so true, kelly0523... that chill you describe happens over the simplest things, too - innocuous questions like "what grade is she in?" when DD5 drops some crazy vocabulary or randomly calculates something in front of them. it used to be so difficult to say "Pre-K" to that... it was a total conversation killer and people would make the craziest (false) assumptions about us. that we had a tutor for her, or a truckload of flashcards, or some kind of creepy Clockwork Orange setup... which is natural, i guess, but it was pretty hard to make friends with other parents when DD was in school when they came loaded with so many preconceptions.
mercifully, now that we're homeschooling what amounts to a triple+ grade skip, it's a lot simpler. we just say, "oh, we're homeschooling so we skip around a lot." it's the exact truth - and delightfully non-specific. people then usually follow up with "oh, wow - what's that like?", and they completely forget to ask more about the actual grade! whee
YES!! this is us too and it is delightfully so much easier! It's also easier to explain to my kids that age/grade levels are merely loose guidelines that work for some kids.
Back on topic: I feel that every parent should have the right to share their child's achievements and be proud of their kids. Of course as has already been pointed out in this thread, we don't really get to enjoy the same privilege. What was mentioned at the beginning of this thread though is just absurd!
A lovely example that made me giggle out loud: When Aiden (now 7) was little I was "friends" with a woman who had a child about 3 weeks younger. All was well until Aiden was approaching age 2 and at a moms and toddlers picnic Aiden spent about 30 minutes dividing his smarties (like m&m's) over and over - by colour, by number, by parents, by kids... he kept at it with all the possible variations. Of course it was accompanied by a running commentary. After that her and I were shaky. Then her son and mine started swimming lessons at the same swim school (run by her mom and sister). They were in the same little class initially, then he surged so far ahead so quickly and she smugly pointed this out to me over and over that her son was going to be bigger and better in the pool. It was toned down right at the end with the "of course he is taught by his aunty and gran so that will help him too".
I really didn't mind and over the years as we spoke less and less I heard randomly about his swimming prowess as he achieved badges etc faster than Aiden. Now just 2 weeks ago, they both got their latest swimming badge within 2 days of each other - the same badge. And this was shared with the news that he will be starting 1st grade and that his mom believes he is a shoo-in to be the star of the 1st grade swim team. It made me giggle - its the first time we have seen each other in nearly 3 years and this is how she chooses to "catch up" in the 10 minutes we were near each other...
I just smiled and said that I hoped he enjoyed the schooling experience..
