Stop Telling Me Your Kid Is Gifted!
Let's take a moment to back off and let our "gifted" kids be kids!
Dear Mom of Gifted Smarty Pants,
I'm totally impressed that your son is super-bright for a first grader, and yes, I admit that he probably can answer more Jeopardy questions than me, but can you PLEASE stop telling me how gifted your kid is!?!
I actually get rashy when you say "he likes to play with his math flash cards for fun" (really?) ... that he stays up late so he can read "chapter books with no pictures" (sounds like YOU put those words in his "gifted" mouth) ... and does he really greet the Chinese delivery guy in Mandarin and watch French movies without subtitles? (C'mon, he was barely speaking English in kindergarten!) I'm not accusing you of being overbearing (OK, maybe I am), but isn't it our job to get our kids to love learning and not drill their intelligence into them? I think my kid is pretty smart (who doesn't?), but I'm not sure I want him to be "gifted"—that's a lot of pressure for a 6-year-old!
That said, I'll probably eat this letter when your genius grows up to win the Nobel Prize for discovering the cure for cellulite or something, but for right now, can we chill on the "my kid is gifted" talk and let them just be as smart as 6-year-olds?
Sincerely,
The Mom With the Smart Enough Kid
report abuseI'm totally impressed that your son is super-bright for a first grader, and yes, I admit that he probably can answer more Jeopardy questions than me, but can you PLEASE stop telling me how gifted your kid is!?!
I actually get rashy when you say "he likes to play with his math flash cards for fun" (really?) ... that he stays up late so he can read "chapter books with no pictures" (sounds like YOU put those words in his "gifted" mouth) ... and does he really greet the Chinese delivery guy in Mandarin and watch French movies without subtitles? (C'mon, he was barely speaking English in kindergarten!) I'm not accusing you of being overbearing (OK, maybe I am), but isn't it our job to get our kids to love learning and not drill their intelligence into them? I think my kid is pretty smart (who doesn't?), but I'm not sure I want him to be "gifted"—that's a lot of pressure for a 6-year-old!
That said, I'll probably eat this letter when your genius grows up to win the Nobel Prize for discovering the cure for cellulite or something, but for right now, can we chill on the "my kid is gifted" talk and let them just be as smart as 6-year-olds?
Sincerely,
The Mom With the Smart Enough Kid
Submit!
