Parenting Gifted - It Takes "Common Sense"!

Other characteristics can be referred to as personality traits, and parents should especially focus on them. Parents are often the ones to see subtle difference between their child and siblings, playmates, and other children. Some of these differences are:  Unusual sensitivity  Keen sense of humor  Perfectionism  Advanced level of moral judgement  Frustration of not feeling challenged

Perhaps an example of parent observation could more fully explain the role a parent could put a common sense approach to gifted. There was once a five-year-old “power tumbler”. It amazed me how this little tike could explain to her brain that she wanted to do fulls and bounding backs. I was equally amazed that she could remember a ten trick pass while upside down. I was impressed that she had the poise to compete with girls 13 and 14 years old and win. The term gifted never entered my mind. She was a talented athlete. The signs were there but it wasn’t until testing, achievement, fluency, documented characteristic emerged that I understood that this girl was not only talented but also gifted.

It is the responsibility of the parent to be aware of the recognized characteristics of giftedness. However, it is recommended that parents trust their feelings or intuitive judgments to guide them in targeting their son or daughter as a potentially gifted child.