Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Lifetime show Child Genius

The Bachelor of Arts degree does not prepare you for any specific job but costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to "prove your intelligence" to employers. If children could prove their intelligence and start work early at appropriate jobs, at least part time, that would be a good thing. I bet my 11yo could be as productive as some adult computer programmers, but he needs to spend another 10 years jumping through hoops to get such a job.

I just watched this show. DD wanted to tape it when we saw it scrolling through the schedule. There is a show in HS called Reach for the Top where teams from schools do this kind of thing.

I think that this is no different than piano or gymnastics competitions where kids practice forever. These kids are up for 100000 in scholarship money. And being on the show is great for college applications.

We've (DS8 and I) have been watching this show almost since it began.

Honestly, I previewed the show before calling him to see it. I was not impressed with some of the parenting styles, but thought it was important for DS to watch other kids like him be encouraged to do something positive with their gift, as well as see that he's not the only one who cries when he isn't perfect. He has no intellectual peers of the ages these kids are in our area, so seeing children like him makes him dance...literally...in front of the tv.

We have our favorite we are rooting for, and have seen some favorites have to go home. I use those moments of defeat as a jumping off point for conversation about coping with disappointment and not expecting too much of oneself.

I wish the interviews with the parents would center a bit more on the asynchronous challenges the kids face day-to-day at home, however. It seems some people would come away from the show thinking the kids have it made, and not realize they are watching kids just as much at risk of failing in life as others who "fall through the cracks".

It's interesting. On the one hand, our society is content push its children into situations where the maturity needed to cope with the stress levels is typically beyond their years. Yet on the other hand, we infantilize them. For example, parents often don't let 8- or 9-year-old kids walk home from school alone, play outside alone, or go to the park alone out of an unjustified fear of stranger abductions. And then we helicopter them and/or tiger parent them. We also tell them about the complete and utter importance of COLLEGE or IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS!! at very young ages and expect them to cope with the increasing pressure being piled onto them every year. In the words of a Stanley Teitel, former principal of Stuyvesent High: "Welcome Freshman. For the next 4 years, pick 2 out of the following 3: friends, good grades, sleep." Etc.

All this means that kids may have to cope with adult-level stress before they've even been allowed to walk home from school alone or had a first summer job.

This seems...wrong.

That's not the only fear. I regularly read about child protective services "abducting" children because they were not being supervised as closely as some adult thought they should be. For example, there is a recent story "Maryland family under investigation for letting their kids walk home alone".

I let DS play alone in our yard in our seriously safe neighborhood, and I let him ride his bike alone as long as he tells me where he's going and comes back as we agree. More than once, I've had neighbors at my door, letting me know he is unsupervised, and indignantly shocked when I say, as cordially as I can, "Yes, thanks for the heads up. But he's fine!"

We keep trying to march to the beat of our own drummer, but it gets harder and harder.

Yes, we live in a state of fear, and none of it is based on probabilities. The reason most folks are afraid to swim in the ocean is not due to the fairly high probability that they will drown, but rather the absurdly unlikely case that they are eaten by shark. We are afraid to let our children play outside, but not of childhood obesity. We take antibiotics when we do not need them out of fear of bacteria, but we re not scared enough of antibiotic resistant bacteria we are creating. And, the list goes on.

Disclaimer: When I swim in the ocean I sometimes fear being eaten by shark, so I am not immune to irrational fears.

I find it somewhat bothersome, to say the least. Never in a million years would I expose my child in this fashion. I can't relate to these parents at all. I did show a couple of clips to my son though. It had a positive effect. He was excited to see kids like himself. It was almost like he was having a play date...:-)

His jaw dropped when that one girl said the word "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". He keeps asking everyone if they know it, especially teachers at the school, hoping someone will. This was the first time he actually heard someone say it.

Here's a blog list of several potential benefits of the TV show Child Genius, 5 Things I Loved about Child Genius.

I enjoyed that. Thank you. We are definitely going to be watching season two.

For those who don't recall , the "drink water" reference was a nod to Vanya, the winner of Child Genius. Vanya also won (tied) for first place in the Scripps National Spelling Bee this year.

Final Moments at the Bee