Meeting Needs with Fun and Games

Posted by Douglas Parker Oct 14, 2007

When considering what kind of play is best for gifted children, remember that in many cases open-ended games, toys and puzzles will be the best in the long run. Most parents and teachers try to purchase games, toys and puzzles that take experimentation to follow or solve, need imagination, are not gender-specific, and are age-appropriate.

Gifted children want to probe and experiment. They want to use their cognitive abilities to solve problems, especially when the problems are within their interest sets. They usually eschew products that require no investigation or games that are simple to win or rely on sheer luck. They also want to use their imaginations to play, which is where the open-ended kinds of products that don’t follow a single set of instructions are popular. Also, gifted children can have a wide array of interests, and products that might be stereotyped for one gender might be attractive to the other – gifted girls might like racecar video games or chemistry sets, and boys might like cooking sets or music games. Physical and mental ages are also important considerations. The simple answer would be to just buy games and toys that are recommended for older children; however, that is not always a good idea because the child might not be physically able, or dexterous enough to be able to use the product. The key is to find products that both meet the ability requirements and are age-level appropriate.