At only 5 years old, Nikolas Makrymanolakis is certainly already a genius and already knows how to speak and write English, knows anatomy and dreams of becoming a doctor for NASA astronauts.
Nikolas Makrymanolakis, from the Cretan city of Heraklion, is the youngest student in his English class. However, from the age of 3, he already knew how to read and write.
What is it like to raise a child with an IQ of 140?
His parents, Manolis Makrymanolakis and Roza Polytarchou, spoke with Creta Live about the agony of offering 5-year-old Nikolas a normal life and, at the same time, the opportunity to use the gift he has.
"When I grow up I want to be an astronaut and build rockets. But I would also like to work at NASA as a doctor for astronauts," he said.
The little genius from the 54th Kindergarten of Heraklion already knows how to read. He likes to study books on anatomy, astronomy and geography.
He was only 3 years old when he read his first book.
His father Manolis stated that at 6 months old Nikolas had shown that he was ahead of his age. But for a long time his parents thought that everything he did was normal.
At two years old, with a board and magnetic letters, he began to form words that he listened to, helping him to learn and write in both Greek and English.
His parents say they were lucky as Nikolas had good teachers by his side from the beginning until today who recognised his potential and did not hold him back.
Nikolas' kindergarten teacher, when he was 4 years old, distinguished his difference and genius as he already knew what was taught in the school and suggested for him to visit a developmental specialist for evaluation, which they did.
As they told his parents, the little one is thirsty for learning, but he needs not to lose his childhood, due to the excessive logic that was observed.
Due to the fact that his IQ is combined with characteristics such as empathy, sociability and imagination, it was not necessary to give additional instructions for the management of the little genius.
His father stated that "the line" we follow is to behave normally and to understand that the knowledge and perception he has is normal, despite being a genius, and not something he should show off to those he associates with as all children have a similar gift - in sports, painting, etc.
The father said that they give him the opportunity, through discussion and dialogue, to make his own choices and to be judged based on his age by them.
"We do not pressure him," his father said.
His mother said that when Nicholas was one and a half years old, with his pacifier, the little genius would sit in front of the magnetic board and say the Greek and English letters, while he also knew how to count.
"Nikolas showed that he had an appeal for letters from a young age, he is observant, he has a photographic memory," she said.
The next goal at the moment is to learn other foreign languages.
He also takes his mother's cell phone in his hands and downloads applications with planet simulation and anagramming in English.
His parents do not want their child to grow up faster but to enjoy his age.
They have doubts about the learning patterns and the horizontal learning that prevails in the Greek education system and they do not know if the interest that the child has until today in something that he already knows will continue in the coming years.
For this reason, they are already in contact with public and private domestic bodies in order to exhaust all the necessary guarantees within Greece that the little one will need in the future.
As both his parents report, abroad will always be the choice for the little genius as until today, the only projects that have fallen on the table come from there and are the only ones that really seem to adapt to the "peculiarities" of children.
