Any other gifted kids really into the presidential primaries?

[Ellie'sMom]

Dd is obsessed! It's so much fun. I am pretty sure she understands more about super delegates, and winner take all vs. proportioned distribution of delegates than many adults! She had to know everything about the Texas Two Step process. The funny thing is that she is a die hard Hilary Clinton supporter, even though I voted for Obama. She loves the idea of a woman president, and hopes to be right up there herself one day.

She had a snow day today and spent much of the day trying to convince her 2 year-old brothers to support Hilary by telling them that Hilary will give them candy and take them for a bike ride. She also wrote me a note that said things like, "I like Hilry. BrokObama is mean."

So, is it just her? We are having a blast with this!

[SkySunSea]

DD is also a hillary fan - also because she is a woman. Not the best reason to support a presidential candidate, but give she is seven and not voting...I'll let it go this time .

She was four during the last presidential election she said she wanted Kerry to win because Kerry "wouldn't send us to war." We realized perhaps a little too much news channel time.

She's not into the election - but she certainly picks up information and has her own ideas.

Love the campaigning...perhaps you should contact Hillary Clinton and get her a job. Heck, take a photo of her and the sign and send it to them. That is really, really cute.

[Katie Bugs Mama]

I wouldn't say that dd is into the primaries as a whole, but she has become a huge Obama supporter. A couple of weeks ago, she made an Obama sign for our front window -- the letters are in pink and yellow and there are butterflies "for visual interest." She decided that his plain old blue and white signs weren't up to snuff. I've considered scanning her sign and emailing it to his campaign. Someone there might get a kick out of it.

[annettemarie]

Michael is asking a lot of questions, but mostly he likes wagging his finger and saying "Shame on you, Barack Obama!" whenever he feels it's appropriate.

Mostly he seems to be checking the waters to see how DH and I will vote. I think he's grasping the fact that we're on opposite ends of the political spectrum, and it intrigues him.

[Ellie'sMom]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

Michael is asking a lot of questions, but mostly he likes wagging his finger and saying "Shame on you, Barack Obama!" whenever he feels it's appropriate.

That made me giggle. And very interesting that he is picking up on his parents' differing views.

Our latest was over the weekend. I got home from work to find the three kids sitting at their little table eating snack. Ellie looked at me very seriously and said, "Mommy, I have some bad news." I was actually really concerned for a second. Then she turned to Ben and asked, "Ben, who are you voting for?" He got a big grin on his face and said, "John McCain!"

She had clearly been drilling him for this moment all morning. It was really cute/funny/disturbing.

[1xmom]

My dd is into it as well. She was on the fence for a while but has become a Barack Obama supporter. I'll have the news show on in the morning and she'll come in and listen about the election and how it's going. I always take her with me to vote as well. She loves it b/c the workers at the polls loves to see little kids and she also gets an "I voted" sticker.

[annettemarie]

So, not to rock the boat or anything but how much do you think this is due to giftedness and how much is just exposure? In Michael's case, I think it's just exposure. He's trying to wrap his brain around this whole election thing and make it fit into his schema (and let's face it, his world is decidedly undemocratic) but I think it's more about "trying on" what mom and dad's views are than any real insight into the electoral process.

[annettemarie]

Oh, I do have a funny story about the last election though. Michael was 5 and we had started letting him answer the phone. He picked it up and looked very serious for a few minutes, and then hung up.

ME: Who was it?
MICHAEL: George W. Bush (looking proud) He wants my vote!
ME: Oh. So, who would you vote for if you could?
MICHAEL: Joh Kerry
ME: Why?
MICHAEL: Because George W. Bush should know a five year old can't vote.

[Ellie'sMom]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

Oh, I do have a funny story about the last election though. Michael was 5 and we had started letting him answer the phone. He picked it up and looked very serious for a few minutes, and then hung up.

ME: Who was it?
MICHAEL: George W. Bush (looking proud) He wants my vote!
ME: Oh. So, who would you vote for if you could?
MICHAEL: Joh Kerry
ME: Why?
MICHAEL: Because George W. Bush should know a five year old can't vote.

That's hilarious!
As to your first question, I'm not sure. I have taken awhile to get comfortable with the gifted label...actually, I'm still not all that comfortable:. Dd was tested because the only decent school in our ailing ps district is the gifted magnet. She tests as highly gifted, so there you go. In her case, I think it's not the interest that is remarkable, but the level of detail, and the singular focus. From what I've read, those are gifted traits. She is very interested in the mechanics of the election process.

FWIW, I have no idea if I would be have been considered gifted as a child, but I was a huge Jimmy Carter fan. I liked that he was a peanut farmer.

[simonee]

DD (8) is not academically gifted and not even in the US, but she has decided that Obama as a "uniting but soft" leader would be better than Hillary as a "divisive but tough" leader (there's AP for you ). And she has known forever, even before I realized that not every smart and forward thing she has ever done meant she was gifted, that Bush is bad news.

DS is 4, and also not in the US. He thinks Obama is handsome and Hillary would likely have "snackies". He also likes to play Bush-as-monkey.

[annettemarie]

Originally Posted by simonee

DD (8) is not academically gifted and not even in the US, but she has decided that Obama as a "uniting but soft" leader would be better than Hillary as a "divisive but tough" leader (there's AP for you ). And she has known forever, even before I realized that not every smart and forward thing she has ever done meant she was gifted, that Bush is bad news.

DS is 4, and also not in the US. He thinks Obama is handsome and Hillary would likely have "snackies". He also likes to play Bush-as-monkey.

That is absolutely awesome.

[Embee]

DS had a great initial interest, but is starting to tire of the whole thing. We've kept him aprised and he has a good understanding of the process more or less. He wants to know about anything DH and I are talking about so... DH and I talk about it a lot, as we have a habit of talking politics on a regular basis. With the democratic race being what it is, we've stepped things up and now, DS is getting mightily frustrated that his discussions on prehistoric life are being constantly interrupted by the latest primary/caucus results!

OTOH, he attended the caucus with us and was rather attentive and extremely patient for the three hours or so we were there. When DH got up and spoke, he cheered him on.

As AnnetteMarie mentioned, I'm not so sure this has much to do with giftedness as it does with exposure. DS does tend to be guided somewhat by whatever is going on in our household. Of course, he's also just as likely to let us know when we're over the top obsessed... our home is full of obsessive types (DS included)... enter at your own risk.

The best,
Em

[ThatCrazyLady]

Does it count that DD (23 months) has been able to identify Ron Paul's face and printed name since December, when she was 20 months?

I will admit that this is likely an "exposure" phenomenon. :