OT.....My Son Overly Obsessed With Science

[spud912]

He might enjoy the movie October Sky if he hasn't already seen it. Could be very inspriring being that it's based on a true story.

Get him started on simple (and safe) rocket kits with Christmas right around the corner

I just watched that movie last night for the first time and LOVED it! I highly recommend it for your son....it's very inspiring and true!

As a child, I was always very interested in the sciences (entomology, then biology, then human anatomy). My first passion was children and having a family, so I ended up going down that path instead of pursuing medical school. I still remember dissecting worms, frogs, owl pellets, fetal pigs, etc (in school, except for the bug "dissections" which were performed in our backyard) and being obsessed with it at an early age. I find living creatures to be absolutely amazing!

[Sugar Magnolia]

Oh, I would absolutely feed his passion.

I love quirky, geeky kids. lovethis

Does he have issues at school because of his single-mindedness? We are lucky now, because we have a charter school that is project based. My son is so much happier there!

No he does fine in school, straight A's . I am hoping to get him into a charter middle school here in town that caters to arts and sciences. Its top notch, but in a really rough neighborhood.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I would feed his curiosity and encourage him. Space camp would be a great gift idea, I went when I was a teenager and really loved it.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I could have wriiten your above about my daughter, only substituting "sharks" for science, "Dr. Clark" for Mr. Feynman and "marine biology" for your quantum physics.

Discovery Channels Shark Week is a religion to her and she checks for OCEARCH updates daily to see where her favorites tagged are pinging from. We don't read bedtime stories at tuck in, we theorize about why they might be there and where she believes they'll go next. She has very strong opinions about global warming trends and the fishing industry's impact on populations, as well as grave concern about pollution and preserving the integrity of our oceans.

She is also 10.

She is dyslexic but otherwise perfectly normal. I say encourage the heck out of his interest as we currently live in a country where most kids this age are most passionate only about video games.

Fingers crossed we someday meet up at a Nobel Peace Prize awards ceremony someday

Super awesome! She would love Mote Marine! You should come visit us! We got SHARKS!

[Sugar Magnolia]

I just watched that movie last night for the first time and LOVED it! I highly recommend it for your son....it's very inspiring and true!

As a child, I was always very interested in the sciences (entomology, then biology, then human anatomy). My first passion was children and having a family, so I ended up going down that path instead of pursuing medical school. I still remember dissecting worms, frogs, owl pellets, fetal pigs, etc (in school, except for the bug "dissections" which were performed in our backyard) and being obsessed with it at an early age. I find living creatures to be absolutely amazing!

Funny, he isn't into biology, I always liked it myself. He is grossed out by bugs, which is a problem in Florida. ::

[daycarediva]

My son is ten. He has been into science since he was six. He is very into space, so we bought him a telescope. Last night he wanted to watch the movie that was airing about the investigation into the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1985. Fine. It was over at 10pm (past bedtime) but insisted he wanted to watch the biography of the "hero"of the movie, physicist Richard Feynman. No. Past your bedtime. Good night.
This morning he is at the computer googling Richard Feynman! He announces he wants his book "Surely You are Joking, Mr. Feynman" for Christmas. Then on the way to school, he tells dad he is worried about getting into MIT for college. He's TEN for crying out loud!
What kid is more in quantum physics than playing? Who cares more about a telescope than going to Disney? Who worries about.college admissions than 4th grade? Don't get me wrong, we are thrilled he is so smart and into science, but it is getting odd. Yes, he is also socially awkward too. I just find it odd he wants a book by a long dead scientist for Christmas. Should we be concerned? Or continue to encourage obsessions with astrophysics and string theory?

He sounds a bit like my 8yo son.

I allow and encourage him to explore his interests, ESPECIALLY educational ones. My ds has loved all things science since he was 3 and his favorite place in the WORLD is the museum of science. He would rather spend the day there over anywhere else. My son LOVES space, and he and dh and I can have conversations about I don't think there is anything wrong with him. He may be the next great scientific mind of his generation.

[Evansmom]

Encourage it! Sounds like you are

My son is 5 and loves reading non-fiction books at bedtime rather than story books. Anything from elements to electronics to robots and is in a Science class that he LOVES! (we homeschool)

Mine is definitely on the spectrum with sensory stuff.
We have fun with him, our homeschool concentrates on developing his love for science and math and helping him to do work that is meaningful to him.

[Michael]

Sounds a lot like my son. Take him to Barnes and Noble and let him buy as many books as he wants. Be sure to write it off.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Thanks everyone! I feel better. He is a good kid, he just gets so absorbed by it, he can't think about much else. Its really all he talks about. He does not have a lot of friends, I suspect because all he talks about is science. And I can totally get a 10 year old being into bugs and critters and sharks......its just his chosen topic of physics and chemistry seem "heady" for this age. I did feel it was a bit much to be worried about MIT in fourth grade. I love that he is passionate about science, but it seems to consume him some days. I just wish he could be more social and like other subjects too. I will buy him the book by Feynman, of course.

