Finding out your child is gifted inevitably leads to the question of what to do about it. Some parents are concerned that they are not smart, talented, or educated enough to provide the types of experiences their child requires. However, all it really takes is a little understanding and creativity to nurture giftedness.
Parenting gifted children is about much more than just helping them pursue academic and intellectual excellence. As a parent, you will nurture them for overall success in life, encourage their unique gifts and talents while cultivating their social and emotional development that are common difficulties for gifted kids.
Parenting gifted children to succeed is uniquely challenging because of their exceptional nature. It is important for parents to remember that gifted children very often do not develop evenly. In fact, young gifted children frequently show peaks of extraordinary performance rather than equally high skill levels in all cognitive areas.
Nature vs. Nurture
In the late nineteenth century, most intelligence theorists applied Charles Darwin’s theories about the survival of the fittest to the question on nature vs. nurture. They believed that genes caused giftedness through a sifting process that continued over generations, and that gifted people were more likely to pass on their genes to their offspring. In the middle of the twentieth century, Alfred Binet challenged this view by developing the Binet scale (later renamed the Stanford-Binet scale) of intelligence, which is still used today to calculate intelligence quotient (IQ). Binet’s scale could determine whether a child was above, on, or below their “mental age.”
Today, most theorists believe that Binet was correct, to a certain degree. They believe that there is a certain potential that each human has based on his genes. At the same time, some individuals reach that potential through proper education and hard work; while others do not. Environmental interaction with the genetic program of an individual occurs whether planned or left to chance. Parents must be aware that how we structure the environment for children changes them neurologically and biologically. Without opportunities for appropriate challenges, both talent and ability may be lost. Therefore, the development of intelligence includes both nature and nurture.
Nurturing vs. Pushing
Nurturing is child-centred, while pushing is adult-centred. When we nurture, we follow the child’s lead, but when we push, we ask the child to follow us, to do what we want him or her to do. Gifted children who feel pushed do not tend to flourish as well as children who have a strong sense of their own self. Too much pressure contributes to anxiety which may lead to a deep fear of failure and sometimes leads to academic apathy, depression, or rebellion.
Intellectual Needs of Gifted Children
For gifted children to reach their potential, the right educational strategies are essential. Parents are a child’s first teachers, and they need to provide a rich, responsive environment and guidance based on the unique needs and interests of their children. By adding ideas and enthusiasm, parents introduce the world of learning to their child in an exciting way.
At school, teachers can use a variety of teaching styles to effectively engage gifted students. Teachers can provide gifted children with tools that will help them succeed such as access to a wide range of books and resources, access to groups or technology that supports engagement with other gifted students, and encouraging their creativity and problem-solving skills.
Higher-than-average achievement often comes easily to gifted children. However, they will eventually come across something that is difficult for them, whether that be mastering a physical skill or feeling comfortable meeting new people.
Nurturing gifted children is both exciting and challenging. Parents and educators play an important role in the lives of gifted children to help them develop their full intellectual and academic potential.