Too Smart For Her Own Good

Sometimes it's challenging having kids who are naturally smart.

Yes it is always nice getting all the compliments from other people about how brilliant your child is. It makes me so proud of them when others notice that my children are advanced for their ages. I know that it will make a lot of things in life easier for them since they won't have to constantly struggle to learn new things or understand what's going on around them. (Of course, that's not to say that I don't recognize that there WILL be subjects in school and other things in life that will be harder for them to master, but I know from experience life is easier when it's just a few things you struggle with, and not everything.)

But having little smarties running around the house has it's downfalls too.

For one, they come out thinking they already know everything, and don't hesitate to let you know it. Adrianne is particularly bad about this. From the time she was just a baby, she has ALWAYS acted like everyone around her was incompetent and incapable of taking good care of her. Couple that with the fact that she has inherited my natural planning streak, and you get a child who is constantly trying to troubleshoot and problem solve ADULT issues a child should not be even concerned with. I can't tell you how many times I've had to remind her that she is only X-years old and doesn't need to worry about things and that mommy and daddy are more than capable of taking care of everything and making sure things go well. It's frustrating to say the least.

Another downfall to having such brilliant kids is that they learn to do things (often just by observing) that they should not be doing yet. Right now this is the stage Emmaline's in. Everyday she picks up some new thing. Today I caught her opening a closed door! Matt had taken the older two girls to the playground, so Emmaline and I were home alone. She had been playing in the girls room with their stuffed animals and babies while I was cleaning up the kitchen. Then I heard the door shut, so I went to go open it up so she wouldn't be trapped inside. However, as I approached the door, I saw the doorknob twist open and Emmaline was standing on Riley's bed grinning from ear to ear. She was SO proud of herself. So it would seem that the only thing stopping her from opening closed doors is her height, which I'm sure she will soon devise some solution for such as pushing objects to boost herself up on so she can reach the doorknobs.

*Sigh* Having smart kids can mean a lot of extra work for the parents!