I got this book from the library and I'm nearly done with it (Hooray! I might finish a book! :))
I think I've read threads here where people mentioned it. It is irritating the heck out of me. The author is mixing too unrelated things. She keeps talking about helicopter parenting and "extreme" parenting, where parents really push their children and overschedule them. Parents of ND kids and gifted kids might both engage in these behaviors. It has nothing to do with being gifted.
Then she ties that to parenting children who are actually gifted, according to IQ testing. She makes it sound like the parents are the reason these gifted kids can't make friends easily or feel depressed. Or that the parents cause the child to grow up and feel unfulfilled.
If I didn't know any better, this book would make me run right over to Waldorf and swear off any academic "enrichment" for my child, ever. (Not that there is anything wrong with Waldorf. It is just play based. I liked the idea before reading about Montessori, which she also seems to be putting down.)
I'd also really look down on the entire concept of "giftedness" and decide every kid is pretty much the same.
Gifted kids do need to be challenged, they can have a hard time finding friends, and they can suffer from depression. This is all due to them being naturally intense and seeing and thinking about more things than most people. This has nothing to do with what their parents have done to them.
And maybe some of us grow up and feel unfulfilled because we need to be challenged in our job and we might also be idealistic and really want our job to be meaningful. Sometimes we are interested and good at so many areas, it can be hard to even choose one career path. That isn't caused by bad parenting.
The author obviously has an ax to grind because her own father pushed her too hard, but she is trying to support her argument with things that don't go together. Regular kids getting "hothoused" by their parents is NOT the same as intense gifted kids who ask for and need to be challenged earlier.
Anyone else read this book?
Last edited by islandofapples; 09/01/11 09:01 AM.
