I think that there is a lot to be shared in all respects. Not just my kid is uber brilliant and went to college at 11. Parents of younger children would like to know, really know, how you handle the other aspects. Because puberty is a big issue for all kids. Their bodies are changing, their brains are really changing.

There are more issues than "this kid really loves to learn so I must accomodate" involved. There are multi shades in the PG spectrum alone. You can go from 150 IQ to 200 IQ. There were 7 or 8 in that IQ group with IQs in the 200 range, worldwide.

But the discussion really helped me look at options and perhaps think a path I might not have considered because of this discussion and others who were adamant about no early college at 15, will find themselves sending their now 5 year old to college at 14. And Val may be sending her kid to college right after high school. No year off for the peace corps. (literary license Val, so please let it go).

The point is, that sharing our experiences, whatever they are, give us insight to what are options.

Someone just lent me books on the "gifted child". They were like books we all read as we started on this journey. But we find out that our kids are all very different and even with similar IQs require different environments to make them happy kids.

So in the interest of disclosure and sharing, I posted in this topic about our 15 year old girls being sexual targets. And Potatoes, I took offense at your response. It is because of my own experience. Being at home dating high school boys is not the same as being young, in a dorm, where you don't expect older boys to act as they might, since they are older. Rape is real and an issue for younger girls in college. Boys they might have gone out on a date with but they do not realize the social changes of 15 to 18.

Although there are kids entering college at 11 or 12 and living at home, I think the majority on this board are looking at kids entering a year or 2 earlier, living on campus. These are things we need to prepare for long in advance so that our kids can be safe and enjoy their college experiences, even as younger entrants.

Ren