Yan Yan the Genius?

Last night we brought Yan and Rui to J8 for a walk after dinner.

As we were going up the escalator, Yan pointed a number sign 3 and shouted out "Three!"

Momma was surprised. I have never taught her how to recognise numbers and at age 1+, it is near impossible that Yan can do that! So I jokingly asked Ben "Do we have a genius in our hands?"

To test if it is pure coincidence, we tested Yan again by pointing out at number "3" once more. She got it right second time round! But when we pointed at number "6" Yan still went "Three!" Ben and I had a good laugh. Yan is no genius. She is just a chubby little toddler who so happens to like number 3 and loves the sound of it.

I thought about this in the car. Do I really want my girls to be geniuses, or child prodigies? No doubt, being really clever has its good sides, e.g. quicker advancements in school, honour and glory for being outstanding etc. However, I have heard and read about many cases where children who are too outstanding fail to adjust to the societal norms. They are often unable to make friends and are unable to fit into the rest of the society.

I choose to have normal happy kids. I would rather my girls be average and happy than astoundingly clever but unhappy.