Quote From: lindsey87I was in a similar situation as Britney (but my IQ is decidedly lower: 162 vs. 200) My parents decided to put me in school early (at age 4), and it was the best thing they could have ever done for me. Later, we thought of skipping me a grade, and even after that, discussed graduating early, but decided against it in order to keep things as normal as possible. The difference between Britney's parents and mine, though, is that my parents put my "normality" as a priority in their life. Every weekend or so, I'd have a "party" at my house. Of course, by party, I mean that my 6 closest friends would come over, we'd pick a debate topic and sit around for hours debating it and eating pizza. Not your normal high school party if you know what I mean, but it was what we enjoyed doing. I socialized mostly with people in my same level of intellegence outside of school. Inside school was a different story- my high school is kind of special in that the cliques formed aren't really exclusive, so I knew and hung out with everyone. I'm in college now, at 17, and enjoying every minute of it. I have a ton of friends, and they were very easy to make. My high school had a wonderful gifted program, and that's where the vast majority of my friends (all my best friends) came from. I like to think that we're not elitist in our views of other people. Not one of us has an incredibly amount of difficulty relating to people who don't have outrageously high IQs. It really is a matter of parenting, though. We were all raised not to talk about our IQs or anything like that, and to treat people with respect. It can easily go the other way though: I've seen people drop out of school and waste all their talents because their parents didn't take the time to teach them social skills. On the other hand, I don't think Britney really displays sociopathic tendencies either, as mentioned before. The key to all this, as someone mentioned before, is not nature OR nurture- it is a combination of both. Nature puts IQ in place, but IQ is only a measure of what you CAN do, not what you are doing. It is a parent's job to nurture a child and motivate them to fully develop their talents. I am a gifted child raised "normal" and I think it is the best thing you can do for a child. Colleges are reluctant to take children and high-paying careers lack a place for a 17 year old to work. Britney just needs to slow down and take her time. I took 8 college courses during high school and am almost a sophomore in credit hours without any of my current classes. There are ways of challenging yourself without having to give up the rest of who you are.
And this is how kids should be raise. Lindsey your parents sound very much like us here & they should be commended. I believe this is EXACTLY what Dr. Phil meant when he said you want a "well rounded young woman".
There are specific things here that to me are huge as to why you are the wayyou are "We were all raised not to talk about our IQs or anything like that, and to treat people with respect. It can easily go the other way though: I've seen people drop out of school and waste all their talents because their parents didn't take the time to teach them social skills. " parents do give us the social skills to be able to relate to others & they are taught. When they are not taught (to the gifted or on grade kids) it can & does go the opposite way. You said you're a "gifted raised normal" and that again is huge because you were made to understand that you ARE NORMAL & you just had the your talents pointed out.
And this is what all parents of gifted or other wise children should aspire to do.
