Child genius? Not when their parents cheat, says mother
Woman’s claims people mouthed answers in the audience are dismissed by bosses at Channel 4
THE SHOW has become synonymous with pushy parents going to extraordinary lengths to ensure that their child comes out on top.
But last night one self-confessed “helicopter mum” took the competition on Child Genius to another level when she accused other parents of cheating to get ahead.
The competition, which involves children aged between eight and 12 pitted against one another in intelligence tests as viewers marvel over their ambitious families, was immediately halted as the claims were investigated.
Susan, who had two children in the running and had already courted controversy when she admitted she was rooting for her nine-year-old son Fabio over her 12-year-old daughter Olivia, told the independent adjudicator she had seen others mouthing the answers.
“When I was sitting in the audience in the last round there was a few family members who throughout their child’s round were mouthing the answers. I’m saying to you with the two eyes, the two glasses, that is what I saw.”
Olivia van der Werff, an independent adjudicator, said that there would be “serious repercussions” if true, adding: “The rules are very clear on this and there cannot be any suggestion that anyone is helping the competitors.”
She reviewed the footage but said that the child concerned, who was not identified, did not even look up as his mother appeared to be “praying” that he got the correct answer.
Instead of remonstrating with the children, who at points are so stressed by the cut-throat competition they are seen in tears, Ms van der Werff took up the issue with the parents.
“Parents, quite a lot of you when you know the answer you are saying it to yourself. However, if your child was looking at you at that point and if they were able to make out what you were saying, you would help them,” she said.
“That hasn’t happened today, but you need to be very careful because if I believe that your child has benefited from you, whether you meant to help or not, then we will have to take whatever action we think is appropriate.”
When a teaser for the cheating row was aired on Tuesday night, viewers took to social media to allege that it was in fact Susan who had been cheating to help Olivia.
Susan, a stay at home parent who describes herself as a “helicopter mum”, was seen raising her hands in the air as her daughter was asked to complete the name of a bus stop beginning with the word Kensal. Viewers claimed her gesture had helped her daughter get the answer “Kensal Rise”.
Twitter users accused the parents of “blatant cheating” while another added: “Hang on Sue, how can you kick off about cheating?!”
A spokesman for Channel 4 said that “the independent adjudicator is satisfied there was no cheating”.
During the Channel 4 show 20 contestants will be whittled down to one winner over the course of a week.
It is the second time it has been rocked by accusations of foul play in its five-year history.
Last year it ended in controversy when Sonal, mother of winner Rhea, was accused of contriving her daughter’s victory by intervening to get adjudicators to re-mark her answers and therefore get her through a tie break.
Sonal later claimed that the show had given an “inaccurate idea” of what happened, adding: “From day one, parents were contesting things. We were encouraged to. One child was awarded multiple points for doing so. We were just the only parents shown doing it.”
‘The rules are very clear on this and there cannot be any suggestion that anyone is helping the competitors’