From my perspective which is not one of a professional child psych (ologist or istrist) just from a mother of 4.

The labeling of children at such a young age (12 months to 4 to 5 yrs) is ridiculous. Oh yes we must prove our offspring are superior in every way to those they come in contact with and there are hords of professionals ready to accept payment to categorize these little people any way we want them.

My 4 children are all different and all have turned out to be decent responsible young adults, ages being 27, 23, 22, 20, no they aren't perfect and they are not little Einsteins. But if they can find a career they enjoy and can find happiness with a significant other I will feel like i accomplished more than i ever dreamed.

I realized that along about the age that peer pressure kicks in, it no longer matters what their potential is, it matters more about their heart, their character and their desire. Friends and peers will have more influence on their direction than you can ever imagine, and oh by the way you can't choose thier friends. Teach them to respect themselves and others, teach them that decisions about right and wrong are not relative things, but there is right and wrong and expose them to all the knowledge you can concerning life and happiness.

My one child i thought would never make it through high school let alone college, decided to our delight that in his junior year of high school that he wanted to go to a military academy (no one in our direct family had a military career) he suddenly wanted it, it was like he woke up. He struggled through his secondary education (C's & D's in middle school and high school and no he was not dumb he tested in the genius range on the ologist testing, yes we did it, it didn't help) with all his smarts he decided that if he made A's on his tests then the teachers should know he knew the material, never mind that we showed him if you average homework of 0 with a test of 100% you get 50%. Children tend to be stubborn, in my experience the brighter the child the more stubborn they are. refused to take notes, never studied. lots of things i could share, but the one i knew would never make it through college because he would get distracted,  graduated from West Point .... go figure, all our friends who knew him just shake their heads and laugh. My point is love them, ground them in respect and happiness and watch them grow, be their parent not their friend when they are young, and later when they are an adult they will come back to you not only as a responsible person but as a friend.

finished my rant ....

now what should i blog about next .... oh did i tell you about what betty and i did this weekend?