1. I'd rather my child not be child prodigy, for there're just that handful of prodigies who truly make it as adults. I wish he'll discover more about himself than quantum theory.

2. I'd rather have him see the world, than having the world recognise him.

3. I'd rather not have him bother to write for publication and peer evaluators but get him to write to touch the hearts and minds of common people, to reach out to them and be relevant to them.

4. If he chooses to follow my footsteps and become an academic, I'd rather he not publish at 10, but at 90.

I found this PDF rather useful to determine giftedness of a child.  However, I still believe you should believe your gut and not subscribe to everything researchers write.... ha ha, I'm one researcher (not in this field) myself.

From my experience, there are so many levels of giftedness and it is very difficult to find a group of children who will be compatible if your child is very bright. In fact, most of the time, they are very frustrated when mixing in a group because gifted children are all very different, especially at this age.

All 5 of my children have past pre-school, and yet, I do not know what is the best for them, let me share my experiences:

My perception of giftedness in higher education and real life. I'm still a professional educator, afterall... I teach at the tertiary level. This is just my view.

I believe if a person is above the 75%, they are no handicap to another at 99.9997% percentile. In fact, most people of very high IQ end up with repetitive jobs. So, it is better to nurture the EQ part of things.

Once a person is smart enough (above 75%), he/she functions no differently from a higher IQ person. The rest is also training, passion, attitude and the subconscious mind. I found these more important that pure brain power. I seek to help my children with these more than improving their brain prowess.

Here are some areas I see very lacking in students when they finish they IB/PreU and land in my classes:

I have a friend, who was (he died of cancer) a very famous eye doctor. He told me once that specs COULD worsen myopia. But, as a practitioner, he has to advise children to wear glasses.

I remember (this is like 20 years ago) him telling me that, to be off glasses, and still see with myopia, a person has to learn not to strain the eyes. But, how many children can learn to do that? So most opticians are trained to just prescribe, eye doctors too.

Hi, my son is in GEP and enjoying the program. This week, the MOE folks are telling me that he is of a different level, and he will be going to join one level higher for certain subjects as recommended by the school. He will also be doing some advanced subjects at 3-4 years ahead.

Thing is, being #4, I had no time for him. He did not attend K2, just sat around the house, because he was so bored. No enrichment class, no flash cards, no nothing. But, he reads at 3, spoke at 6 months, and could do most things earlier. I believe he learnt to read through the comics at 3, and he learnt secondary school maths by reading his siblings text books. I still have not figured out how he learnt negative numbers and simultaneous equations when he was 7.

Quite a few people asked me. So thought I'd share here how I get my children prepared for university in 2 to 3 years after their PSLE. I'm just a mum who does not want my children to go through the sad Singapore system (PSLE is enough). If this helps you, I am glad.