Thanks for the validation, HK. I despised being singled out as a child, too. I was always Daddy's little trophy. Ugh. I hope DS never feels like he's beholden to his parents, because whoever he is naturally is exactly who we will love with all our hearts unconditionally.

OMG sorry about all my iphone typos. Ugh.

aquinas, FWIW, 18 months-3 was really bad for us for that stuff, especially with DD, who was an major talker very early. It gets better after 3 when most kids are talking. But at that age, if your child is blathering on and on in paragraphs, people freak. Now we are just getting past "Is he READING that book?" with DS5, but that isn't as constant, YK?

I developed some generic replies when they were toddlers. "She's definitely a chatterbox!" "He keeps us busy!" I don't think my children noticed. But I am shy with strangers and would sometimes feel uncomfortable. NOt the end of the world, of course.

Everything is less noticable in middle childhood.

I'm unsure if it's a natural consequence of this but I find myself noticing DD's strength less and less. She's still the same child but I'm feeling quite neutral. It's almost as if I've built immunity and nothing sticks. We expect her to act as if she were a child twice her age but she gets no recognition for it except for her efforts. I'm not sure if this is exactly fair but I can't let her get away with her tactics and manipulations because I know she knows better and she knows that I know that she knows better.

Thanks ultramarina. I'm most concerned with DS internalizing the messaging.

We just returned from a vacation with family where he was told once that he was "too old to nurse" by my father, and now he's in the habit of saying, "I don't like nursing" before he requests to nurse. It's heartbreaking to see a young child feel conflicted about what he loves best when there is only external basis for that sense of shame. With the breastfeeding, we already had 21 months of optimal messaging coming from me, which continues anon.

I do feel like I'll be fighting an uphill battle countering the "you're a [insert hyperbole]" language. It's inevitable when he hears that 10+ times per day from strangers that it'll permeate his mindser. I plan to do my best to innoculate him by emphasizing persistence, effort, enjoyment of his passions, curiosity, and creativity.

Folks, thanks for the feedback. I'm going to start a new thread on the topic for all who are interested.

http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/B...html#Post164675

(Excuse the lack of elegant mini hyperlink...iPhone typing at its worst!)

DS5 is writing a book. He has finished the cover, which says "King County Library System I Love You". (He wanted me to write "System" for him, but he did the rest of it.)

His kindergarten teacher isn't going to know what hit her, is she?

Lots to love, EN... lots to love.

Lol, EN! DD almost 4, also narrated her own story yesterday. It was kind of a multimedia story. She made an egg and a hen out of one cotton ball( btw, she is the best cotton ball sculptor I have ever met :)). Then she said to me,"mom, I have written a book. It is called the hen and her egg. It starts with the words once upon a time. There lived a hen who laid an egg. But the egg wouldn't hatch. So the hen sang to her." Then dd sang this is her operatic voice. " I am a mama hen. Oh baby come out of the egg. Let the egg crack." And then the egg cracked and a little chick came out. That's the end. Written and illustrated by me." It was super funny.

Gosh I love these anecdotes!

MumOfThree, I agree. I keep wishing there was a "Like" button.

My DD10 is a Les Miserables fanatic. She knows all the songs besides a few that I don't let her listen to. She visited my brother's family in another state for a couple of weeks last month. Yesterday, my sister-in-law sent me a video of my 3 year old niece singing "Do you hear the people sing?" and she says "Momma, -A- taught me that"

To top off the night, my DD10 was doing homework on her bed listening to music and I walked by. She call out all excited.."Mom, the next best music after Les Miserables is the Supremes!" I don't know if I would say she is well-rounded or unusually rounded.