Home
>
Parenting
>
What Do You Do When Your Child is Smarter than You?

What Do You Do When Your Child is Smarter than You?

We adopted our first child when he was three months old. When we went to the agency to get him, he promptly stood up on my wife's lap and looked out the window. He was robust and happy, sleeping through the night from the beginning. In fact he was such an easy baby that we really wondered why parenting was considered to be such an ordeal. We found out later. In fact he was such an ideal baby that we assumed all were the same. Not so. Our second had colic and didn't sleep through the night for nearly two years.

As Clint got older we saw that he was extremely bright. At nine months he spoke his first sentence. Our cat crawled past him on a sofa, then jumped off and disappeared. Clint said, "Where did it go, the Wow?" A Germanic construction, for sure, but easily understandable. His verbal precocity stayed with him throughout his childhood. At age eight he called the local pizzeria to order a pizza (without our knowledge of course. When he finished, the clerk said, "Thanks for your order, Ma'am." We had to talk to the pizxeria to make sure he didn't make any more such orders. He was very gregarious and adults loved being able to carry on intelligent conversations with him.

He never was at a loss for words. When he was about three the mother of a friend of his had another baby. He came home excitedly to tell the news. When we asked whether it was a boy or a girl, he frowned, obviously not sure. Then he brightened and said, "It came out of Linda's 'gina, but it had Mark's penis." OK, enough information; it's a boy.

When he was five, a neighborhood grandpa-type died. He had been a heavy smoker and had told the neighbor kids that he was sick because of smoking and didn't want them ever to do it. (It was a great gift, as none of the kids, now in their thirties, ever smoked). Emmett died of lung cancer and my wife took Clint to the reviewal before the funeral. It was his first such experience. They were alone for a while, so she lifted Clint so he could see Emmett in the open casket. The questions were non-stop. "Why does he have a flag?" She explained that he was a veteran. "Why does he have a bracelet on?" She explained it was a rosary, or prayer beads. "Why does he have his glasses on. He can't see, can he?" My wife kept a straight face and explained that Emmett's family wanted him to look the way they remembered him. Clint asked, "Why didn't they put a cigarette in his mouth, then?"

He also showed great mechanical and problem-solving ability. Once he was with me when I tried to open the shed to get out the lawn mower. The lock was rusty and wouldn't open. "Why don't you use a rusty key?" Clint asked helpfully.

As he approached adolescence, the phrase "too smart for his own good" fit him to a tee. Bored in school. Clint began finding friends who shared his strong interest in cars. Some of them were into stealing car parts or "borrowing" cars for joy rides. He was usually the planner and the lookout rather than the perpetrator, but that didn't keep him from troubles with the law that he couldn't talk his way out of. We had several dismal years of bailing him out of jail, court appearances and stays in correction facilities.

We all survived through some very trying times. If there's a solution in dealing with a too-bright kid, it's listening. Try to figure out what he's thinking so you have a chance to avert plans that you know will end in trouble. Let him know you're proud of him but will keep a watchful eye. Remind him that you sometimes need him to slow down and explain things, and think them through.

Most of all, do the toughest thing of all and set limits. They'll hate you for it at the time, but in the end they'll thank you.

John Anderson is also known as Raymond John and has written The Cellini Masterpiece, which has been called Indiana Jones meets The Da Vinci Code. He has an education degree and has taught school as a substitute teacher in the Twin Cities' school districts. If you would like to contact him, please call up http://www.cmasterpiece.com

monthly home cleaning Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

What Do You Do When Your Child is Smarter than You?

Parenting