One of my sons believes he is a genius. Before his 1st term exam, each time I reminded him to go & study he would laugh and say "l already know everything. I don't need to read."
I would chase him about the house, threatening to spank him but this "***" would burst into laughter

I got so infuriated that I ignored him hoping that a poor performance would jolt him. Lo and Behold, this child scored 92% average that term.
I was shook

I had to eat humble pie and celebrate him. Can you imagine the little said "I told you!"

I started wondering how to teach him that hardwork does not mean you are not naturally intelligent. I just felt that as the subjects became tougher, he would find it difficult to cope

Because he had become accustomed to relying on his "genuis" Finally, I had a plan.

I bought him a gift for his fantastic score and then asked him if he felt it was possible to score 98%. He admitted it was even possible to score 100%. I told him that if he had read he would have

Exceeded his score. So genius is fabulous, hardwork ensures that if genius fails, you have something to fall back on. He nodded his small head.

This term, we didn't have to fight. He's still a bit cocky but he will study without much of a protest.

If you have a child who is

overconfident, don't try to crush their spirit. Simply raise the bar so they have to dig in a little further.

By the way, if your kids won't get off their smart devices long enough to finish a book, you should totally check out my online course. It's for parents of 0-12 yrs.