I realize this is an older thread, but I hope I can chime in anyway.
I agree with Jesse that anyone who has a problem with it is, well, the one with the problem.
I do think I have a somewhat unusual situation, though, in that my kid is not biologically mine - so when I accept compliments on how smart/charming/funny/whatever he is, it doesn't feel like bragging at all (like I'm taking credit for his genetics or something). Usually I say, "for someone who never wanted a kid, I sure am lucky to be involved with him!" Most people are okay with that.
Do you think there are soccer forums where parents fret about what to say when someone compliments their kid's abilities? Why is it that physical prowess of any kind is understood and accepted but mental prowess is not?
I wonder what would happen if we stopped feeling sheepish and apologetic about it and started delivering the facts as they are. Would people, over time, realize that there are quite a few kids like this, and eventually they would no longer find it so threatening? Could mental prowess eventually become as respectable as physical prowess?
I'm afraid I'm being unrealistic but how will public perception ever change if we don't change it? If even we are afraid to utter the word "gifted" in everyday circumtances, how can we expect others to embrace it?
I say trumpet it from the rooftops! Yes, my kid is 8 and hilariously punny! Yes, at age 6 the concept of division dawned on him in the meat section of the supermarket! Yes, he's my kid, he's gifted, and he's fabulous!
