Parenting Gifted Children

Answer 1

Raising a child is tricky business. While some children seem inclined to grow into well-behaved and productive adults, others seem destined for a much bumpier course. Poor grades at school, visits to the principal's office, red lights and worrisome parent-teacher conferences might all seem to signal that a child is suffering from some form of learning or behavioral disability, but this is often not the case at all.

By their very nature, schools must be geared towards average children. All children receive the same learning materials, are provided with the same instructions, are assigned the same homework, and take the same tests to measure their levels of understanding. In order to function most efficiently, schools seek to provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of students. Most students behave in certain predictable ways and have the capacity to learn at a certain rate. Standard education practices are built around those behaviors and capacities.

At either end of the spectrum for average children, schools become inefficient. Children who learn more slowly than the average child often fail to keep up without special attention that the school may not be equipped to provide. Gifted children learn rapidly, but they often exhibit poor performance because they are not being challenged. They become bored and distracted.

Gifted children need to be presented with new learning opportunities as early and often as possible. In many cases, gifted children are already reading by the time they enter school. While other children are being taught to read, gifted children are bored and looking for something to do. This often results in disruptive behaviors that are unacceptable in a school environment. Parents should push for placement testing that will allow their children to skip over a grade or class that is designed to teach knowledge or skills the child already possesses.

Gifted children flourish under exposure to new experiences and ideas. Interactive games, trips to zoos or parks, and early team sports where children learn rules and cooperative behaviors are all good activities. Many gifted children have artistic or musical abilities. If these are present, then gifted children should be encouraged to develop their own artistic or musical skills. Not all gifted children will have these inclinations, and they should not be forced into something that does not interest them.

Parenting gifted children is a joy when their exceptional abilities are recognized. It can be a struggle when they are unrecognized. Parents should always start with the assumption that their children are gifted. Children should be provided with as many opportunities for learning as possible. By allowing children to learn at their own pace, whether accelerated, average or slowly, parents will be taking a great stride in the raising of happy, well-adjusted adults.