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What’s something that people think is impressive but really isn’t?
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"My child is so smart! They learn things so fast! Must be a genius!"
Little kids' brains are built to adapt and learn very, very quickly. Make no mistake, it's impressive to see language, balance and coordination, social skills, self-regulation, etc. bloom in a child. But it is absolutely common.
Show me the 50 year old that masters a new language or physical feat. THAT'S impressive.
For sure. I play piano and have been since I was 9. People always think it’s impressive and I’m like… no if you had played for over 20 years you could do this too haha. Like it’s a lovely hobby but it’s not a ‘talent’ when you’re at my level, I can make covers of songs but it’s not like I can play from ear or play shows etc. I just had the opportunity to learn an instrument from childhood and I’m grateful for it every day, a lot of people just don’t get the opportunity.
On the other hand I only started running in my 20s and that is a hobby I am really proud of! Can’t currently even do a sub-30 5k but I have worked on it as an adult and actively put effort into going out 3-4 times a week.
It’s important to recognise the privileges and advantages you get in life.
A lot of people look at talented artists or musicians and say 'i could never do that'. But really, those artists or musicians have just been putting in practice for years upon years. Now, there are certainly people who are incredibly skilled, but if most people actually put in even 15 minutes of practice a day for years, they would be good at pretty much anything. What those people really mean, whether they know it or not, is that they just would never put forth the effort to try to become that good.
I am now 21 and try to learn violin and cello. I played piano as a kid but i dont have any fun with it anymore and i always loved string interments. I suck but when i managed to play a simple song without it sounding like a dying cat i was so proud. Still find it impressive how people manage to play these super hard pieces but i know it’s lots of practice and they have been playing for years, not weeks like me
15min a day is really all you need to see improvement, its muscle memory and technique training
Yeah exactly! Like there ARE super talented incredible musicians, don’t get me wrong. But I am not one of those people lol I’m just 33 now so literally played piano for 24 years!!
I did exams etc and can play pretty much anything I want/piece together songs but I can’t just sit down at a piece of music I don’t know and sight read it - I have to work and practice it over and over. My teacher could, she was an amazing pianist and I am in awe of that skill. But in contrast I did absolutely zero sport growing up so I’m way prouder of achieving a half-marathon than I am playing piano, it takes far more work as an adult to keep fit.
Also ‘talent’ can overshine the really hard work people put in. Even people who can play by ear have spent years honing their craft, and that should be acknowledged too.
My youngest sister moved back in with my parents. She has a little girl that's 6 months younger than my youngest boy, so they're both 6 years old. Dad keeps telling me how smart the little girl is, but my son is no different. He's just around the little girl more.
Yeah, it ain't coming from this 50 year old.
Lmao, exactly
In fairness, I think you're supposed to think your kids are amazing. I sure do. ❤️
My Kid IS exceptionally bright, in Prep they would learn words in "Levels" and your name would progress up the chart on the Glass door. He had moved up all the levels, done an additional level and then just had his name moved to the top of the door before most kids had finished the second level. That was even with the teacher holding him back until we intervened.
Now balance and coordination, social skills, self-regulation, etc. any one of those kids was more advanced then in Prep, than what he is now in year 3...
I'm at the age where my friends are all having kids. To a fault each of them claim how their kids are some how unique and different than the other kids and how the kids are geniuses.
Apparently the little dumb kids (including me) that I knew growing up all went extinct.
I used to do home visits for babies and toddlers to assess if they were on track developmentally or if there were any delays. This led me to become very, very familiar with the milestones associated at each month/year for children.
It's been 6 years since I have actively done that, but the knowledge has stuck with me. This has led to me smiling politely with parents and families about "how smart!" their child is, but really, I want to bang my head because that is just how childhood development works. But I'm not going to lecture an excited parent or ruin their joy. I will let them just be happy for their kids. It doesn't hurt anyone besides the twitch behind my eye.
I hear this often from friends who pay a lot of money for "top education"
Yeah, it's much better for parents to view their kids with this amount of cynicism
/s
As a father of 3, I just want to say most parents are insufferable.