The article presents results of a multiple-case study that examined the ways in which parents perceived and influenced the development of five children who showed extraordinary potential in various domains, such as school, sports or music. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect information about the children's development and were subsequently processed by thematic analysis. The analysis showed that parents based their nurturing practices on their constructions of children's giftedness. In most cases they constructed giftedness as an inborn and stable trait which predisposed children to future extraordinary achievements. This construction was related to supportive nurturing practices but also to excessive expectations and pressures to maintain peak performance which seemed to have a hindering effect on children's motivation and on the long-term development of their achievements. (Contains 1 table.)