Child Genius anyone??

[Allthingspretty]

should be interesting

zola that was my exact thoughts. The father from Hong Kong had it so wrong, the first 16 years of a child's life should be hard work then they will have happiness for the next 60 years was his notion. I suspect he meant that if you deprive your child of their childhood and push them to focus on education every second of their lives they are bound to get a well paid job and that of course equals happiness . What about the socialization of these kids? Is that not as important as an academic education?

The mum was right about the 10,000 hrs thing though.

Tiger woods took up golf from his father when he was two or three.

It doesn't matter what you do you have to put the time in.

Perhaps we are not pushy enough as parents in this country, wanting our children to get along with others too much etc.

I don't necessarily agree with the methods of the parents though.

I liked Hugo and his parents.

I'd be more interested if it were kids who excelled in a 'skill' that couldn't be hothoused (so much) like creative things to see how these developed.

Funnily enough I thought Longyin was one of the more 'normal' of the children - he wasn't arrogant or rude, was able to tell his father to sit where he couldn't see him for the second round and was quite honest to the camera about what he thought of his father's regime, while at the same time appearing not to be too phased by it.

Yes lirael I thought that too. I thought he had an inner self assurance that Joshua didn't seem to have. I also thought Joshua's sibling got a raw deal.

I think J's father was man who looked at mum in horror as he struggled with the logic questions as she just grinned manically.

The Indian mum had it right when she said you support rather than push.

10,000 hours is unhealthy, though. it is not good.
Watching some tennis today, it struck me how obsessive top athletes are in order to get where they are (some are very open about it). If you're going to be obsessive anyway, then fair enough. Not a healthy thing to encourage, though.

Out of all of them, Longyin was the one I could imagine DS1 (geeky non-genius) being friends with.

I felt so sorry for these poor kids, especially little Joshua. :(

DD is very bright - she was freakishly good at some things as a toddler, and who knows what she would be able to do now if we spent hours coaching her. Thankfully, she has a much more balanced life than this, and while she does thoroughly enjoy various intellectual pursuits, she also loves running round the park with her friends! I just can't understand the motivations of those parents who try to deprive their child of a childhood in aid of preparing them to "win" some kind of imaginary competition that only really exists in the parents' own heads.

I used to tutor children from Hong Kong and their regime was as rigid as Longyin's with tutoring daily after school and all day in holidays. They were very wealthy and had moved to UK for education (both dc at selective independent schools). Eventually they went to medical school and I lost touch but I believe they went back to HK.

I love longyin! Actually well rounded and insightful, looked like he had the social skills for a happy life as well as everything else his dad was trying to push him into!

Poor Joshua. A list of "my autistic traits" up in the kitchen and shared with the camera is so unfair. And to make him go back for the "sympathy point" ... fortunately I think he doesn't have enough insight into other people to realise that. He must be " home schooled" I guess.

I watch this sort of things as a validation of my so not tiger parenting of my bright kids.Yep they could have probably been grade 8 musicians by early secondary ( music is what we do as a family so easiest to impose the 10000 hours or what ever) but at what expense to them as people?

I could have cried for the little Indian girl- not only uprooted from her country and extended family but sees her books as her only friends.

I'm another one with a very very bright kid who would have done very well in that comp. All along we have said that a sign that we have been good (and fortunate) parents is if she grows up happy. So far she is, with really good friends, there have been times where we've seen what pressure to go as far as she can would do to her, as in the past she has put enormous pressure on herself.

Going back to the gifted girl who became a Professir, Temple Grandin is a Professor. Google her.
Hugo also screams Aspergers to me, sorry if anyone thinks that's unfair. His parents were by far the best featured as they didn't take him too seriously. I think editing accounted for his mum's "frequent" negative comments.
Longyin was nice and had a lot of personality, his dad is nuts, the first 16 years are childhood ffs!
Poor Josh.

Poor joshua. Being sick with nerves....

My DS was sick with nerves for hs first violin exam, and though I was confident he would have done well, him being o worried and actually throwing up meant I asked if he wanted to pull out. He did.

I am not a tiger mum, clearly!

I think a child's childhood is precious, I also think children actually learn a lot from exploring and having freedom.

Still, if you think that your child could be great at something, anything, if they just put the hours in....maybe we ARE missing a trick here?

I think that tiger-parenting will work for some children - they'll look back and be grateful that they were pushed as they now have so many choices and skills that they enjoy using.
I know a tiger mum who's just the nicest lady ever. Her son is a nice lad.

But it could backfire and result in a young adult who's jaded and/or lacking self-awareness. Or suffering from stress or doesn't know how to relax and enjoy just going with the flow.

Pushing children to do things despite their horrendous nerves; sometimes that will benefit the child - they'll have learnt how to overcome their nerves and will feel a sense of achievement and increased confidence for the next time. Or it might put them off for life. Presumably the parents in this programme know their children better than anyone else and feel that they know where the line is.....

Just saw the repeat of this last night - a couple of thoughts..

Josh, the Chess kid - poor little boy!! Doing Chess endlessly doesn't give you knowledge of other subjects, obviously! 90/9 was def a sympathy question to give him a point - all others Qs shown weren't as easy. The maths questions weren't really hard, but it was about time pressure. Felt so sorry for him..

Can't decide whether Hugo was funny/ironic or completely up himself & big-headed. The test of that will be how he interacts with the others. I can't imagine parenting him.. his mother made some unusual comments, whether edited for brevity or not, but of all of them they seemed the most natural and un-pushy.

My money's on the Indian girl to win it. :)

Yes same here.

It's on again tonight!

Think Leo is as much PFB as super clever

Little darling Hugo is so rude!

Did he just call his mum slave?

I'd love to see Hugo's teacher!

My God that child Hugo needs to be taught some manners.

Yes he did Gander.

And I'm not sure I could cope with a child who was constantly reciting poetry at me