Sigh. Well, you can tell us over here. We all commiserate with the lows as well as the highs!!
It just happened to us too. I noticed that my son's classmate's mum loves talking to my son. She'd ask him what happened in class etc because he can't help giving super detailed answers. His vocabulary is, well, precise, and I've heard her ask for clarification. Anyways, I was shocked when she said one day, "your son likes to show off, huh? Like he wants people to know how much he knows, and he thinks his opinions are so important." ??!!?
I'm trying to understand the thought process- parents with same age kids can't help doing a comparison. And when there's a big gap, they attribute it negatively to the other kid to preserve their own sense of well-being. How bizarre is that?
I can *so* relate--I deal with this issue in my husband's family--and they are educators! Two of my children are in gifted ed & instead of being able to celebrate them, I feel like I have to keep my head down so I don't offend anyone.
My mil says she wishes they wouldn't "label" them. But really, it's just a word unless you let it have some sort of power, isn't it?
I try to treat my children just as my parents treated me: I was no more special than anyone else at school & I went to the classes that were appropriate for me. I have no idea if they encountered any of this negativism. But I didn't think it was any big deal to be in gifted ed.
Interestingly, I was reading the report from my 8 yo son's IQ evaluation & in the observation notes the psychologist stated, "His spontaneous vocabulary is mature using words such as apparently, confusing & actually." Like your children, he uses these & many more words in his everyday vocabulary. I get such a kick out listening to him.
