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Gifted children, a mother's heartache

There is a new editor at Straits Times Forum page I have not been keeping up with news in Singapore for some time for various reasons. Something struck a chord with the recent debate on IQ testing. I asked my son if he wanted to write a piece on 'the heartache of a gifted child'. No. So I wrote 'the heartache of a gifted  child mum' instead. The editor was very good and gracious and let me look at her edits before running it. I am amazed at the lack of reports in Singapore on how difficult it is to parent a gifted child. Am I the only one with this problem? So it was good that after this letter was published, another parent shared how it has not been a smooth-sailing journey for him and his son either. It is a myth that when children are gifted they would be able to sort themselves out. No, they are still children and parents must be there for these children. Also in my experience, the last thing a parent needed to worry about is 'enrichment' in terms

Deborah Ross: With their cheap milk the big stores have us by the udders

This is a copy from a column in The Times: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/life/article4316817.ece I think this is important enough for supporters of ethical trading, sustainable farming, ethical farming, etc. to know. === Last updated at 12:01AM, January 8 2015 This week, Asda and Sainsbury’s fired the first salvos in the new year supermarket price war with the promise of £450 million worth of cuts designed to keep Tesco off the top spot and see off discount stores such as Aldi and Lidl. Great, I didn’t think, but maybe you did. Maybe you clapped your little hands and performed an exuberant celebratory dance, as you may do every time food gets even cheaper, but my heart sank. These price wars always screw everyone over one way or another. As it is milk has already been reduced to 22p a pint in Asda — and you think that’s all you’re paying? As a rule, and because I am tight by nature (I wash up paper coffee filters; I’ve had the one filter going for about a decade n