challenges facing a gifted child

[fatima786]

i was reading through a magazine article that a friend recommended to me about the gifted child.

i think all our kids that are on the special programmes and schedules that we have created for them are gifted.
unfortunately babies reading can be regarded by people who dont know about all this  as a gift.

we know that every child has potential and every child can do these amazing things provided that they are given the opportunity. our kids are not really gifted but have people who care about them enough to teach them and invest in them from when they are tiny.

here is abit of what the article has to say.

please comment

what are the challenges facing "gifted kids"

there is a social challenge as the " gifted child" vocabulary or sense of humor may be a little more advanced and hence not be "age appropriate". this may make them feel misunderstood.

there are few opportunities for gifted children to hone their skills and be taught at a level they can appreciate.this can lead to them suffering a great deal when they are understimulated or unrecognised in schools.

although gifted children need the company of friends to play with, compete with in sports or to simply have fun with, many of them choose older friends and sometimes they even choose adults to these tthings with them.

gifted children also experience "asynchronicity". this means that they can be a mixture of different ages.eg. a six yr old may enjoy riding a bicycle with other six yr olds but she is capable of discussing the injustices of the world at the level of a 10 yr old. this same 6 year old may have the response of a 4 yr old when it comes to being scared of the dark.

supporting your gifted child.

1.listen to your child and try to understand the difficulty she sometimes faces.
2.be prepared to advocate on your childs behalf at schools that are not prepared to change the standard of their worksheets or to make learning more interestingfor the child at her particular level of ability or pre-knowledge.
3. try not to be too preoccupied by the success your child may attain or have attained.
4. nurture your gifted child without pushing.

please share your experiences with your child and how he handles his/her "gift"

[sb1201]

My oldest two boys are considered "gifted" I never did any early learning with them, they just tested this way once in school. They are both in the gifted program at their public school.

I find some of the biggest challenges that they face is boredom and themselves. When my oldest started fourth grade he would say every day "I already know everything that is being taught" As the year progressed they were able to challenge him more. But, when they get bored they sort of shut down and don't want to put in any effort. They both love the gifted class though and really shine in there.

I find too that it's like they know they are smart so they don't need to put in any extra effort to do better. I feel that even if they are ahead they should still strive to do their best and this is what I expect from them. It's just not always easy to convince them of this  

[jdhanota]

I would like to know more information about how to identify a gifted child?  I through Doman says every child can be gifted?  this is where my confusion is.

[sb1201]

Our public school offers a test that is given to any child if requested. The test consists of three different areas. If they score at or above 97% on any of the three areas they qualify for the gifted program at school.

My 9 year old scored 100% in all three areas.    My 11 year old scored 97% on one test so he still qualified

I believe the three areas were:

Quantitative
Verbal
Nonverbal

[Tanikit]

I think here in South Africa this problem is even bigger as there are very few gifted programmes (if any anymore) for children.

I would say one of the biggest challenges is for a parent to adjust to those "age" differences and not just concentrate on the intellectual giftedness - if your child likes riding a bike as a 6 year old then he/should should be encouraged to do so and praised for it too - not only for speaking like a 10 year old. If your child is scared of the dark like a 4 year old then that needs serious attention and the child should not be laughed at or told "you are so clever how can you be scared of the dark" because their intellectual capacities will make them even more sensitive to the criticism.

Education didn't used to be age based - it is only in the last few hundred years that it became like this. Before children of different ages were schooled together and could advance at their own pace (same as home schooling does now) which is possibly why so many parents of gifted children do want to home school. At the same time though that child needs to be able to function in society with people of different ages and with differing levels of intellect and parents should give their children opportunity to do so in as wide a range as possible - don't keep your child only with other gifted children - let them meet children who are not so clever, not so rich, not so sporty etc - basically to give them a broader view of the world and the people that make up the world.

Hmm, now how to do that with my own child in the situation we are living in while still letting her have all the opportunities she deserves... not easy.

[Joha]

This subject really concerns me.   For this reason, as crazy it sounds to me (because I never thought about doing something like this), we are thinking more and more about homeschooling. This way you take a little bit the preasure from other kids and you have them spend time with kids in activities that are not really academically oriented. This way they can't compare themsleves to other kids as if they were in a classroom. Even more so because we live in a small town and there are not gifted classes  I know not everybody has the option of stay home and homeshool, which makes it harder for some parents. Right now with my work schedule we could do it and hopefully when the time comes to homeshool we would have the same felxibility 

There is another issue. My cousin is "gifted". My uncle followed Doman's method 15 yrs ago and it worked. They always let her know what the expected from her and she has always shine in her class. The issue is she feels too much preasure and thinks that they have not let her live her life, meaning enjoy her childhood the way other kids do. This really concerns me, because we want our daughter to feel this is a gift from us to her, so learning will be much easier for her, but we want her to enjoy her childhood 

Interesting subject...

[fatima786]

jdhanota

all children have the potential to be gifted but not all are because their caregiver may not have stimulated them.

tanikit

i know what you mean. even crawford doesnt seem good enough for me but in the article they mentioned a school called radfordhouse which is for gifted kids but then that limits them to only being around gifted kids. but i guess kids in the institutes in philadelphia are around gifted kids aswell. the article was from the living and loving the april issue.

i once showed my pead that Sa'ad could read and a few people as well, not to show off but to truly make them believe that this is something so possible. i regret doing that because i think he feels a little pressure. janet doman said that when you test a child you are taking back the knowledge you gave. i am now not even going to say he reads or is doing maths in his presence because i think that makes him feel like he has to live up to an expectation.

as young as they are they can sense these things.

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