Can You imagine Being a Parent of a child prodigy???

I have been trying to imagine raising a child like that - and can't seem to think what it would be like.... what do you think?

I would think it would be the same as any other child. Parents focus on helping their children achieve their goals, as well as guide them where they excel so that the child can fulfill it's potential. Since no child comes with a manual any parent with a child prodigy would fly by the seat of their pants as all parents do.

The child prodigy only seems odd if someone doesn't have one. For parents who do its just another day with lessons and constant playing.

I think the pride of the parents who have such wonders. It can be difficult in the sense that they need to make sure the child had a childhood. It's easy for a young prodigy to grow up too quickly. Balance would be required, but since all parents have this responsibility to balance their childrens lives it, once again, doesn't seem much different than an average child.

What do you think?

I can tell you, it is exhausting, especially if you have no particular musical talent yourself. He is leapfrogging through repertiore and every time I think I know where his skill set is, it has jumped forward, and I have to adjust. I struggle daily wondering where the balance is between supporting and pushing, and in making sure that the ambition is his ambition, not mine. Finding the balance between guiding and simply attending to his practice forced me to develop reserves of patience which I did not believe I had. Finding people who can work with him at his level takes research and time.

There is also the challenge of maintaining a level head as to the child's gift, as it will only develop as far as his ambition chooses to take it. All the early attention and excitement from impressed outsiders really means nothing unless the child puts in the work and is somehow able to make a successful transition to an independent performing adult.

Yes, ideally you do this and understand this for each of your children. However, for the prodigy, the level of demand and the intensity of the development is many times that necessary for an average or even an above-average child, and like I said at the beginning, it can be exhausting.

Wow, thank you for your feedback!! You sound like you've been in an educational level 5 hurricane. I've got a good imagination, but I never thought fully enough of the intensity required in their development. I can see it definately being even more of a challenge with someone who claims "no particular musical talent." I think there must not be any way to imagine it, as the original post asked us to. LOL!!

Thanks again for sharing. You sound like you're doing a really good job with someone really special.

There is another issue for being a parent of such a child: It has to do with isolation. I cannot discuss him and his progress with any of the other other parents in our teacher's studio, or in town for that matter, because it is seen as bragging by others. No one can relate to the progress he is making or to the level of challenge which he requires

This means that I cannot take part in any of the normal parental back-and-forth as they share information and concerns about raising musical children. I have yet to find a reliable information source about dealing with kids who after only 2 years plays as if they have been studying for 6 or 7. The best I can do is keep a journal of questions and issues, work to apply some common sense, and hope that we are making good decisions and are charting a healthy course for him.

It is like sailing into uncharted waters. I keep looking for information and guidance for me, because I am sure there have been others in this situation, but so far none have shown up.

If anyone reading this has advice on where to look, I'd be glad to receive it.

"Since no child comes with a manual any parent with a child prodigy would fly by the seat of their pants as all parents do."


Only with the child prodigy it's like you're flying a Concord trans-Atlantic rather than a Piper 2-seater to the next county. These are very different by-the-seat-of-the-pants experiences.