Al Arabiya speaks with father of Egyptian six-year-old ‘airplane genius’

Adam, the six-year-old Egyptian child who appeared in a video interacting with an airline captain in the cockpit, has dazzled everyone. The video was picked up by local and international media alike.

The boy has advanced mental capacities that he acquired thanks to the efforts of his mother, who took special care to cultivate his mental ability from when he was nine-months-old. At the age of three, he mastered English. His father is confident that Adam can fly any plane and wishes that an educational institution would support his son to become a scientist that serves humanity.

Adam was recently seen operating a plane through a flight simulator.

In a recent interview with Al Arabiya, Adam and his father answered a few questions:

Why did you choose to be a pilot?

When I was young, I loved everything which had an element of flying in it. I loved watching videos and programs about airplanes. I was so passionate about them.

What is the best cartoon series you have seen?

In my childhood, my mother Nejat al-Hathout, who is everything to me, prevented me from watching television. I only watch educational cartoon series. Now that I have grown up, she sits down with me to watch cartoons and tells me about its disadvantages if there are any and its positive aspects as well. I like to follow the scientific cartoon series.

How did you feel piloting a plane through the simulator program?

It was one of the happiest days of my life. I was very happy with this experience and my father thinks that I did a great job.

What would you say to children your age?

To stay away from fast food and sodas because they are bad for them.

What is your favorite meal?

Salad, because it is rich in vitamins and nutrients to the body. I try to eat salad at every chance I get.

What do you do apart from flying games?

I play sports with my father.

Mohamed Amer, the father of Adam told Al Arabiya about the life of his talented son:

Is Adam active at home?

He is active and dynamic, and at the same time polite and this is what his mother, who stays with him every day, and I care about the most. We did not deprive him of his freedom but with limits and we wanted him to develop a strong personality.

What games did you provide for him?

His mother, Nejat, is the one who chooses his toys. From the age of 9 months, she chose his educational programs and was determined that he only played with educational and useful games to develop his scientific abilities.

What about the videos he watches?

If the videos or games will be useful to him we would let him watch it. Even if a song could provide him with information or words that can benefit him we certainly let him listen to it. It wasn’t until recently that Adam played video games through smart devices and we only purchase the programs that can provide him with a new knowledge.

When did he start reading?

His mother began teaching him since he was nine months old. She began teaching him the English language, which is currently the language of science but we, of course, taught him the Arabic language.

What does his mother do?

She has higher degrees but she wanted to be a stay at home mom to take care of Adam.

Does Adam have a mobile device and how do you deal with him if he wants to have one?

No, he doesn’t have one but the iPad device is a useful tool for education under the supervision of his mother, of course.

When did he learn English?

When he was 3 years old, Adam became proficient in English.

It is common that the father would always be preoccupied with his work and can’t spend as much time with his children. How do you reconcile your work with raising a child?

It’s true. I work all day but his mother does not turn a blind eye on him and I follow everything that he does and works on. It is definitely challenging especially with the current technology but we seek to provide him with everything he needs. We have chosen the difficult path even if we made sacrifices.

After his videos became trending on the Internet, are you not afraid for him?

It is God’s will. We certainly didn’t want it to be this way but perhaps it is for the best, especially since we had so much positive feedbacks.

Does he ask you about things you don’t know?

All the time. But when we do not know the answer, we look for them together.

Did you benefit from Adam's knowledge about flying?

Absolutely, there is a lot of information that we did not know before.

What are your aspirations for your gifted son?

It is very important to build your child and not build instead of him. He has talent, potential, love, passion and ideas in many areas and asks questions ahead of his age. We hope that this talent will be used and invested for the Arab nation in general, and that an educational body could sponsor him and many other talented Arab children.