5-Year-Old Coder Joins Mensa, Following In Sister’s Footsteps

Five-year-old Maddox Lopez has earned a spot in Mensa, the world’s largest and oldest high-IQ society, joining the ranks of the top two percent of the population with an IQ of 130 or higher.

The New Jersey pre-kindergartener already knows his timetables and has a growing passion for coding and problem-solving, even through computer games, ABC7 New York reports.

His achievement follows that of his older sister, Declan, who joined Mensa at age six in late 2023.

Learning Starts at Home

Their father, Delano Lopez, a health and physical education teacher in Jersey City and a Mensa member himself, credits his wife, Meachel Lopez, for fostering the children’s academic growth.

“She was doing a lot of extra work with the kids. Even once they started back to school after COVID, she had a whole schedule up, and every day would be a certain different subject,” he said.

Meachel Lopez says both children deeply love learning, though their interests take different paths.

“Maddox is all about math and coding, and he finds back doors on video games and programs, where Declan is just like an intellectual who loves to learn anything,” she said.

A Balance of Structure and Freedom

Meachel previously told CNN that she focuses on her children’s academics while her husband emphasizes physical and social development. She believes in letting the kids lead their educational journey.

“You have to let the kid kind of lead a little bit because then they’re not going to enjoy it, and they’re not going to enjoy learning,” she said. “And I don’t want that to be. I don’t want to create a situation where my child is amazing, but they don’t want to learn because I’ve been too stringent or strict.”

“I try to teach them to be humble and to be gracious,” she added.

Image: ABC7 New York