Hmmm. Well, it has always made us uncomfortable, as well. I don't like the idea of drawing attention to something that is as natural and effortless for my DD as... well, her blue eyes. Or breathing.
DD has also seemed to feel pressure to adopt a persona that she has learned that others expect of her as a PG kid.
So at eight, it wasn't enough for her to say that she "loved reading" and list Lemony Snicket and Tolkien as her favorite authors... noooooo... she went right to DICKENS. (Which, okay, yes, she read Dickens at that age, but it was hardly a "favorite," the way she implied...)
I never encouraged or coached that, and I definitely discouraged adults from reinforcing or drawing it out, but often it was just too little, too late-- they'd already SAID the words. I sometimes wish that I'd had a better way of reining it in, too, because I think this gave her the start of that socially oriented perfectionism that she's struggling with now. Super-kid syndrome.
It can't be good, I'm thinking. Kids can feel that they have to live up to the archetype, that they really ARE entitled to praise and accolades just for showing up/being gifted, or if they're introverted enough maybe they resolve to hide any evidence of being different so as to blend in better.
DD likes the attention, for sure-- well, sort of. She's actually somewhat shy and doesn't like being the center of attention as much as she likes feeling that competitive advantage of "being number one," as odd as that sounds. The real down side is that if you live under a magnifying glass, that comes with a certain amount of pressure to always be "on" for your public, too. KWIM?
I think this must be what child celebrities struggle with as they grow up.
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Please note that I'm not saying that a child who reaches a remarkable achievement as the result of focused effort and personal goal-setting shouldn't enjoy the accolades that come with that. THAT, in my mind, is quite a different matter from being praised for innate qualities that you just happen to have. Being praised for being "beautiful" is different from being praised for being "the team-mate that everyone else can count on when they're feeling down." KWIM?
