My child is really special (to me)

My son is building a pirate ship behind me right now. Along with the construction work to create the perfect pirate vessel, he is telling me about the various adventures we are going to have once on board. There will be buried treasure, sword fighting and a daring rescue of trapped monkeys. Listening to the way his mind works is a privilege for me. In short, my son is one of the most amazing people I've ever met.

But, that is mostly because he is mine.

Don't get me wrong: I like other people's children. I love watching my niece's fearlessness when it comes to trying something new; I am the Mom who will happily accept hugs from my son's classmates, help them with their sweatshirts and celebrate their differences.

I know that my son isn't perfect. And I think it is OK to admit that.

Other parents, however, have trouble admitting that their children are anything but awesome. And it is for those parents that the Parental Overvaluation Scale was created. This very real, very useful test demonstrates the extent a parent feels that their child is more special than other children.

The test (you should click on that link - it is worth a read) goes so far as to invent facts and ask parents if their child knows about them. Parents who over-evaluate their children will claim that their child knows all about those made-up subjects.

Researchers took this test one step further and correlated parent's own narcissism and determined that the children of those parents were more likely to have unique names.

Maybe some parents need a wake up call. 

Do you have a child prodigy on your hands or just a normal healthy child? Share with me in the comments.