Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion You know you're parenting a gifted child when...

...when your 8-year-old's "novel" has better grammar, wittier dialogue, more interesting social context, AND more actual plot than the fiction manuscripts in the same genre composed by actual adults that you're reading for a workshop.

Yes, same here... I'm appalled that would be the response. I caught one mistakenly marked wrong answer on a test my son brought home, nicely contacted the teacher via a note sent back with my son (something to the effect of "we looked at this and can't figure it out, is there something new we are missing?"). She immediately sent an apologetic note AND must have told the principal, who also said how embarrassed the teacher was to have
made the grading error.

your DD is totally digging the 1995 BBC Pride & Prejudice, but is young enough to wonder why the sisters Jane and Lizzie can't just marry each other, since they already love each other.

Anecdote 1:

Your 2.5yo arranges some toys on the floor in a pattern and proudly announces, "Look Mummy, they're symmetric!"

Anecdote 2:

Also, here's another DS2.5 original joke from lunch today:

Q: What do you call a disgusting cucumber dish?
A: Puke-umber!

When I asked him if he disliked our Greek salad, he insisted the cucumber was delicious. Phew!

Anecdote 3:

The power went out tonight in our home.

DS: Yes!! There's no city light. Now we can go stargazing!

And so we did.

Eta--Anecdote 4

At the museum today:

Me: This is a diorama of the Forbidden City. A diorama in this case is a scale model of a place.
DS: Mum, is the Forbidden City in China?
Me (incredulous, as we'd never discussed this): Yes, how did you know that DS?
DS: The writing on the exhibit looks Chinese.

I was surprised at the inference he made, as he doesn't see much Chinese writing.

Oh, we have our fair share of subterfuge! I'd call that good executive function and theory of mind, squishys. The gap may be much smaller than you think....

When your child's music teacher tells you that she's only read and heard about musical prodigies and she's starting to wonder is your child might be one. This came about after DD played a little song for her teacher that she made up but teacher thought SO composed it for her.

I have to admit, I didn't respond well. I should have said that I'm happy to see DD enjoying music and she's lucky to have such a supportive and encouraging teacher. Instead, I told her that DD tends to be a fast learner but that doesn't always lead to true accomplishments. Now I'm up late thinking if I should send her an email to do some damage control.

When your 4 year old asks, "How do you spell perspiration?"

When your 3 year old speaks in rhyme for over a half hour, while remaining entirely on topic, without making up any words and using words like "metamorphasis". He speaks so quickly, I think it may be the equivalent of an adult speaking for over an hour... He is on a poetry kick.

When he tells you that when he grows up he wants to be an inventor who also creates apps and games for phones and the computer. You respond that after he works hard and learns to read really well and do complicated math, he can learn to create apps and games for the computer and phone. He tells you that he already can... and you aren't actually sure if your 3 year old can or cannot do advanced level reading and math.

(Oddly enough this isn't a kid who really plays much in the way of apps or computer games. He is more of a play in the dirt kind of kid. Ever since we took apart a toy duck with a motor, he is fascinated by creating things and making things work. I think the app interest is along these lines as coding doesn't seem obviously mechanical. I know there are coding languages for kids but I didn't think we would hit this interest for another 5 years... The inventions he talks about are more whimsical and usually connected to some issue we are facing, like making a box you can drive a car into that will shrink it down to the size of a toy car so you can take it with you instead of hunting for a parking space.)

SAHM, that's one creative little guy you have! The rhyming would have been something to hear! I bet he'll be designing and building sooner than you might predict.

...When you visit a farm with your DS2.5 and he's more interested in discussing the combustion in the engine of a tractor and inspecting trailer hitch mechanisms in a horse trailer than the animals.

...When he compares "Easter Bunny" footprints I left on the ground in his egg hunt to his rabbit stuffed animal's feet and declares, "The feet don't match the footprints, but you said this was the Easter Bunny, Daddy."