Many gifted children can be identified at a young age by their early skills, reading, large vocabularies, constant questioning, manipulating their environment, etc. They dance, sing, story-tell, play make-believe, dig, run, bounce, and ask lots of questions. Once they attend formal school environments they are expected to learn the socially accepted behaviors of listening, following the rules, schedules, deadlines and homework assignments.
The following are things parents can do to help their gifted child at home during school years:
- Encourage and provide for exploration, experimentation, fantasy, questioning, testing, and the development of their creative talents.
- Provide opportunities for creative expression, creative problem solving, and appropriate responses to change and stress.
- Prepare gifted children for new experiences and provide guidance in order to cope with them.
- Find ways to change destructive behaviors into productive behaviors rather than relying on punishment.
- Make sure that all members in the family receive some individualized attention every day. All family members respect each other’s talents and ways of thinking.
- Use the school as a resource and supplement the school’s efforts with the community.