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Gifted chidlren are unique and have special social, emotional, and academic needs.

Understanding Your Gifted Child

Social Needs and Characteristics:  Gifted students develop mentally at a more rapid rate than their same age peers. Finding common interests with children their age may be difficult and your child be seem isolated.  

Emotional Needs and Characteristics:  Gifted students are highly sensitive.  Even though they are academically compitent, they may lack self-confidence.  Gifted students are empathetic to others and may have strong reactions to situations they deem unfair or unjust.

Academic Needs and Characteristics: Often gifted students have high expectations for themselves. Unrealistic expectations can lead to underachievement in the classroom.  Many gifted students will also become perfectionist leading to high stress levels.

How can you support your gifted child at home?

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Do

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  • Enjoy your child and keep your sense of humor.

  • Talk to other parents of gifted children.

  • Help your child understand what being gifted means.

  • Remember that gifted children can be very intense.

  • Compliment your child on efforts as well as abilities.

  • Don’t overschedule your gifted child.

  • Help provide intellectual challenge in and out of school.

  • Pick battles carefully. Think about what is important in the long run.

  • Model acceptance of mistakes.

  • Teach time management and organizational skills.

  • Allow choice when possible.

  • Be alert to conflicts experienced between high achievement and belonging to a particular group.

  • Provide opportunities for community service or action to allow for a sense of contribution.

  • Listen without offering criticism or solutions. JUST LISTEN!

Avoid

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  • Unrealistic expectations

  • Control or criticism over eating or weight

  • Criticizing teachers/school in front of the child; seek solutions

  • Criticism in front of others; comparison with other children

  • Praise for being the best, brilliant or perfect

  • Praising attractiveness, appeal to opposite gender, etc.

  • Stereotyping by gender

  • “Fixing” him/her.

  • Rescuing from consequences or shielding from difficulties

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