What to do if your child is smarter than you?
Answer:
Test scores are not always all that accurate. I'v e lived through a similar situation. Your child will always love you. Be aware that, gifted or even genius, you still have a child on your hands. You child will not always be right. Your child will do dumb things. Your child will get in trouble. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is a warning - some parenting guidelines and, I might add, a lot of educational policies, incorporate the idea that you can 'outsmart' the child - distracting or talking around etc. If you have a gifted child these will not help, and when your child catches on will breed distrust. You have Life experience over your child. You have emotional maturity. Just don’t try to outsmart them or trick them. The problem is that this often happens in school, and your child may develop distrust or contempt for certain teachers or other adults he comes in contact with. Make sure he is around other gifted children and that you go to stimulating environments such as museums, parks, plays. Be aware that his interests may be different from yours.
In a nutshell? A gifted child can probably attend a lecture at a college and enjoy it. You cannot let a 10 yr old child walk around campus (or anywhere else really) by himself. So you will always do fine mom, because a mom is exactly what he needs.
be proud
The internet has tons of sources for homework help. Use it. My daughter is doing honors math right now in school and I'll be damned if I know this stuff LOL
now a students dont need assistance from there parents, they find there solutions on there own, only thing is u need to provide resources- like books,DVD...etc find it out from teachers.
If he's that far advanced, most homework at his level isn't going to be difficult. But he's still only 9, and he'll still probally do 9 year old things, and just take care of a problem the best you can at that point in time. If there's ever a problem with homework or something do your research to try and help. I don't think you have a serious problem here. And as the other person said, Feel Proud!
Well let me clarify something.
Your kid has a higher IQ; but he may not be smarter than you.
If you're son is 9, then I doubt he's going to be able to compete with your 41 years of living experience, so you are going to know more than him.
It's the age difference that made a dramatic difference - he's a genuis FOR HIS AGE, but not neccesarily a genius in the World (not yet, anyhow).
So, on to the question. I doubt he's going to need help with his homework if he's really good at all subjects. If sometimes you don't understand his homework, you can tell him to go to class and ask the teacher for some help -- or you could go in yourself and ask what he doesn't understand, then after the teacher explains it to you you can go through this at home with your child.
Hope this helps. Good luck with your future Einstein!
MaybeLater_x
BE PROUD YOU RAISED SUCH A SMART KID!
wow, i would be so proud. you are above normal, that means you are smarter than normal people but your son is a genius. and you are his parent! my parents could never help me with homework because they never knew what it was but they are both really smart. you should know that there are so many new discoveries that they have to teach children more!
Thank God that he is so gifted! Don't worry about it. If he needs help and he knows that you can't help him then he will find the person that can. He is smart enough to do that. Just let him be a kid and he will find what he needs. I would just make sure that the person helping him is trustworthy.
You tell him you don't know the answer and you tell him that together you will figure out how to solve the problem. You'll learn some things you never knew and he will learn to respect you for who you are and you'll teach him how to learn things on his own (probably one of the greatest gifts you can give a child). Also, consider getting a tudor if a subject is too challenging for him. You have the internet...it's a great research tool! Use it!
I would suggest that you worry about his home life-stability, love, caring, etc. As for his academic life, find a place that will challenge him and allow him to fully develop his intellect. You can nurture and develop his emotional health, and allow academia to nurture his intellectual health.
I dealt with this "problem" with my son... he is much smarter and analytical than I ever was. He is grown now and I always supported his curiosity and interested to the best of my ability
and tried to provide outside support if I wasn't capable. You don't have to be as intelligent as your child to be a good parent to them.
Most school systems provide programs for the gifted kids enrolled and they can network very well through those programs and most teachers are very pleased to suggest special mentoring programs.
Good luck and you (and he) will do GREAT!
There is a lot more to being a well-developed person than being intelligent. Certainly, this is a trait that should offer your son clear advantages academically, but high intelligence can also cause a serious imbalance in other aspects of child development, particularly emotionally.
You should nurture his "common sense" alongside his academics. Also, never let his intelligence become a "crutch" that he uses to avoid natural and normal activities.
There will always be other intelligent children and adults with whom your son can relate to on a higher academic level, but the whole person into which he develops will depend greatly on the emotional stability and life lessons he experiences with his mother.
Things will always change from the time you were in school and what he's learning now. My mother was the same with my brother and I. She couldn't remember half the things from when she was in school. But i didn't need her for my school work, that's what the teachers are for. I needed her more when it came to life it self! Like puberty and growing up, making the right decisions rather than the wrong. Let your son learn what he needs to at school and help him with the rest, as he needs you. Like girls etc... Also there's nothing wrong with letting your son teach you a few things along the road. You can learn for one another.
