Child Genius (C4)

[TheFirstOfHerName]

Anyone planning to watch this?

I was a little like these children; joined Mensa as a child, but used my ability to coast through school/university rather than to achieve anything noteworthy.

DS2 is also of this ilk. We are not doing any of the things these parents are doing, although when opportunities arise through school then obviously we let him participate.

[singersgirl]

I've just watched the first three episodes as I'm suffering from a bad back. So upsetting in so many ways.

I couldn't stand the way the voiceover kept saying things like "the quest to find the cleverest child in Britain..." No! This was a horrible circus performance which wasn't remotely interested in finding 'the cleverest child in Britain' - if it were even possible to identify one child as 'the cleverest'. It was a series of public and uneven tests which prioritised memory and rote learning above all else.

And on top of all the other awfulness, did anyone else notice how the voiceover woman kept mispronouncing the children's names? She did it with Aliyah and Rubaiyat - pronounced their names differently from the way their parents did. Surely they could have taken the trouble to get that right.

I felt guilty for watching.

[fuzzpig]

I rewatched the first episode of the previous series today and Rayyan was in the first episode! Only briefly and I don't think he made it to the final 21 children as I didn't see him in the seats when they had the first rounds. He must've only been 6.

[EnglishRose1320]

EvilTwins- my son is 8 and is very sure he wants to go to the local grammar school, he likes to tell people he is going to go to the grammar school and they all ways tell me it's good that he is so confident and ambitious at 8, I don't like to confess that he wants to go so he can get a school bus rather than walk to school!

[almapudden]

A bit off-topic but I'm sure the Voiceover said the Battle of Stamford Bridge was 9th century. It was in the 11th century! Did anyone else clock that?

[SeagullsAndSand]

I don't get the point of it.

I'm all for pushing kids and I push mine.However I don't see the point of CG,what are they getting?No school place or movement in groups at school etc

The fact is an awful lot of kids up and down the land would do just as well if pushed to that level.If all kids had 2 parents at their beck and call,home eding one child I'm sure many would excell,ditto those being tutored 121 for hours every day.

And re the tutoring it all seemed to be rote learning.They all had the same Usborne geog and science books.I guess they'd dolled them all out.Anybody learning a couple of books off by heart could answer rapid fire questions on them.Didn't think the maths was that tricky tbf if you can calculate quickly,many kids can.

One of my 10 year olds could easily do the spelling,maths,memory tests etc with coaching.He's bright(like many in his class)but he ain't no genius.

That said a couple stood out as naturally exceptionally bright and we adored Eleanor.What an utterly gorgeous girl.

[Hakluyt]

There's a big difference between letting a talented child follow a genuine dream and putting them through a shoddy media circus to be discussed in the tabloid press.

[queenofthemountain]

The children I know of have gained a lot by it. (Not necessarily fame & fortune but scholarships & funding )

so parents are justifying putting Dc through this circus because it means they get to save money on school fees

[morethanpotatoprints]

Hello Pictures

Surprisingly enough I totally agree with you. I'm not sure what dd would be like now If I hadn't let her leave school and follow her dream.
I don't push her, she pushes me and of course we allow this if they are G&T and its what they want.
BGT wasn't for us either or Child Genius but I don't knock those parents who agreed to it, although I do think it should come from the children.
I only saw a couple but I think the right person won and I also liked Eleanor.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Yes, I rather gathered that you are a judgmental type of person.

I would not judge anyone who was doing what they thought to be the best thing. And as I said. The children I know of have gained a lot by it. (Not necessarily fame & fortune but scholarships & funding )

[Hakluyt]

"ny whilst I personally would not put dd on a show like Britains Got Talent I wouldn't judge the parents if others at her school who have appeared & for done it was a stepping stone to get the training/career they wanted."

Wouldn't you? I would.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Any whilst I personally would not put dd on a show like Britains Got Talent I wouldn't judge the parents if others at her school who have appeared & for done it was a stepping stone to get the training/career they wanted.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Well that's where we all differ.

