This made me flip out of my seat: My pediatrician was sharing stories with me and he said that parents in New York CIty don't really ask for advice on good parenting. Instead they ask: "Doctor, how do I raise a genius?"
I have to admit, I really, really want to meet one of these genius children. I also want to meet their parents.
We hear about how American kids don't score too well in math, reading, and science when compared to other nations. This can't be right!
Those numbers don't make sense because I know that there are mothers who ARE raising geniuses in this country.
Somehow I am bothered by this race to raise a genius. The questioning and identification of a genius begins right after the kid is born. It's unfair that a new mom gets bombarded with questions about the child's sleeping habits as a way to see if the infant is on the track to become a genius.
Eventually, the line of questioning becomes, "Are you teaching him sign language? Is he walking? Is he talking? Is he already potty-trained? Is he reading before Kindergarten? Is he adding and subtracting?…"
Exhausting!
And then you come across a mom who simultaneously gloats and bombards you with even more questions. Some mothers have even commented: "Oh my kids are so far ahead that they get terribly bored with the 1st grade curriculum."
My question is, what drives people to proselytize about their kids to strangers?
Number one: I don't care if your kid is a genius. In fact, I don't care if my kid is a genius.
Number two: Just love your kids no matter what their I.Q. is.
My husband and I take a low-key approach: If our kids turn into adults with only one visible tattoo, zero weird piercings, no drug consumption, no child born out of wedlock, and be successful in a career they love, we will be very proud parents.
Joking aside, I have no genius kid pressure at all, I have no genius kids either, but what I do have is two kids that are happy, loving, good humans, talented and creative, and whom are deeply adored by their parents.
That's all it matters to me.
What is your opinion on the genius kids obsession? Do you believe there is something we can do as mothers to raise geniuses? If so, please share!
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