You'll be fine. Your child will probably not get over your head as far as school work. The biggest obstacle will be to keep him challenged. Just help direct your child with his homework - ask leading questions to help him focus and he'll figure it out. That's what my dad did with me, especially with trig and cal. He would sit down with me and ask things like "What information do you have?" "Given what you know, what can you solve for?" "Ok, now is there a relationship among any of these?" Before I knew it, I had the formula and the problem solved.
I was left to my own devices with music. I was a gifted child and I have a gifted 4 year old. Her IQ is much higher than my husband's. My husband by no means lacks intelligence. He was really worried, but he'll be just fine as well. You don't have to be "smarter" than your child to help him, you just have to know your child - how to challenge him and how to lead him to solutions.
be excited for your son
cry
He is not just a genius, the genius part is only part of your child's history, and is a number on a piece of paper provided after he passes certain tests. He is a child with the normal needs of a child in his age group. His teachers have the main job to provide educational challenges, along with giving him the advanced classes in gifted programs.
You may be able to contact online
Mensa - the group of people who are established as being considered "genius" . They have advice that you could use.
http://www.mensa.org/
Mensa International web site...Mensa "provides a forum for intellectual exchange among members. Its activities include the exchange of ideas by lectures, discussions, journals, special-interest groups, and local, regional, national, and international gatherings; the investigations of members' opinions and attitudes; and assistance to researchers, inside and outside Mensa, in projects dealing with intelligence or Mensa
He is a child. I suggest you start to treat him as a child. You may need extra challenges (computers - but still needs parental supervision, and to make sure he is in the gifted program at his school).
Your school district will be able to address the additional challenges for your son to contiue his advanced skills.
The computer can also provide homework help - that you can access for any help when he needs your assistance.
Perhaps he also needs exercise and FUN.
Your genes and his father's genes produced this child - so part of you is what makes his smart.
You have more experience. You are the adult. You have control so you don't have any of that to prove to anyone. You will lead him by taking him to museums (and can plan a trip if possible to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. - and it takes days to even see a few of the buildings), art classes, landmarks around your state, and even introduce him into our government landmarks to stimulate his interest in geography and adventure.
Don't forget to add happiness and lots of love. That is what will help him to have spiritual growth to "wholeness" and a healthy outlook on life. You are his first and best role model.
Congratulations in recognizing the gifts of your child. It is a challenge, that with technology and an adventurous spirit you can meet and lead.
GOD bless us, always.
CPA-retired
MBA-Boston Univ.
be very proud, and assist in getting him the stimulation he needs to excel
This is great but it is very important that you make sure that he is well rounded. This means getting him involved in sports and other things. My daughter always tells me how the gifted children in her class cry and throw tantrums if they don't get 100% on every assingment and how they don't even know how to play sports etc.. Good luck
Get him a tutor, that way if he needs help he will have it. A tutor can also help a child move onto things he will need to know in the future and can be used to simply help him excel and to stay challenged. Study yourself. Take a few courses at your local Community College.
Congratulations on having such a wonderfully gifted child.
My DH and I are considered bright/gifted-but I have two gifted/talented children and one who is off the charts(WAYYY above g/t norms). The best things you can teach your son are 1. How to research things of interest-in a library, safely on the Internet and 2. How to ask for assistance from you, teaching professionals, etc. You're never going to have all the answers-we don't- even with 3 degrees between us.
You need to make certain that he has a Gifted Education Plan in place if he is in a public school setting-geared to his specific interests and talents. You may also want to look into local gifted student Yahoo groups and my favorite website: www.hoagiesgifted.org. There are many, many sites linked there that may be of interest to you. Hang on-and enjoy the ride!
My IQ tests score me at 135 and my dad at 135. My mom is at 107, but she is the one who raised me, she taught me to talk, read, and many other things. Now I'm 13, and I pretty much do it all on my own. I raise myself. But, I still regard my mom as my first and most important teacher.
In conclusion, help him with what you can, If you can't help him, you can't, but don't be nervous, because he will always regard you as his first and most important teacher.
how high did you go in school.. you could always take some classes at the local colleges to get you ready if he does need help in the feature
Ummm nothing. You be a good mom and let him do his own homework.
I'm 14, in all honors classes, and by my age almost all my friends are smarter than their parents as am I. It's been like that for a while, and it's a normal thing, it happens to everyone with their kids. The best help you can give him is being supportive, don't worry about the schooling part.
Don't ever let him THINK your not as smart as him.
He has to hold you on a pedestal and your intelligence can't come in to it.
Obviously be proud of him and get him all the extra curriculum activities that are available for him but make sure you keep a good balance on who's parent and who's still child.
Even genius need to learn how to be children. Don't let him lose track of this.
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