I sent Cunauds mum a message on twitter about how his portrayal on the programme had helped my dd & she sent a reply that a big reason they did it was to help others like he had been helped by seeing an asd girl on another programme

[Hakluyt]

"If your child really really wants to do something & it looks like a good opportunity why not allow them to try. If you dismiss it out of hand they can turn round & say you denied them the opportunity of even trying"

And then you say that you prevented them from being exploited and held up t public scrutiny. And that you made a decision for them that they did not have the knowledge and life experience to make. And that is they think you were wrong, you're sorry, but you made that decision as a parent With their best interest at heart. Being a parent is not about doing everything your child wants you to do.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Actually I guess that not quite true but to compete/perform at a high level in anything parents who are willing & able to facilitate it give the child a better chance.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Children don't get to be good at anything without parental involvement even if its just that you are a taxi service.

It doesn't mean you are pushy. Ice spent half my life ferrying dd around to dance classes - I support her.

There us a junior chess champion at ds's school. Her mum I am sure has to take her all over the place but it doesn't mean she is pushy.

And Eleanor's mum is not pushy for agreeing to sign entry forms that she was given at school so seemingly endorsed by the school.

If your child really really wants to do something & it looks like a good opportunity why not allow them to try. If you dismiss it out of hand they can turn round & say you denied them the opportunity of even trying.

[Hakluyt]

Absolutely. I hate ths dishonesty of "she entered herself"

And you don't get to be a chess champion at 11 without a lotof parental involvement.

[queenofthemountain]

Hmm I wonder.
Or are some parents better at playing down their involvement.Lets face it even the very first stage of the application process would have required parental permission, so all this 'she entered herself' stuff is crap.

[Hakluyt]

"'.
"Parents like Sharon's and Eleanor's have realised that if your child wants to do something it is better to encourage them and if it is difficult for them (as it was emotionally for Eleanor) to help them to learn from the experience."

I so disagree. Parenting sometimes means making a decision for children who are too young to make that decision for themselves. And sometimes that means over ruling them.

[LarrytheCucumber]

I can't imagine either of Sharon's parents ever wear T shirts that say 'Trust me, I'm a doctor'.
Parents like Sharon's and Eleanor's have realised that if your child wants to do something it is better to encourage them and if it is difficult for them (as it was emotionally for Eleanor) to help them to learn from the experience.
I was pleased Sharon won.

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

Gosh, if they think they're identifying a good all-rounder they've missed it, haven't they?! It wasn't a remotely balanced set of tests.

[queenofthemountain]

The competition isn't really designed to identify genius.|I mean how can you compare a musical prodigy against a math genius .You can't. So the show is designed to find a child who is a reasonably good allrounder, which is not what 'genius' means at all.

[Hakluyt]

Utterly ridiculous to put an 8 year old against an 11 year old. The whole thing was hideously exploitative and the parents are all just ghastly but in different ways. I can't decide who I am most disgusted by, C4, MENSA or the parents. The parents, probably. Because C4 makes money out of car crash telly, MENSA has always had a wierd agenda and continues to think that mental maths and a good memory =intelligence. But the parents actually chose to take part.

[Thecroissantthief]

Just finished watching on catch-up. I was really hoping that at some point something other than memory and being able to manipulate numbers fast would be tested, as this is not what genius is really about. I would have been more impressed if the children had had to write an essay on their specialist subject - such as 'string theory - explain how it alters our view of the universe' or 'The battle of Stamford bridge - how was it won and lost and what was its long-term consequences' and have this marked by an expert, rather than learning every fact there was for fast recall. The format just did not test understanding although it made better telly and I suppose for Mensa that's what it was about.

In fact in no way was genius even slightly tested in this competition. What distinguishes a genius, is the application of vast knowledge to solve a problem is a way no one has before. To make a great leap from what is known now to discover something new. For this great imagination and creativity are needed, I saw no real signs of these abilities, indeed the type of tutoring that was being inflicted on the many of these children would act to stifle imagination and creativity.

There were glimmers of hope that there was more to some of them than rote learning and parent pressure, so perhaps there are some geniuses in the making - I really hope so.

[Clobbered]

Good for her (just watching on catch up). I'm so pleased that she was self-taught and not from one of the hideously pushy families. Tudor and his family are disturbing to watch, frankly.

[areyoutheregoditsmemargaret]

I didn't find Rubaiyat's dad weird at all, he seemed genuinely concerned about his son's dreams of attending to university and trying to manage a tricky situation. I loved the way they agreed it was a stumble, Rubaiyat looked so sweet as he cheered up. But the best girl won