My son is a genius compared to most adults! How do I teach him too...?

Question

My 9 year old son knows BASIC info about dogs. It's not rocket science.

~It is illegal to buy a puppy under 8 weeks of age.

~ALL dogs need to be spayed/neutered (unless they are high quality show dogs/breeding dogs)

~It is irresponsible to breed any mixed breeds or purebreds without genetic testing first.

~You do not hit, flick, or smack a dog for training; or for any reason.

BUT, since he KNOWS he is right, he gets in arguments with many kids AND adults. Just yesterday at Petsmart, we saw 3 people who said their puppies were only 6 weeks old! Although it truly angers me to see so many irresponsible pet owners, I would never be as blunt as kids are with the truth, and talk to complete strangers about this.

How do you teach kids to be a bit more respectful & tactful when it comes to things like this?!

Answer 1

Chalbri, back to the dog section now! Your dinner is on the table and its getting cold!!  I find it amusing that in the "parenting" section people tend to act brattier than the kids who wander onto the dog section board. First off, you know that everything you said is correct, and I wouldn't expect people in this section to agree since they are typically the ones who are bringing home the sickly teacup dogs at 6 weeks old and then coming on the dog board to ask why the dog is pooping blood. After all, the website said the dog was AKC!! HAHAHA.

Best option? Give him a yahoo account of his own where he can come on here at 9 years old and claim to be a vet like the little lying brats we see on here. He can spend all kinds of time dispensing bad advice to people too stupid to pick up the phone and call the vet rather than playing "guess the malady" with a bunch of internet strangers. I mean, come on, we could use another "veternery tecnishun" in our midst!

Ok, so really... he's a smart kid, and you raised him well in respect to him knowing his dog etiquette. Step two is explaining to him when it is appropriate to talk about these things. Family and relatives are OK, but strangers are not. Explain to him that adults aren't always right, but that it is rude to argue with them about these things. Maybe he could do an extra credit project about dogs for school?

Now, lets both hurry back to dogs before we get devoured!

**** technically, its not ILLEGAL in all states to buy a dog at under 8 weeks, but it is highly discouraged because they are too young to be weaned safely from their mother. 8-10 weeks is the desirable age. Reputable breeders do not let them go sooner.

Answer 2

You teach them from the first time they do it, that is how. It sounds like you have let it go on to long and now want a quick fix. First of all it is rude to but into someones conversation and second of all you think he is smarter than most adults, that is your opinion and it sounds like he has heard it one too many times.

Call him on it every time he is old enough to stop it simply because you said it is rude.

Answer 3

boring change the subject

Answer 4

Besides the fact that a lot of what you said isn't FACT...

Tell him nobody likes a know it all, especially a 9 year old know it all

Answer 5

Give him a high-five?

Haha, sorry. Had to throw that in there.

Just correct him with a "No, honey," and then explain to him later that, although he is right, he should be more respectful. Then think of different ways he could have handled that.

You sound like you have a very smart son, though!

Answer 6

Experence and smarts, it is not something you teach him or he may be too evasive with truth, get it?

Answer 7

Tell him not to talk to strangers and be more respectful to elders/ adults.

Sorry it isn't much I am only a kid anyways but I hope it helps! : )

Answer 8

Amerz is right....lol...wasn't it a parenting question and rather than answering your question people are debating the facts...Ohhh boy, I thought the kids in the dogs section were bad, this section has 12 year olds giving parenting advice... Isnt that rich...And to answer your question, if him doing this embarresses you tell him he needs to respect his elders, if it doesnt let him go sounds like that person in Petsmart could use some education!!

EDIT***WOW they have TD fairies in this section too!!!!

Answer 9

Tell them that they have thier opinion and they have theirs. is it gets really bad call animal control.

Answer 10

Why are you not in the dogs section, missy?

Wow. Are these "parents" on here really parents? Or are they just kids, acting like parents?

I'll go with the second.

Give him a piece of candy, do a happy dance and buy him an ice cream cone. He's already ahead of most of the 40-year-olds in the dogs section!

Are you saying there is something wrong with being blunt?

I must have missed that rule somewhere...

I've been smacked across the room a time or two for "being disrepectful"

LOL.

Answer 11

You tell him that even if he knows something, it's rude to just walk up to people (especially adults) and tell them they're wrong. A nine year old should know this.

Answer 12

let him act like that maybe people will actually listen............ someone needs to be told even if its by a kid

Answer 13

Intelligence and social skills are two separate things.  Teach him to listen more and talk less.  One of the most important skills out there.  Correct him when he speaks out of turn and reward him when he does it on his own.  Teach him this now before its too late!

Answer 14

well I can see where your son gets his "know-it-all" gene...

http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ovusp...

only thirteen states have that law... where you live you must have that law... which in that case, yes it was illegal......

talk, talk , talk to him!

Answer 15

Your son's a genius when it comes to dogs ?

Just dogs what about subjects that are important is he good at these too ?

Children should be told and a nine year old should know that its rude to talk to adults this way ..and is he knowledgeable on Dogs because you are, to me there are more important things to be knowledgeable in and dogs isn't one of them !

Answer 16

i think the legal age of a puppy is 6 weeks (i might be mistaken)

all dog do not need to be spayed. thats a matter of opinion.

when he does it, tell him to stop it. i don't care how smart or right  he is.  correcting the behaviors of strangers can be dangerous.

Answer 17

my 12 year daughter is very smart also. It kills me. I always tell her to never argue with an adult unless it is life and death. no matter if she is right or not. it is just disrespectful and that is that! If your son is as smart as you say he is , he will respect your wishes also. our teachers have always commented on how my daughter is uncommonly over the top because she doesn't flaunt her intelligence, tell him that.

Answer 18

jus tel him how other people think about him when he does such things.. also tel him he  s not wrong but he must tell the same in a better manner for others to understand and implement it...

Answer 19

"honey its not polite to correct adults you dont know on stuff like that"

Answer 20

First, I'd let him know that things can be more complicated than he thinks.  Laws regarding the age at which you can sell a puppy vary by state -- perhaps the owners were from somewhere else.  (http://www.animallaw.info/articles/ovusp...  Also, perhaps the owners also owned the mother, and so hadn't "bought" the puppy earlier.  

At any rate, the more important point is that there will be many people who disagree with you, who are mistaken, or who are doing something wrong.  If their behavior isn't causing harm (or the harm is by now irrevocable anyway), there's not much point arguing with them about it.  If there is some strong reason to explain their error to them, you do it nicely and politely.  

Right or wrong, smart or not, there's a point to working on social smarts, which include working on body language, tone, and the appropriate times in which to hold your tongue.  You can practice these skills with him by role-playing.

Answer 21

No offense meant here, but honestly your child is not a "genius" just because he knows a lot about dogs. Be careful that you aren't inflating his ego too much or he might feel he has the right to put everyone in their place. Encourage and praise him but don't go too far with it.

Also, you don't know other people's circumstances so it is even more important that you and your son do not go on a rampage every time someone says something you think is false. Could it be that the people with the six week old puppies got them when their older dog got pregnant? Or maybe they got them from a friend who breeds dogs or who's dog just had puppies?

Next time talk to your child before you go to the pet store or get in that kind of situation. Tell him how you expect him to behave and how to speak to others politely and then, most importantly, model this behavior yourself. He will learn from your example.