“i just hope that these genius kids get to live out their childhood and enjoy it.”
I’m pretty cynical about this…I want everyone to be happy all the time, but one person’s happy childhood may look different from the next. One kid making mud pies and another kid building lasers might both be in the best environment for them, and either one might be miserable despite being in the best environment.
I wasn’t a genius, but I was very nerdy, and the single best experience of my teen years was being in the Jeopardy! teen tournament when I was 15 and sharing a long weekend with other übernerds. THAT was my chance to be a “normal teenager,” being myself and connecting to my peer group. I was not normal in “normal” environments like a party or a soccer game or English class. In those spaces, I was a weirdo.