Albert Einstein was 4 years old before he spoke a word, and 7 before he could read. Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade, and Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college. What do these three famous people have in common? Well, they're no dummies. In fact, they are all considered gifted, and in some cases, genius.
While you may feel that your child is gifted and second guess yourself because you think you're just being biased, it has been discovered that it is more usual for parents to under-estimate their children’s giftedness than to overestimate it (Chitwood, 1986),
especially when the parents are well-educated.
Teachers on the other hand are less accurate in finding giftedness if they have not been trained on how to look for it. One preschool teacher with 35 years’ experience in Lee’s (2000) study reported that he had never met a gifted girl (although he had recognized giftedness in boys). In response, Louise Porter quotes: 'I would not have seen it if I didn’t believe it’.
Once again, trust your gut.
Often gifted children have advanced motor development, however it's not often that children are gifted in multiple areas. The clearest sign of accelerated development is in the area of language. Here's a list of behaviors and traits that may indicate that your child has special gifts or talents:
As parents, you can help bring out your child's gifts by challenging him from day one, without pressure. Stay flexible and open-minded and encourage your child to try new things. Then enjoy those new things with them.
Some activities parents can do with their children to bring out their gifts are:
Gifted children can be vulnerable, and therefore parents need to provide their gifted child with an extra support in the following areas:
While you may feel that your child is gifted and second guess yourself because you think you're just being biased, it has been discovered that it is more usual for parents to under-estimate their children’s giftedness than to overestimate it (Chitwood, 1986),
especially when the parents are well-educated.
Teachers on the other hand are less accurate in finding giftedness if they have not been trained on how to look for it. One preschool teacher with 35 years’ experience in Lee’s (2000) study reported that he had never met a gifted girl (although he had recognized giftedness in boys). In response, Louise Porter quotes: 'I would not have seen it if I didn’t believe it’.
Once again, trust your gut.
Often gifted children have advanced motor development, however it's not often that children are gifted in multiple areas. The clearest sign of accelerated development is in the area of language. Here's a list of behaviors and traits that may indicate that your child has special gifts or talents:
- Express curiosity
- Show creativity
- Have an extensive vocabulary
- Have a unique way of solving problems
- Apply what they've learned to new situations
- Have an exceptional memory
- Are artistic, musical, or dramatic, with a well-developed imagination
- Work independently, take initiative, persevere at challenging tasks
- Have a sense of wit and humor
- Have a sustained attention-span
- Roll over before 3 months of age
- Standing on their own or walking before 9 months
- Early expressions e.g. smiling
- Unusually active and high levels of energy (but not hyper)
- Ability to form two word phrases by 14 months
- Talking before 10 months.
- Imaginary playmates
- Early interest in time
- Ability to put together 20 piece puzzle before age 3
As parents, you can help bring out your child's gifts by challenging him from day one, without pressure. Stay flexible and open-minded and encourage your child to try new things. Then enjoy those new things with them.
Some activities parents can do with their children to bring out their gifts are:
- Play with Legos – one of the best building toys for creative, original play.
- Read books... lots of them! And don't rush it. Give children a chance to really soak up the illustrations.
- Play with PLAY-DOH and other hands-on creative activities, which allow kids to explore new colors, shapes, and textures.
- Encourage art – painting, coloring, drawing. Let them make purple skies and blue trees – whatever they decide, without pointing out what's "real."
- Engage in imaginative play together. Pretend the couch is your spaceship, or the kitchen your restaurant.
Gifted children can be vulnerable, and therefore parents need to provide their gifted child with an extra support in the following areas:
- Emotional intensity. Heightened emotions often go hand-in-hand with all that brain power. And feeling emotions more intensely than others can lead your gifted child to see herself as “abnormal.” Reassure her that her emotional responses are normal, for her. Do you have a memory of a time that you felt intensely emotional? Share your story.
- Extreme sensitivity. Intense sensitivity is perfectly normal for the gifted child. Again, reassure your child. Explain to him in simple terms that others might view his sensitivity as “inappropriate” or “abnormal” because they don’t understand. Use a realistic approach when teaching your child that the world-at-large is not always kind.
- Discipline. All children test limits; it’s their job. But some gifted children test limits to the hilt. Exercise appropriate discipline. Best results come from verbally communicating expectations, highlighting the rules and regulations. Have your child play back to you their interpretation of what they heard. Correct misinterpretations and always leave room for negotiation.
- Venting. Nothing you do as a parent holds more worth than giving your child your full attention. Active listening is more about validating than giving advice or offering suggestions. Practice daily.
- Safety nets. Be present in your child’s world. Know their friends, teachers, dance instructor, and soccer coach. Build relationships with those in your child’s “village.” When problems surface, you have a support system; when success happens, you have a fan club.