[Kaddidle Care]

I think obsessions at 10 is fairly common. Go with the flow and encourage him to enjoy it - to a point. He needs to realize that not everyone shares his love of science.

While it's great that he does his best to achieve great grades, worrying about MIT is a bit premature. Encourage his love for learning and good things will happen.

Middle School is a turning point - the kids usually start to meet kids from outside their primary school and birds of a feather really do flock together. He will find others that share his passion for Science and the Science club is a great idea but I'm not sure you will find one in primary school. Middle School and High School - yes.

My oldest was obsessed with Dinosaurs and wanted to be a Paleontologist. He's now in College going for his Masters in Civil Engineering - a bit of a change although he still deals with rocks and concrete! ::

My youngest was obsessed with bugs and then when he was 10 his obsession changed to Invader Zim.

Our differences make us unique. I hate cookie cutter anything! (except cookies of course!)

[Michelle]

He might enjoy the movie October Sky if he hasn't already seen it. Could be very inspriring being that it's based on a true story.

Get him started on simple (and safe) rocket kits with Christmas right around the corner

good idea
where we live you must get a fire department clearance before launching,
even the kid type rockets..so check with your city first
happyface

[countrymom]

my ds is 11 and LOVES science, esp. experiments. He is also our "go to" computer geek. Every year I buy his science stuff for christmas, he just can't get enough. Or another thing is magic tricks and magicians, he loves them too. I think its better than being so absorbed in sports and teams, at least I know ds is headed towards something good.

[misslori50]

How wonderful for him. Id take advantage of it. Do you homeschool him? Id let him go for it. What an amazing thing to have such a passion at such a young age.

[Unregistered]

I have the same space type of son

My son is 13 years old, an 8th grader at a charter school. He too is obsessed with space and has been since about 6 years old. He's had some type of space themed or science party every birthday since and he too has read biography after biography of his favorite astronauts as well as the biography on Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking. We has talked of college MIT and Caltech since he was probably 9/10.

I used to worry that he was hyperfocused and that he wasn't well rounded. I made sure he read books from other genres, I take him to the theater and he plays a musical instrument, he still loves what he loves. For someone who isn't like this, it's hard to relate, but I have come to appreciate his passion and I feed it whenever I can because so many go through life never finding their passions.

I say count your lucky stars you have a kid who is full of passion. Celebrate his uniqueness and enjoy every minute of him. Before you know it, he'll be off to college...perhaps MIT.

Warmly,
a San Diego mom

My son is ten. He has been into science since he was six. He is very into space, so we bought him a telescope. Last night he wanted to watch the movie that was airing about the investigation into the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1985. Fine. It was over at 10pm (past bedtime) but insisted he wanted to watch the biography of the "hero"of the movie, physicist Richard Feynman. No. Past your bedtime. Good night.
This morning he is at the computer googling Richard Feynman! He announces he wants his book "Surely You are Joking, Mr. Feynman" for Christmas. Then on the way to school, he tells dad he is worried about getting into MIT for college. He's TEN for crying out loud!
What kid is more in quantum physics than playing? Who cares more about a telescope than going to Disney? Who worries about.college admissions than 4th grade? Don't get me wrong, we are thrilled he is so smart and into science, but it is getting odd. Yes, he is also socially awkward too. I just find it odd he wants a book by a long dead scientist for Christmas. Should we be concerned? Or continue to encourage obsessions with astrophysics and string theory?

[Unregistered]

October Sky is the perfect movie for families and a space enthusiast

October Sky is probably our family's FAVORITE movie of all time. We have probably watched is 50x (no exaggeration). I am a mother to two boys who are now 10 and 13. My husband and I watched it on our own when they were wee ones, and we introduced to them as young grade schoolers. They didn't understand the movie fully or the relationship between the father/son that is so moving, but they loved watching the boys build and blow up rockets as they tested them over and over. The soundtrack is really fun too.

As my boys have gotten older, they understand the relationships more deeply and they still watch me cry tears every single at the end even though I've seen it so many times.

I can't think of a better family movie for space enthusiasts and for families. If you haven't seen it friends, do. I couldn't recommend it more.

Best,
San Diego mom.

I just watched that movie last night for the first time and LOVED it! I highly recommend it for your son....it's very inspiring and true!

As a child, I was always very interested in the sciences (entomology, then biology, then human anatomy). My first passion was children and having a family, so I ended up going down that path instead of pursuing medical school. I still remember dissecting worms, frogs, owl pellets, fetal pigs, etc (in school, except for the bug "dissections" which were performed in our backyard) and being obsessed with it at an early age. I find living creatures to be absolutely amazing!