People really forget what “average” means. “Not exceptional” isn’t an insult, and it certainly isn’t something to worry about.
It’s also not a benchmark. It’s the middle ground, which means about half of all examples are to the left of it. So if your kid doesn’t speak the average number of words by the average age – don’t worry about it. And if your report card is “above average,” don’t get a big head, either.
You have to define your own targets objectively, not just based on relativity to others. That way lies madness.
The Opportunity Machine 