As a parent, what you want for your child is for them to be better and brighter than you or your parents. Often, through our children we believe we can actualize dreams that we have not fulfilled ourselves. We also have this expectation that if we are great, our children must be better. The problem with that is we cannot choose which portions of our DNA will be expressed in our little ones.
What if you are a parent who is a genius? Remember, there are all different of types of genius. Musical, kinesthetic, fine arts, spiritual, literary, culinary, spatial, mathematical, the list is endless. If you are a MENSA parent, or are a genius in a particular area such as being a virtuoso or maestro, raising an average child can be extremely difficult.
When your child’s brain function completely different than your brain of course it is frustrating. If you are a noted writer and your young one struggles in English, it can be tortuous to watch them work. Yet, if you believe you are a genius but cannot find a way to relate to your child, in fact, how genius are you?
Try to reach your children through their particular interests. All children will display interest or aptitude in some given activity. If you have a child who loves automobiles, use cars as the platform from which to teach them everything. From colors, counting to the principals of physics.
Now, we realize that certain children with autism spectrum disorders can be reached through their interests and taught. There are doctors, lawyers, musicians, and artists making a living who were previously deemed unable to be taught. These children, who are now gainfully employed productive members of society, were destined for institutions. Nobody is saying that every child will grow up to excel in a few or even a single subject. So this leads us to the question- can’t a child be average or even fail in some things and still be a perfect being?
As a matter of fact the endogenous issues of the highly intelligent brain are often incompatible with a simple life. Genius and madness are so often found together that we can identify many geniuses by their antics: Van Gogh and his ear or Einstein for not uttering a word till he was five or six years old. Interestingly though, the utterly crazy behavior of a genius we describe as eccentric. However, in the average person, our acceptance of such actions is surprisingly low. It seems that our tolerance for major oddity increases with the level of a persons talents. The importance is not to see a particular type of intellect as being all there is.
How about recognizing and celebrating the genius in being average! Why do we look down on the student who happily plods along with a C average? A person who is okay in sports, then goes on to a university and graduates in five years. This person then goes on to get a job with full benefits and raises a family if they choose. That person lives a life without any major hiccups and is happy. After all, the ability to navigate the world with all its intricacies, twists and turns without loosing one’s mind is impressive.
Looking at the world from that perspective, who is the real genius?
