During the last several years, the author has become increasingly concerned with the question, "Are we preparing gifted children for college? Or are we preparing them for Life?" Parents and educators want their children to be successful. But what does that mean? At the outset, the author wants to credit Lisa Rivero, a Board member of Supporting…

Raising any child is challenging for parents, but raising a gifted child can be especially demanding. Parents benefit from quality information about giftedness as well as effective parenting strategies for working with very bright youngsters. Parents may wish to better motivate their gifted children, helping them to take personal responsibility…

As a young parent, the author hoped to find ideas, like recipes, that she could immediately put to use. In reality, it is a handful of basic good parenting principles that are especially useful when raising children with exceptional abilities. The author highlights five important elements of parenting that have consistently popped up in her…

Why do so many gifted youngsters stop working hard as soon as they encounter real challenge? These children are happy to spend time at tasks where they knew they will do well but balk at situations for which success may not be guaranteed. In early grades, a gifted child is often praised for his/her innate abilities. Many adults believe that it is…

Raising gifted children is both a joy and a challenge. How does one survive and thrive living in a gifted family? Parents play an essential role in helping children develop appreciation and respect for the world and their place in it. Intellectual development and emotional reactions begin at an early age, and many major behavioral patterns are set…

Gifted kids often share a list of common traits, but ultimately, they are individuals. They have their own strengths, their own weaknesses, and their own needs. One trait that many gifted children "do" share is asynchrony. In other words, gifted children may not follow a typical age appropriate time line. They may be markedly advanced, average, or…

Parenting a gifted child may not be what Mom and Dad expected when they read parenting books and first saw that innocent infant face. A gifted child is a joy and a challenge--rarely predictable, sometimes frustrating and annoying, but never boring. This article discusses the characteristics and vulnerabilities of the gifted. The author offers some…

Parents generally want the best for their children. They want their young children to feel supported while being challenged and encouraged and led toward independence. Parenting that is most supportive of a child's development and adjustment to the outside world is characterized by consistent enforcement of standards for behavior, concern for…

After reviewing the needs of culturally diverse gifted students, the following recommendations are made: seek gifted programs that meet the dual needs of students who are gifted and diverse; encourage the hiring of culturally diverse teachers; expose children to diverse gifted mentors, and encourage school personnel to use multicultural materials.…

This article discusses the obstacles one parent faced in advocating for her gifted children and the positive outcomes of her persistence. A list of strategies for parenting gifted children is provided that include model lifelong learning, nurture strengths and interests, and listen and respond compassionately to your child's emotional needs. (CR)

In this article, a parent of a gifted child muses on the challenges of raising her daughter, coping with her daughter's frustrations, her decision to stay home, and her brief envy of a doppelganger, a professional in a purple suit. (CR)

This article describes key steps parents can take to develop an achievement orientation in gifted children: heal the gifted child within the parent; give consistent messages; develop early independence; utilize encouragement; develop multiple self-definitions; set challenging but realistic goals; and model persistence. (Author/CR)

A parent of a gifted preteen discusses how parents can promote critical thinking in their gifted adolescents. Parents are urged to focus three levels of cognition where critical thinking is believed to take place: analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Examples of positive interactions and questioning techniques are provided. (Contains 1 reference.)…

The parent of a gifted child provides the following recommendations for parents: encourage learning and growth in areas of the child's passion; explain to the child that the way he feels is normal for him; make available resources written for children that explain giftedness; and educate yourself. (Contains 3 references.) (CR)

Examples of learning activities are provided to parents of gifted preschoolers in the areas of mathematics, art, and social and moral development. (DB)