Your gifted child
Introduction
Do you think your child is gifted? It’s very often parents who are the first to recognize that their child is bright for his age – but what do you do then?
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Could my child be gifted?
If your child is reading well beyond grade level, finishing his homework in five minutes or less and constantly telling you school is boring he may well be gifted. If so, how do you harness his potential while ensuring he feels comfortable with his differences and still treating him as the young, emotionally immature child he still is?
Signs your child may be gifted
Most children aren’t ‘diagnosed’ as being gifted until they enter formal education but there are signs that you may be aware of wel before he reaches school age. Compared to other children his age, how many of these fit your child:
- He reasons well and learns rapidly Your child may be two or more years ahead of his classmates academically, can quickly memorize facts and loses interest when asked to do more of the same. He enjoys problem-solving, often missing out the intermediate stages in an argument and making original connections, and he’s also able to understand advanced mathematical and linguistic concepts and talk intelligently about ethics and morals.
- He has an extensive vocabulary He started to talk and read early and understands words his classmates don’t.
- He’s thirsty for knowledge He’s observant, asks lots of questions and learns faster than other children his age. He perseveres in his interests, is able to concentrate for long periods on subjects that interest him and has a wide general knowledge and interest in the world.
- He has an unusually vivid imagination and is very creative, making up songs, stories and poems.
- He prefers older companions or adults and frequently demonstrates mature attitudes and judgement for his age. However, despite his liking of adult company he may tend to question authority.
How can you help your gifted child?
Gifted children often need more support than others, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that they need more structured activities. Sometimes it means they need more freedom and a little more guidance instead.
Support at home
There’s no need to send your gifted child to school too soon because there are plenty of things you can do at home to mentally challenge him…
- See past his age Communicate on his level – he’s likely to be asking very detailed questions so make sure you give him proper answers instead of oversimplifying things. Let him play with games and toys aimed at older children (watch out for small parts if he has a tendency to still put things in his mouth).
- Read to him as often as you can and encourage him to look at books himself and make up stories to go with the pictures.
- Familiarize him with math Count as often as you can: when you climb the stairs, when you read together, by dividing snacks between two bowls and getting him to count what’s in each bowl and think about how many he has altogether. Magnetic numbers on the fridge are handy for simple addition.
- Encourage creativity and non-academic skills by providing him with a box of art and craft supplies and enrolling him in music or dance classes.
Support at school
Your child’s teacher may not have training or experience in dealing with gifted children so you may need to monitor his progress closely to make sure he is being given suitable learning opportunities. He needs…
- A fair share of teacher time It’s possible your child’s teacher may think that he can be left to get on with his studies by himself but while it’s true that he should be encouraged to use his initiative and problem-solving skills without too much instruction, he still needs her guidance.
- A balanced workload Just because your child is gifted doesn’t mean he should be overworked when it comes to studying. He needs to engage in activities that require him to spend time both working with urgency and reflecting quietly on what he has learned.
- A variety of challenges His assignments need to be structured in a way that will tap into his higher-order thinking skills. He should be encouraged to use a range of alternative methods and approaches, and organizational and presentation techniques, and given the opportunity to do his own research and develop his work in directions he has chosen himself.
- A range of risks His teacher should allow him to take risks with the possibility of failure in non-threatening and well-organized situations.
- To act his age Above all, his teacher needs to remain aware that his social and emotional maturity may not always equate with his intellectual ability.
Supernanny Team