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Five kids inspire the world

By on May 31, 2012
Not all kids are created equal. Although most children have talents and abilities unique to them, only a few are born with what may be the envy of many – an extraordinary gift.   Here’s five of my favorite buzzworthy kids and why.

Elaina Smith, the youngest radio star
 
Three years ago at age 7, Elaina Smith from the United Kingdom became the youngest person ever to be offered her own radio program.  Elaina got a big break after she called a radio station to give advice to a woman who called to say she had been dumped by an ex.  The advice that got her the job:  “go bowling with pals and drink a mug of milk”.  She goes on air weekly advising her adult followers,  solutions to problems ranging from dumping boyfriends and coping with relationship issues to handling smelly brothers.  For one whose own life experience is yet to evolve,  her advice to her listeners is surprisingly sound.

Once asked by a caller for tips on how to get back her man, she smartly advised: “He’s not worth the heartache.  Life’s too short to be upset with a boy.”

Landon Crabtree, the young geek
One day, while the Crabtree family was away, a thief broke in their home and stole two iPads, one of which belongs to 8-year old Landon, a video camera, jewelry and other items.   A week later, while he was surfing the internet, the tech savvy boy stumbled on the findmyiphone application that was available to Apple users.  He then downloaded it in the hope of finding the location of his iPad.   By refining search to satellite view, Landon was able to identify the exact building where the iPad stolen from him was. He shared the information with the authorities that eventually led to the burglar’s arrest.

Olivia Bouler, the young protector of birds

Eleven-year-old Olivia who her father describes as a “big lover of birds” and one with a “big heart” wrote a letter to the National Audubon Society, an organization focusing on birds’, wildlife’s, and habitats’ cause, to raise concern for the birds and the oil spill in the gulf region.   It created a stir when she offered to help by donating to the organization the proceeds from the sale of her personal bird paintings.  She sold the paintings to anyone who was willing to donate money to wildlife disaster relief and continued to paint on her summer break. AOL donated $25,000.00.

As of spring last year, she has successfully raised more than US$150,000.00 from the painting and a book she wrote about endangered birds featuring her hand-drawn color illustrations called “Olivia’s Birds saving the Gulf”.  The young girl who wants to study at Cornell University to become an orthologist has committed to Audubon 2% of  the sale from the hardcover copies.  

Jackson Bouler, the young hero

Olivia’s good deeds did not only draw people to her cause, she has also created a positive influence on her seven-year-old brother Jackson who himself won a “Best Conservation Message” award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.   Jackson was conferred “Everyday Young Hero” by the Youth Service America for his involvement in Audubon’s fundraising activity, Project Puffin.

Emmelyn Roettger, the youngest genius   
Fondly called as Emme, she started wearing eyeglasses at 10 months.  After scoring 135 on an IQ test, she is the youngest member ever to be inducted into the High IQ Society, an organization that restricts membership only to people who score a high IQ percentile,  even before her 3rd birthday.  Her father admitted being “flabergasted” and jokingly remarked, “she may even be smarter than me”.   

In a TV appearance, her father and mother openly said  that at 15 months old, Emme was already speaking complex sentences,  and a lot of vocabulary.  When asked by the TV host how caterpillar turns into butterflies, without batting an eye, Emme replied, “by metamorphosis”.   No word is too big for this amazing little girl.

No one knows where these extraordinary talents will take them to but one thing is sure – these children have what it takes to be the world’s future movers and shakers.

Vivienne is a freelance writer who enjoys writing about kids.  She is a wife and mother of 2 boys and currently lives in Tokyo.

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