Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Mmm... Cookies. And Smart Ones, Too.

You know why I like this girl?  Because she's a smart cookie.  Like, SUPER SMART.  Much smarter than her father and I by, um..., A LOT.


Generally, when Jeremy or I are trying to learn something, it takes us FOR-fucking-EVER.  And I'm not entirely speaking of general know how, I'm also talking common sense, life lessons.

Jer and I both agree, The Common Sense was not blessed upon him.  Wicked smart, Where-the-fuck-did-you-learn-that? knowledge is where Jeremy excels.  I'm pretty sure, if given an IQ test, he'd be up there on Genius levels for the Useless Whatnot portion of the test and Extremely Fucking Smart on the General Knowledge portion.  He flunk the fuck out of The Common Sense.

Jer and I, also, both agree I'm pretty fancy with my use of The Common Sense.  I can tell you things like, if there is no money in the account, STOP SPENDING IT.  I can call bullshit on many a lies, fables and tall tales.  I can not, however, read to you from a history and science book and recant the point of the lesson I read three seconds prior.  If given an IQ test, I'd probably score an E for Effort.  In the words of my mother, circa 1997, "You're not as smart as your bother and sister.  It just doesn't come easy to you like it does for them."  On one had, TOTALLY OFFENSIVE.  On the other hand, COMPLETELY CORRECT.


This girl, though.  This Kyra Shea.  She is not only blessed with the wicked smart intelligence of her father's liking, but she's sharp as a tack with the common sense requirements necessary for life, too.  She watches EVERYTHING, she notices EVERYTHING, she recounts EVERYTHING.

She's smart enough to follow cookbook instructions to make a meal.  (Baked Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal, delish!)  For fun, she watched one Khan Learning video on basic multiplication and can now multiply simple numbers.  She then turned around and asked to watch the Khan video for photosynthesis, which had to have been at least a high school level, and was enthralled.  (I walked away intrigued and impressed, yet completely lost.)

Its absolutely safe to say I'm raising a kid who is smarter than me in every way shape and form.  Which is what almost every parent probably wants for their kid, right?  On one hand, Fuck ya! Way to go Kyra!  On the other hand, Fuck.

And Fuck is right.  You want your kid to be smarter than you.... eventually... not at 7.


Her only problem, I see, in life?  Confidence.  She often finds herself overly confident when wanting to impress an adult by trying to speak like one without taking situation and context into consideration, which has a way of frequently finding her in hot water.

But then, she also finds herself lacking confidence when trying to do some of her school work.  Mainly the reading portion, something she still struggles with daily.  She has the tools, the know how and the opportunities to be a great reader.  The confidence she has in herself is the pits.

I'm not sure how to give her confidence.  I never gave her The Common Sense or The Genius, so how do I give her The Confidence?

First world woes:  How to parent a child who is a million times smarter than you, the right way.  And why do they have to be so damned smart so early on?

4 comments:

  1. "eventually... not at 7." **giggle**

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    1. Seriously! Could she not hold off until, say, 9?!

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  2. As for reading, find her a book or better yet a series that she really likes. Maybe books based on a tv show or movie that she likes. Read some of it with her, not for school, just for fun, and leave it lying around for her to take up when she's interested.

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    1. Thanks for the advice! We've already put all those suggestions into place long ago. She'll get it. Eventually. She's just not moving at anyone else's pace but her own. Which can be awfully frustrating to watch, sometimes. :)

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