The family is critically important to gifted and talented teens. The family is the only moral support which they can obtain at difficult times in their lives. The family is always there for them when peers jeer or society sneers. Family contributes to the well- being and to the development of gifted and talented teens. Sibling rivalry with the gifted is definitely a problem. When one teen is exceptional at school, and the others are just average, there is bound to be hostility and resentment. You must simply consider how you would feel if you were the sister or brother of someone who was constantly winning first place in art contests. How would you feel if your brother was a musical genius and for six hours a day you had to listen to him practice? How would you feel if your parents were always gone with their gifted daughter, driving her to practises or watching her at competitions? It is doubtless that you would be very jealous at times. Parents of the gifted have to be very clever to prevent this jealousy, as well as disputes and hurt feelings in their families. The worst possible thing for them to say to their children is "Why can't you be more like your sister?" This creates bitterness between the children. The parents must focus on meeting the needs of all their children and they must compliment each of them equally. Teaching the gifted teen to respect their siblings and their friends is crucial. The gifted teen may spend more time at home than most teens. This is perfectly acceptable and should not be discouraged. Gifted teens often enjoy their own company and they can find great ways to amuse themselves. Gifted teens may enjoy doing things which other teens find boring. These could include crossword puzzles, Mensa math problems, bonus school work, complicated baking, knitting, reading complex books or leafing through daily newspapers. While many teens enjoy teen magazines, the talented teen may prefer other intellectual magazines and the family should supply such items to the teen without hassle or joking. Gifted teens depend on their families for intellectual, mental and physical growth more than other teens. They need parental support, sibling acceptance and comradeship with relatives. They need to feel special and normal at the same time. They require unique items for their development and may therefore be more expensive than other teens. This should not be seen negatively; parents of a gifted teen should consider themselves lucky to have such a special child. The accomplishments that the gifted attain as adults are well worth every penny spent on them in their teen years.
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