Well, HG+ kids are pretty rare. And what you see of a child as a casual observer isn't always the full measure of a kid's abilities. Add in the potential for GT denial in parents who are probably GT themselves or underreporting for fear of seeming to be bragging, and I'm not sure we're looking at a very scientific cross-section here!

If you're just using that story to explain why you're asking the question, then I guess I'd reply that there are GT kids born in all sorts of families: working moms, single parents, rich, poor, etc.

Certainly nurturing any child's gifts--in the generic sense of the word--from a young age is always likely to make those gifts stronger. But there's good childcare and bad childcare out there.

I had an sitter--a retired teacher who was very aware of GTness and very happy to nurture it--during my kids' early years who treated my kids like her own grandkids. They got so much from being at her house. She offered all sorts of learning opportunities for them that they wouldn't have had at my house. They got lots of attention from her. They got to be around older kids in the afternoon, when the primary grades got off the bus. There were people to read to them, to play with them, to talk to them. I have another sitter now who takes the kids on walks and teaches them about fossils and rocks. They're as happy as clams and have learned so much from her.

Bad childcare is bad for kids, GT or not. Warehousing kids is never a good idea. Yes, I think a neglectful childcare situation can hamper brain development, and I doubt anyone would disagree with that. But there's lots of childcare out there that isn't like that, and I think that good kind can be quite good for kids.

I don't buy it that the astrophysicist's kids are not GT because she worked. To be honest, it sounds like some sort of anti-feminist "keep the women barefoot and pregnant" argument to me, and I always bristle at those. I'm guessing that wasn't your point, but it's what it sounds like to me.

Kriston