Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Are your kids 'smarter' than you?

Agreed. It's why I'm not willing to state one way or another how smart I think DS4 is. I really feel like I just can't tell yet.

I will say that he doesn't seem to learn as fast as anyone else in the family. Things require more explanation for him. He's also not as advanced for his age as anyone else in the family was at 4yo. But I also think that if he has a different kind of intelligence, if it's taking some different form than that of all the Spocks he's surrounded by, I may just not recognize his strengths as easily. He definitely has many of the "symptoms" of GTness besides the "book-smarts," so I tend to think there's something going on there.

But he isn't the kid that people say upon a first meeting, "You know he's really smart, right?" as his brother always has been.

Whatever that means...

Oh, and kcab, LOL!

Well my DS 4.5 is clearly smarter than me...I am not gifted although I am probably high avg. I took an on-line IQ test and got 127. So that must be official ; ) And I even got a certificate to print out and frame, LOL. DH is gifted, probably MG I am guessing but not sure. But DS is clearly more gifted than DH was. DH read at 4, DS started reading before 2 and very well at 2....in general DS seems to be much more ahead than DH was at his age all across the board. DS can already do things on computers that I don't know about and fix things I don't know how to fix just by playing around and figuring it out. There are brain teaser puzzles and wheel of fortune things that he can figure out faster than me already. It's quite overwhelming thinking about what will be. But then again, DS put his pants on and then realized he forgot his underwear today....so I am smarter than that.

LOL, I can relate. But DS was over 10 pounds when born so I do remember the whole thing : ) Thankfully he does have sense of humor that is part of our family...and he seems to appreciate mild sarcasm which is good.

ROFL! Love that!

I think of this in 2 ways.
DS probably has a higher IQ than me, 'probably' because niether of us have been tested so i have no real numbers. But the speed in which he learns is pretty rapid.

However currently i'm 'smarter' because i know more 'things' than him IYKWIM.

But i fully expect that one day he will be both smarter and have a higher IQ.

DD i don't know, but so far she has worked out pretty well how to push my buttons and get me to angry quicker than anyone i've ever met and i don't get angry easily...

as far as things that will lead to successful careers, yes. DH and I are both artists..... we makea da nice picture. yes? You likea da nice picture?

all kidding aside, our knowledge base is pretty specialized.

our iq numbers are all pretty equal, his are slightly lower then ours, but we think he may have tested low.

This is such a humorous topic to me. My DG who passed away last year would tell everyone who listened that my DD is incredibly smart. She use to say "she is smarter than me, smarter than your mother, smarter than even you (referring to me). Smarter than everyone else in the family." This was all before she was a year old, but my DG had been around many a baby and was a retired elementary school teacher. Now that she is 28 mths old I get that she is extremely intelligent and my grandmother was saying a lot back then especially when she had my cousin to compare her too. I know I am what is considered a creative genius (artistically) and yes of the high intelligence probably more MG than HG but my cousin was/is PG and even he has admitted that DD is smarter than him so it is a little scary.

At the same time just the other day as we were going through the day I caught myself thinking just how normal she seems to me and surely is just above average. I know it will be an uphill battle for me to really accept it all.

Just a wild guess here Mewzard, but is DD of the same personality as you? If you both are of strong personalities than it would be easier to push your buttons. I think my sister and mother are the same personalities and they are always bickering. I have friends that push their mother's buttons and are of the same personalities.

LOL!

We had a couple visit us last week and, after meeting our 24 m.o. DD, the wife turned to me and said, "She is so smart - REALLY smart - where did that come from?" and she searched my face like it was a complete mystery. I'm glad I wasn't offended LOL!

Grinity, can't you just tell your DS "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" and let him do research on intelligence to his heart's content? He could explore the nature v. nurture argument and, either way, conclude you are his competitive advantage.

What a fun thread this has been to read! DD10 is much more like DH, whereas DS13 is much more like me. It's easier for me to have a sense of DS's intelligence. I tend to think that DS is more intelligent than the lot of us, but every once in a while, DD will say something incredibly brilliant and I realize that I've been selling her short! As far as test scores go, DD scores the same or just a tad lower than DS at the same age (ITBS, CoGat - which were required to get into the self-contained gifted classes from 3rd-6th that he did and that she is now in.)

Unfortunately, DH's family didn't seem to value academic intelligence as much as mine, so it's hard to recognize from his youth where he was at. I was in any GT classes (pull-out) that were available, and when in 1st grade was invited to the 2nd grade+ pull out program because they didn't know what else to do with me. DH is definitely gifted, and it's quite apparent now. DS is much more interested in learning - he really thirsts for knowledge and understanding. DD enjoys learning, but doesn't "consume" books the way DS does.

I have tried to look at comparisons between my SAT scores in 8th grade and DS's ACT scores this year - and best I can tell, he is smarter than me. Of course, I was always more of the math kid, and he is more of the language kid.

I have a feeling that DD will end up surprising us all. I think she will end up at the top of her class consistently, and probably be very well-adjusted socially. I've had several people thinking they were complimenting me by telling me that "she is obviously really smart once you start talking to her, but until you get into a deep discussion with her you would never know it!" I've also had people tell me from the moment DS opens his mouth that they'll "vote for him as President someday, because he obviously is smart enough to get there!"

Seablue's post reminded me of the time I was at DH's office party and was bragging to the office manager about our kids. The OM has always been very friendly person and impressed with DH, and was likewise impressed with my stories of the children. Finally the OM said, "Wow! They are *really* smart! They must take after your husband!" I don't think he had a clue at how it came out!

One last thing, if anyone is still reading, we enjoy going out to eat dinner and socializing/having discussions with our kids. Recently during one of these outings, DH asked DS if he would ever get bored with talking with us because he's so much smarter than we are. DS responded, "Well, maybe a little someday, but I'll always love you!"