Do you know a strong willed or precocious child?

You were lucky-extremely lucky! My daughter was an absolute fireball. Whether I was up to the task of managing her or not is open to debate, but there are 2 things I can claim without fear of contradiction. At the time, I possessed both the metabolism and reflexes to thwart the bulk of her criminal tendencies while in my presence, and secondly, I can pick “Satan’s favorites” from any assembled crowd of kids at a glance. The one truly effective potion summoning the demon in my kid was sugar. And her craving for it as well as her determination in acquiring it were without limit. As a result, the kid wasn’t allowed as much as a frosted flake inside the house, though fruit was dispensed in doses like methadone. The only time treats like ice cream and cookies were acceptable were in environments like trips to parks or playgrounds where she was allowed to run “free from the leash”. She did improve as she aged, and at the onset of puberty turned into a virtual slug to my horror and amazement. This too turned out to be a matter of diet, and I came to understand that both her and her mother would suffer mood swings bordering on psychosis if not properly fed.

Oh yeah! My oldest was strong willed, and very motivated. It stood her well in the end.

One of the twins, the girl, is a booger. They’re 3.

Then there is my son’s 2 year old daughter. She’s very strong willed, but in a very agreeable kind of way. “Zoe, get off the front porch.”
“OK!” she chirps happily. Then doesn’t.

I hate when parents call their misbehaving brats “strong willed.” BS. They’re spoiled.

@stanleybmanly You do know that the “sugar high” is a myth…

precocious

/prɪˈkəʊʃəs/

adjective
1.
ahead in development, such as the mental development of a child
precocious pre·co·cious (prĭ-kō‘shəs)
adj.
Showing unusually early development or maturity.
A more mature child before its time.
-
Some children especially one child family matures earlier/ faster due to the adults environment that he/she grows with.
Of course it has positive elemnts in that they are better prepared for socializing in a competive world.
Negatives: possibly feeling like they do not fit in with their age groups.

A precocious child who is “mature before it’s time” knows better than to pee on museum objects (even at 4 yrs. old) It could have resulted in serious damage to a priceless object. Not exactly the sign of a budding genius ~~

Committing vandalism like that is NOT the sign of a super intelligent or precocious child (THEY actually have the intelligence and maturity to control themselves) but rather the sign of a spoiled brat who was indulged way too much.

And to still be proud of that while an adult, simply illustrates my point. (This is the second or third time you’ve written proudly about this RDG, as if it reveals something exceptional about a child who would resort to that for attention.)Maybe the time has come to quit being so proud of it.

I hate to break it to you, but it does not reveal exceptionally high intelligence, but rather the opposite. It’s attention seeking vandalism from a kid very used to getting away with crap like that, nothing more.

I have encountered numerous highly intelligent children during my teaching years and they were far too intelligent to pull something like that.

I totally agree with the last sentence in the post by @Dutchess, and I quote: “I hate when parents call their misbehaving brats ‘strong willed’ BS They’re spoiled.”

And I would merely add: and certainly not more intelligent than other kids, and likely less.

It’s acting out behavior. A need for attention.
@Buttonstc This doesn’t have to mean they are a “spoiled brat”. It could mean they need attention for other reasons, including neglect and abuse.

Parent ignores child or indulges child far too much (or some combination of both), child acts out, parent then claims child is “strong willed”. I’ve seen it more times than I can count and it’s certainly not a sign that the child is mature or ahead in development.

@Dutchess III You can call it what you want. I lived through it and it was the opposite of a religious experience.

I believe it had the effect on your daughter as you say it did, but 99% of the time people are just imagining the effects. Kids go on hyper tangents without sugar too. That’s what they do. They’re kids. But for some reason, that just isn’t enough of an excuse for some parents. This.

Also, often it’s the events surrounding the consumption of sugar that fires them up – a birthday party or whatever.

I guess my title was wrong sorry… I meant moronic or bratty child.

@all I don’t know what I was asking seemed ok at the time. sorry. I didn’t mean to take pride in my mistakes.

It’s OK @RedDeerGuy1. We still love you. BUT DON’T PEE IN MY NORFOLK PINE!

She is now 11. Life has been hard for her and harder for her parents. Her IQ sets her as a genius. There is nothing more wonderful than having and/or being average. She told me a few weeks ago she had read every youth book in the library system. She suffers emotionally and socially. She has few friends and no real bosom buddies. Her life is not easy. She is my granddaughter and I worry so much about her.