A child can be considered to be gifted when their natural abilities present themselves as well above the average for their age. You might notice these abilities emerge through the way they are learning and developing. The gift can present in any area of ability and can also extend to more than one specific area. A child could present ability in the creative and intellectual areas, or might their gift exceptional memory and physical co-ordination, or they could express their gifts in the form of emotional and social expertise. In all cases, they would show ability above and beyond other children their own age.
The levels of giftedness can also differ from child to child. Some would express more advanced abilities than others, and some gifts come with a double-edged sword like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for example. Being gifted is often a family trait and it happens across all cultures and all types of families. You hear people use the terms like ‘very athletic’, ‘extremely bright’ or ‘advanced’ when referring to gifted children.
When Gifts Become Talents
Gifts will blossom into talents when they are nurtured and developed; when natural gifts are used to practice, to learn new things and when their focus is directed and concentration is applied. For example, if your child expresses musical ability and gets the chance to learn an instrument, his gift may blossom into a talent for playing or writing music. There will be many influencing factors along the way like his family’s values, any limiting health factors, which educational opportunities are given, the child’s personality and the level of motivation. If your child shows ability in the area of business and is supported to start a little egg business by raising chickens, his gift for business could evolve into a serious talent. Likewise, if your child shows a gift for acting, getting him or her some acting lessons and/or professional gigs from the best child model siteswould be helpful in bringing out their talent and their confidence.
How To Keep Your Sanity If Your Child Is Gifted Or Talented
Prepare to be amazed as your gifted or talented child shows you drawings and stretches your thinking in terms of deep questions about life, as they look to you to add to their knowledge and begin even overtaking you as they progress. There will be times you will be filled with joy answering their questions and other times their questions will make you anxious and exhausted. This is especially true if your child has a talent that you don’t have! Keeping up with their needs can feel exciting but also comes with its challenges, like finding enough resources to support the child’s accelerated learning needs. For this reason, having a gifted child can make a parent sometimes feel lonely.
In particular, other parents might not always understand what your unique challenges are and may become judgmental about how you are raising your child and some may even feel it necessary to criticize your methods. Here is where parents with gifted children can help one another and can be a great support in terms of ideas and information sources. You can meet other parents of gifted children through the programs directed at gifted kids and also through other associations for gifted and talented children in your local area.
