reciting the periodic table did too. But is that intelligence?

Personally, I think Hugo was just an entitled, over indulged brat.