DD is not yet 4, we haven't yet gone far enough to test or acceleration etc, but we are already experiencing stares and questions from other parents when they happen to see DD doing anything unusual for her age, or something their own kids are far from doing.
Just yesterday, another parent saw her reading flash cards of US Presidents and reading names like Martin Van Buren and James Knox Polk quite effortlessly and identifying them with no mistake. (I wonder what they would think when they see her talking about micropachycephalosaurus or archaeornithomimus)
Their immediate reaction - "Is it really necessary to teach them all this so early? Wouldn't teaching them CAT, MAT, BAT be enough." Their daughter is 4.5 years and per them learning to read CAT, MAT, BAT.
It's a hard question to answer. How could I explain DD's thinking is far more complex? Or that she gets totally frustrated if we talk CAT, MAT, BAT? Or she just happens to remember stuff when she hears or sees it once?
I said "Well, we are not really 'teaching' her much." And smiled.
As it is said, being the parent of a gifted kid is a lonely journey. We are already feeling the loneliness. Traditional parenting logic that our other parent-friends tell us doesn't work with DD. And we cannot really talk about it with them, because they don't really understand. Or they think we are bragging or hothousing.
