OutDaughtered: The Real Reason One Of The Quints Is Skipping Pre-K
Even the biggest fans of TLC's OutDaughtered probably have trouble telling the quints apart. Riley, Ava, Olivia, Hazel, and Parker are adorable, to be sure, but they also look an awful lot alike. They are, of course, unique individuals and their parents, Danielle and Adam Busby, have reminded us time and again that they all have their own personalities. That's why it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that one of the quints is skipping a grade and starting kindergarten early. The Busbys posted a picture of the quints with their big sister, Blayke, on Instagram on August 19, showing the quints, all wearing matching dresses, headed to their first day of school.
"First day of school!" reads the caption. "Blayke 3rd grade. Riley kindergarten. Ava, Olivia, Hazel, and Parker upper rotation Pre-K. Let your light shine bright girls!"
Danielle previously revealed that Riley in particular has a big personality and is always getting into trouble. "Though Riley is usually the naughty one, she really does have a sweet, cuddly side to her," Danielle said on an episode of OutDaughtered (via People). "She wants to do good, but her personality just kind of gets in the way."
The Busbys have had an inkling for some time now that Riley is gifted, and her parents have commented on her intelligence before. During the Season 4 premiere, the Busbys talked about Riley. "The whole house revolves around Riley," said Adam. "She thinks everything is about her and she will not back down. It is Riley's world. She's bossy, she is the toughest, she will pick a fight, and she will win it. And she throws the worst tantrums. She'll get what she wants." In spite of all of this, Danielle reminded viewers that Riley is "so cute and really smart," an assessment that her husband quickly agreed with. "I think she's smarter than all of us," said Adam.
In a blog post on the family's website, It's a Buzz World, the Busbys revealed that Riley is already a deep thinker at just 4 years old. "It was fun having Riley answer these questions because she had to 'really think' about what the answer was and what she actually wanted to tell me," Danielle wrote in the blog post, titled "13 Things About Riley Paige. "For instance, check out the favorite food, lol! She wanted to give the 'right' answer instead of what she really likes."
Riley gave her favorite food as "broccoli and ranch/vegetables" which, according to her mom, is "the 'Sunday school' answer" as Riley "won't eat veggies for anything."
In June, we saw the quints take a preschool test on OutDaughtered. The average score on the test is a 40. Riley scored much higher than average, earning an "unusual" 84 on the exam. After hearing the results, Danielle and Adam were a little concerned about how to meet Riley's educational needs. "I'm not sure I can handle a smart kid," said Danielle. Adam echoed his wife's concern, saying, "It's pretty awesome to hear how advanced Riley is, but we do have five other girls at home. How do we keep her stimulated and still give the other ones attention that they need?"
Danielle also wondered if Riley's need for a challenge might explain some of her wild behavior at home. "I'm starting to wonder if she's bored, and if that's why she always acts up," she said.
The owner of the preschool, who revealed the quints' testing results to the Busbys, discussed putting Riley in an advanced placement class, but it appears that they opted to have her skip a grade instead. Splitting up the siblings might seem mean, but it looks like Riley is ready for more of a challenge and her parents don't want to hold her back. Of course the critics came out in force upon learning of the decision, and Adam responded to them in the comments of the back-to-school Instagram photo. "It was a learning experience for us and it's been positive since we chose to separate them," he said. "There ain't a manual for raising quints... We are making the best decision that we can with the information and intuition that we have as their parents."