If your child was a prodigy

[Ranger2]

Let's say you and your wife (or if you're a girl, your husband) had a son or daughter that by age 5, he/she was reading your old high school textbooks for fun instead of Hop on Pop. He/She can do anything that his/her mind is put to, and his/her teacher tells you that the grade he/she is enrolled in is far too easy, and your child makes it clear to the teacher.
Question is:
Would you (a) Make sure that your child leads a normal life, even if it means going to school in grades that are far too easy and do not work his/her mind?
or (b) Enroll him/her in advanced classes, having him/her going to college at age 8, etc. etc. etc.

With choice A your child will not work his/her mind, but will have a normal social life.
With choice B your child will work his/her mind, opening more career choices in the future, but his/her social life will almost definitely go down the drain.

Personally I'd choose choice A.

[Kuro]

I think a more interesting question is "What if your child was a member of The Prodigy?"

[NakedOrange]

I would let my bastard decide him(her)self.

[Twelvie]

There's no you can't have a mixture; people consider me a 'prodigy' (ha ha) and I still have a social life. A vivid social life. Honest. :D
No, in all honesty, I do.

[MasarapProductions]

I'd choose A. Just because the stuff is too easy doesn't mean it's not helpful to go through all of it. Mastering everything is important instead of just knowing it, then forgetting it when you get out of college or something. Plus, they could spend time bettering their life having extra time to do whatever he/she wanted to do since school work probably wouldn't be too much of a problem.

[4Doctodragon]

Get the college done. It wouldn't matter to him or her if she was ingenious. She could be performing open heart operations by age 12 at that rate.

[Mastersurgeon]

At 7/19/08 10:01 AM, Kuro wrote: I think a more interesting question is "What if your child was a member of The Prodigy?"

My child is a groupie with The Prodigy...

[jamboreen]

Never choose option A.

Thats what my parents picked, now im bored with nothing to do, i want a challenge.

[Idiot-Finder]

I'll wait few years before doing so, it'll be their decision as well.

[jimmick]

I'd sit him/her down in front of a PC running Vista, then scream WHY repeatedly

[Porkchop]

procreate to spur the human race.
or id put them in some bad-ass school

[bigjuicy]

Use him/her to make money

[Porkchop]

hell yea! jeopardy and smarter than a fifth grader! and who wants to be a millionaire

[Gagsy]

If the kid is that smart, I'd let him'her decide what they want to do.

[uhnoesanoob]

Well, I'd ask him what he wanted. Duh.

[Yrtnej]

At 7/19/08 11:19 AM, uhnoesanoob wrote: Well, I'd ask him what he wanted. Duh.

I wish more answers were like this...

[AzureSignal]

I will put something like that in my future Flash game: the hero and his wife will have a genetically superior child with alien DNA. He will be very powerful, and his IQ will be impossible to calculate. His first word will be: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. And because of all that, he will be pursued by the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence).

[KingWooper]

I'd take choice B, choice A would be of no use to humanity.

[Nerpok]

I'd take choice A till they turn 16... I'd much rather have an emotionally stable child than a genius whos people skills are so horrible it won't matter how smart they are. If you finish university by say age 12 you've missed out on all the experiences in life...

Not to mention the child will most likely never have a date have sex get married... he/she will die alone or with a gold digger

[ZeldaFreak701]

B. There aren't enough smart people in this world today. If they enjoy reading my old high school text books for fun (like I'd keep them in the first place), they shouldn't have a problem with going to advanced classes. They'd think it was fun too.

[zyzy]

Id probably get in wifes face and yell " Who did you fuck to make that?" Seeing as I'm a dumb fuck that would just seem impossible

[0gg-the-Gnome]

I pick option C, mold my child into becoming a great dictator.

[DariusR]

Choice B fuck social life

[extremer]

At 7/19/08 01:07 PM, KingWooper wrote: I'd take choice B, choice A would be of no use to humanity.

I agree, i'd rather my son/daughter help the world and find a cure for cancer or something. Rather than being one of the misfits that hand around street corners at night with thier hood up. Just because he/she is smart doesn't mean she CAN'T make any friends AT ALL.

[IDIifferentname]

I'd beat him, repeatedly.
The children are the future, we have to stop those bastards now.

[Kiddmeizter]

Completely Pull him out of Normal School and Make him learn music at Juilliard, And When he had the Skillz, I'd teach him the Ways of Metal and how to Be Brutal.

[CryogenChaos]

C: Exploit him for profit and fame.

[All-Hallows]

Those are dumb choices. Life doesn't work that way.

I'd try to get her into advanced classes and let her do fun shit that kids do. There are more places than school to find friends. I could have her in Girl Scouts, or gymnastics class, or a youth orchestra, etc. She can still play with the other kids at the park and make friends.

I don't know what constitutes a "normal" social life, but there are plenty of kids that skip grades and go to college early that are socially involved as much as the next kid.

I do know that I'm not going to let her potential be wasted and let her mind rot.

[Rideo]

didn't read the whole thread because I don't have time. But I remember reading that children who are too smart for the grade they are in usually end up becoming very rebellious and end up failing or dropping out. It's because they don't feel challenged and in turn feel like school is a waste of time. Usually dropping out has an impact on their social life as well so the obvious choice would be B.

[ngman7]

I'd get him IQ tested first then enroll him in advanced classes.