... when you find yourself mentally doing asides during conversations with your child which go something like "I sure hope that she never vocalizes any of this to anyone else... because nothing says
"I'm a freak" like {whatever it is} at {age}." But you wonder if you should engage in some of the more odd things that s/he seems to want to discuss-- because you're afraid of "encouraging it."
And then you feel bad because that's truly not how YOU feel about such conversations... it's just that you don't want anyone else to view your child as a specimen rather than as a person.
And ooooooo-- the caution about "smart kids," too. I've
so made that mistake, blithely leaping in to 'share' and thrilled that another parent has a HG child... only to realize that, oops-- nope, what they mean is something pretty different than what we're used to and I just made them feel really inadequate, where previously they'd been very proud of their kids. (I hate that-- they SHOULD feel proud and happy.) I'll.. just... crawl into this convenient hole, here...
... when your 5yo reminds YOU that most
other 5yo girls won't like a science kit, a boxed set of novels, or a copy of Grey's Anatomy for a birthday.
"Mom, focus. {deep sigh and an eye roll} This isn't for me. {Child} won't like that." (Said with a tone of "Seriously?? Mom, what ARE you thinking??")