A Tale of A 38-Month-Old Bright Toddler

The father of a 38-month-old boy child was greatly mistaken in thought that his son was a prodigy. Granted that the boy is what people call a late-coming jewel who has been had by the relatively old parents in their late fifties, the gem stone looked to need polishing. The man took a great pride in his treasure though, taking the cute and bright little thing in his arms.


The father and son team seemed to have a field day, presenting themselves in a famous TV show entitled My Child Has Changed (www.sbs.co.kr), with his little son showing off his talent for the perusal of numbers and the English vocabulary. The elated toddler seemed to have a good time fielding questions posed by a TV man.


"Do you consider your son a genius?" asked the TV man from the background. "Of course, yes," a short reply came forth. The sure thing, indeed, I mumbled by myself in front of the machine in my modest living room. Does the world consist of only numbers and words? The proud father, however, even presumed the IQ of his son to be between 120 and 130.


The mother of the bright son was a big contrast. Her face was clouded by apprehensions. It was a dark cloud itself. She was especially concerned about her son's bad habit of eating away borders of books. Hers might be a worry about her dear son and a disbelief in her husband's ability as a tutor. I was also able to read her worry that her dear son might become another Rain Man in the future.


Child psychology experts were in store for them. The test scene was made public in which the target person was found wholly unprepared and unsuitable for the task. He did not understand such an easy question that what was missing in 1.2.3. ㅁ. 5. His stare was as blank as we see in the Rain Man. His IQ has turned out to be 65, about which the father expressed dismay and the mother showed the expression of no surprise.


Physical touch is important, pedagogical pundits advised. Recommendations and pieces of advice ensued. Eye to eye contact is important, too. Compare things and let the child have his say. Do not put numbers and alphabets into the brain of the child. "Play is the most important thing of all," they concluded.


The mother and son frolicked, hugging each other. The child has changed. He has made a real metamorphosis. He opened his eyes and looked his mother in the eye and smiled, which had not happened before. His mother smiled, too. I shall not forget her brightened face ever after.