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.

So are CAT scores the same as IQ scores?

not that I have any need to defend joni, I'm sure she will herself, but I didn't read that comment as sarcastic at all. at the time when I saw your post I wondered if you were perhaps being a bit touchy because you know this girl personally and misread the tone of Joni's post. then your lack of response to her asking for an explanation I wondered if you had realised yourself that you had misread it?

There are awveral threads on the subject of Child Genius with lots of comments about the children and their parents. What happened was friends of the parents of one of the children (who I assume are new to here) joined this thread I'm order to have a go at me. I'm not especially bothered but I believe that sort of behaviour is frowned upon by MNHQ.

So are CAT scores the same as IQ scores?

The results are given in a similar way, where 100 is the average score.

I don't think that happened at all Joni. One poster had already posted before you joined the thread from what I recall. I know that poster in real life & she has been a mumsnet member under a different username for longer than me I think (& I've been a mumsnet yet since the days of Cod)

Thanks DiaDuit

Pictures I can totally understand that you would be a little prickly if you are friends with these people but there is so much that's wrong about the programme and we are a forum where we discuss parenting issues!

(I was a bit uncomfortable reading the posts from those who know some of the families in real life. I know it's exciting and easy to get carried away... I don't know, I just felt a bit uncomfortable).

Thanks First. So is 130 CAT score equivalent to 130 IQ score?

(Depending on the answer, I may have to strangle DS for being even more underachieving than previously thought).

Cats also measure different things I think

Dds CAT scores are

V - 131 (verbal?)
Q - 105 (numbers?)
S - 118 (no idea)

And her IQ I posted above

Verbal 153
Performance 114
Full Scale 138

SO I'm really not sure.

So is 130 CAT score equivalent to 130 IQ score?

No, but a child scoring 130 in a CAT would usually have an IQ well above average.

To confuse me even more I have BASII scores too.

Thank you ladies. I suspect I am guilty of the complete opposite to the parents on Child Genius; I have never pushed my kids enough, just resorted to a bit of desperate nagging close to their exams.

Oh well, they seem to be happy, well rounded people.

We have been told that DS2's CAT scores were >139, but not an exact number.

Loved Eleanor this week. Along with rubiyat (spelling?) & Sharon she seems naturally very clever & not pushed at all. Loved her parents as well.

Although curtis's mum was a complete nightmare (or edited to be a nightmare) for the last 2 episodes I thought she was sweet when he was out of the competition.

Oh I think Eleanor's parents were very genuine about not wanting her to take part. I don't think that was put on at all.

She is a child; if they didn't want her to take part they could have stopped her!

Well sometimes you let your child do things that you really hate the idea of - because they love it. Or at least I do.

I mean Eleanor's clearly a pretty unique child, already clearly forging her own path through life - I can see why they let her get on with it, even with their own reservations.

Sometimes you do let your children do things though that you don't really want them too

I didn't want dd to leave the academically selective school she got into & go to dance school aged 11. But I let her because if I hadn't she may have turned round in later years & said "mum you didn't let me try"

Dds old school sent a flyer round all the children from the production company asking for participants. Dd dippy mare never took any notice in her unorganised chaotic school bag.

Other children got excited at the prospect.

There is a story about Aliyah here.

If you were a teacher, would you look forward to seeing Aliyah's parents at parents' evening? Or at the weekly progress appointments they would probably insist on?

I remember pretty much a year ago today DH & I (actually a year ago tomorrow) sat in a coffee shop discussing whether we should have allowed Ds2 to do the thing we were about to go & watch because it was enormous pressure on him. I felt such about it.

Anyway when we picked him up he was bouncing off the ceiling he was on such a high. And turns out while I was shaking in the audience nightly he was merrily joining in with what was going on around him waiting for his slot. No fear or anxiety at all.

I still don't always like what he does, I have some reservations about some of it, but I can see that he is not me & gets an enormous amount out of it. Different sphere but I completely understood letting your 11 year old do something you'd never want to do yourself & knew could potentially go wrong (in ds2's case it boosted his confidence enormously - especially the year ago tomorrow activity).

I must admit, that was my thought too.

*sick