Child Genius anyone??

[Allthingspretty]

should be interesting

I've always thought having a very bright child would be as difficult as having a child experiencing challenging behaviour. Very intense!

Try having one with both. DS1 is multiply exceptional. ASD, ADHD, PITA and scarily bright. He is to lego bricks what Hugo is to trains.

Loved Hugo, felt very sorry for Catherine from the way it was edited. Wish I could remember the lads name from Hong Kong, he actually came across as quite a happy lad with a healthy understanding of his Dad.

YY to what ouryve said. In DS2's case it's difficult to separate out the giftedness from the Asperger's/ADHD. All I know is that he is both exceptionally lovely and completely exasperating, often at the same time.

The thing I don't get about the tiger-parenting life's a competition you're doing your children a favour by pushing them when they're children thing, is that only a few can be winners.

I think the mother put up with more than she would have because of the filming.

Aw train spotter cute!

Chess kid hmmmmm. I worry about the mum - she is nutso on making him deeper than blue. One may die tying.

I remember studying a paper on 'creating' gifted children and the study was on a man who decided to train his kids as chess masters (which they then became). I think one ended up in the papers after she killed herself. I may be muddling her up with someone else there.

Chess boy seems a little... ungrounded and self-absorbed. Not healthy. Whereas train boy was just so joyful, and his parents seem to be running behind him, marvelling at him, chess-mom seems to be driving the juggernaut. Not sure what the other child does (I fell asleep).

I do wonder what they'll all be doing in 15 years time. I hope they do a follow up programme!

Mega-brains doesn't always mean mega success or even happiness. I know two big brains who ended up in 'homes' as they just couldn't cope in the real world.

Whatever happened to the girl Ruth who trotted off to uni at, what 14 to study maths (why is it never English Lit or History?).

I liked Hugo's mum she seemed the most normal.
I agree handcream , I have had to get rid of excess hair from a young age and got teased at school.
Poor Joshua his mum needs to live her own life.

Poor Joshua. He doesn't spend enough time playing with other children and having fun. I desperately wanted his mum to say, come on let's go and have a pizza and go to the cinema.

I liked Hugo and his family.

The mum saying "don't worry when if your brother gets through and you don't ... I will still love you" had me and then the girl smashed it!

Leo's parents seemed bit indulgent....

I remember Ruth. Her father was obsessed with her and went to Cambridge with her! She married someone much older than herself and I believe completely cut her father out of her life.

Apparently she had lttle in the way of social skills even through I think she became a professor.

A lesson for us all I think.

The girls are doing really well. Yay!

According to wikipedia(!), Ruth worked in America, then emigrated to Israel and works there as a professor. She is married and has four children. I do remember her dad used to go to lectures.

In DS' prep school the tiger parents tend to be Indian or from the Far East. Ocassional American. I think actually the English parents are the mos relaxed whereas the others oftn become completely obssessed.

I just don't want to be that invested. It's hard enough being an average parent let alone one who wants to get their child to play chess every flipping waking hour. Sometimes I want to be loafing on mumsnet away from my DCs.

I am in after watching this ... . Do people really want their dc growing up to see life as a competition ?

What happened to the meek inheriting the earth? Is there no merit in putting others first any more?

Thought Indian girl was fab btw and the one who seemed to have the most innate intelligence and was the least "pushed". Loved the way she smelt all the books!

Did think Hugo could benefit from being taught a few more manners and a touch of modesty but liked his family's sense of humour.

Joshua's mother should let the poor pawn lad off the hook and go back to her architectural practice.

I shouldn't judge though, it's probably all in the editing... I certainly hope so

How exactly did the 50hrs a week chess and 200 tournaments a year work out. Did the child not go to school at all? Did he not sleep? Was mommy dearest hovvering over him all this time (what about the rest of the family?). Where was dad?

As I said, I fell asleep (the over achiever that I am!).

The problem is that if they do these things to the exclusion of 'life' what happens if they just 'go off' chess, or whatever they have been doing? Or really grow to hate it/pushy parent?

Did any of the families have outside support - you know like lottery winners who have a team of advisers working with them so they don't go crazy?

Have pmed you BM :)

Bum, she won't see it here. Wrong thread!

Unless she's a genius!

There's another episode next week, looking at the next rounds (and from the clip, different children).

Very cringeworthy TV.

Poor poor little Joshua. He mother was truly awful and selfish, when he scored 0 points the only thing he wanted to do was go home but she kept pushing. The only people they are pushing their kids for is their own gratification. Somebody up thread said this is the same as girls in beauty pageants - same pushy parents. I wonder in 10 years from now how these children will integrate into the world of adulthood and work?

My 13 yo DD and I watched this with faces. I really hope the editing made that out to be worse than it was, because I was aghast at most of the pushy parents (especially chess-mum) trying to mould their kids into something they're not for their own glory. Obviously some of them just don't realise that really, you DON'T have to be "The Best" at everything. And as for Hugo....I felt sorry for his family as to me, he came across as incredibly arrogant, condescending and self-important, not good indicators for a happy life at such a young age. I was cringing whenever he was on the screen.
My two kids are not on the genius spectrum but are incredibly bright; I felt that watching this programme, I could have pushed my daughter especially, into this kind of hot-housing, but it's far more important to me that they develop as happy, well-rounded, kind, compassionate human beings who have consideration for others and a good range of social skills. Sadly I didn't see a lot of that in most of the kids in this programme and I think it's a terrible shame.

So Josh was the chess-boy and didn't do well at the mensa-jamboree? Hardly suprising since he only ever seemed to play chess. Was his dad in the programme at all? I'd be interested to see how that family dynamic worked.

Are there any conclusions made or is it just a 'point and gawp at the oddities' show?

No conclusions that I could see. Interesting that there was no discussion regarding the social traits of the children. Piano chappie and Catherine seemed like average kids apart from their abilities, whereas to me Hugo, Leonard and book sniffing girl seemed to be in some respects mini adults. I can see how Hugo's mum finds him tiring.