I had my daughter when I was 22. I was a single parent from the time she was three until she turned 12. I know she was bright because she could read at age 4 but I didn't know anything about gifted kids. As soon as she was reading on her own I stopped reading to her. I was too busy trying to earn a living and attend college at night. Her teachers would tell me that she was very bright but then she went to middle school, became a cheerleader, and academics were not important to her. Her grades went way down, she didn't seem to care, and I couldn't understand why she was like that. I had been able to make good grades while working full time, including some overtime, and going to college at night. She was only interested in socializing and having fun.
My daughter would fight with my husband who was retired military. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't follow the rules and make good grades. He has a son from his first marriage who tested highly gifted but didn't care about making good grades and staying in school. Having another child at that point didn't seem like a good idea, but I secretly still wanted another child and got pregnant in my late 30's. My husband is almost nine years older than I am.
While I was pregnant with my son at an advanced age I had no health problems except for the migraines. My son kicked a lot and his kicks were strong, but he had a difficult birth. After he was born his muscles seemed weaker than normal, but he could identify some letters when he was one. When he started reading without being taught and identifying words that were spelled out for him at 2 1/2 he seemed more academically gifted than my daughter did at that age. He had physical delays because of the mild muscle weakness and low physical endurance but he was cognitively advanced. He spent more time more time reading and learning because of the physical issues. He had some sensory processing issues (vestibular and proprioceptive) and at age 11 developed scoliosis and migraines. None of the doctors my son saw ever said anything about our advanced ages causing either the giftedness or the disabilities.
