Sigh....the "joys" of an asynchronous kid with lots of OE's

[Dmmetler]

This morning was the media focused sessions-Professional herpetologists who are actually recognizable to the general public, because they're the ones who get quoted and interviewed.

 

DD started out good with lots of ideas filling her notebook, but got more and more overwhelmed at the enormity of her education task, tried to ask her question, and ended up bursting into tears-in front of several people who are basically her heroes. To make matters worse, when she was just barely getting together, the campus emergency system went off, and she lost what little bit of composure she'd regained. We're back at the hotel regrouping now. Poor kid. I'm thinking we'll hide out here until the afternoon sessions.

[Mike in SA]

It is SO hard for kids like yours, who have the mental abilities rivaling adults, but having the emotional maturity expected of their own age. The pressure can be debilitating.

 

Best thing to do is let her know that we all have such experiences, and that there is no shame. Knock the next opportunity out of the park. People already respect her, so she only needs to prove herself to herself.

[Mike in SA]

An important thought hit me -- be careful not to allow the pressure to become associated with pain or failure.  Our older boy also has OE's, and gave up on his favorite extracurricular a few years ago because he kept breaking down in tears at the face of inferior competition at the national level.  He kept finishing 2d or 3rd in nationals, and burned out because he learned to associate the activity with emotional pain.

 

Honestly, I don't know what we could have done differently, other than maybe hold him back from the national stage in the first place.  Once he was a go, there was nothing for it but to give him his shot.

 

If your daughter has even the *slightest* hint that she is becoming disconnected, pull back a bit, and give her space to mature.  It might help to keep the pen-pal or one-on-one opportunities going, in order to remove the pressure of the spotlight.

 

[Dmmetler]

She seems to be recovering. We took a pretty long break, and then went back for lunch. She also found out that she is getting a $100 book credit to spend from one of the vendors due to her performance on the herpetology quiz (something that I think was cooked up for her) and has gotten several Twitter shout outs after the media workshop.

 

I am glad the big conferences are only once a year for us, because it takes a lot out of her. I think this year has been harder, too, because last year's conference was in a family friendly venue, so there were other parents with kids who didn't go to the social stuff at night, and DD could hang out at the pool, eat pizza, and be silly. This year, well, Lawrence is a nice city, but anyone who brought family left them in Kansas City, where there's more to do (or just didn't bring them at all). The hotel is nice, but has no pool, and is definitely catering to deep pocket alumni and college guest speakers, not to families. So she hasn't had that downtime to be 10 with other kids, and grad student level relaxation and 10 yr old relaxation aren't the same thing.

[Arcadia]

:grouphug:

The fire alarm went off once when we were at the mall years ago. It was a good thing in a way because now my kids know the drill.

I had been through bomb shelter siren testing drills but my kids have not been through the tsunami sirens drills. I think I need to make them aware of the different sirens so they are psychologically prepared as we tend to be quite free range.