is your child gifted?

I was reading that story about the 2-year-old who is in Mensa on yahoo today and it got me thinking about giftedness.

Do you think your child is gifted? In what ways? If so, what makes you think that? If your child is gifted, are you doing anything different educationally, etc. to encourage that?

Would you like to have a gifted child? In what ways do you appreciate giftedness most (artistic, athletic, etc.)

Were you gifted as a child? What was it like?

[PrincessFiona]

Re: is your child gifted?

the 2-year-old who is in Mensa

How cynical am I today?

kris

Of course! The baby most of all.

:>

[rainbabies]

ds is gifted with asking 'why?'

dd is gifted with non stop talk and imagination

and dd#2 is gifted with non stop temper tantrums and whining

ditto on what annie said.

can be a curse as much as a blessing for all involved

[SuzySunshine]

Again, no children but I was classified as "gifted" in elementary school and it was such a joke. I have no idea how I ended up there and it realy just meant I got to take more advanced classes then my grade.

I think in today's schools they should really try to keep kids interested, not just busy and I think this goes back to the homeschooling discussion of last week. If I felt my child wasn't getting property challenged then its definitely something I'd consider.

Gifted is such a broad term when its come to children, IMO.

[Meenah]

I have a gifted story, long but if you are interested read on.

When Caroline was in the first and second grades they said she was gifted and wanted to test her. I said no, no, and no. In the third grade I gave in to the pressure (school and her dad). They said she was gifted and put her into the "special" classes, etc. I was against it, and in retrospect should have said no, but I of course thought the school and her Dad knew better. It was horrible. Fast forward to junior high school and high school. She struggled and had a hard time keeping up. Of course everyone said she was lazy and had a bad attitude. I said no, something is wrong. Finally they tested her at the high school (after I remarried we moved to a new school district) and they said she is normal, average, and should never have been put in the gifted program. The bar was set too high for her ability and then she was expected to reach it. Can I tell you how much guilt I still have. In college she has been struggling. Her boyfriend said to her "You obviously have a problem, you study all of the time, you know the material, but you can't sit still long enough to focus on exams, etc." He helped her arrange appointments with the University and a private Psychologist, after months of evaluation from several independent entities) and counseling she has been diagnosed with ADD. She doesn't have the Hyperactive part, and is female which is maybe why it wasn't picked up. Now she is on medication and had a 3.9 GPA last semester. Can I say I love her boyfriend. When they were here last month and we were getting ready for a party he was watching Caroline & me try to plan and organize and he said to me "now I know where she gets it from" I also have a hard time focusing on the task at hand!!!

[Meenah]

I actually had several hour long interviews by telephone with the Psychologist in Colorado! They spent alot of time working with her and continue to follow her.

[SuzySunshine]

Luanne, I could have written part of that about me. I was pushed so hard in school, went to a small school in a small town and did well but STRUGGLED like crazy in college. I'm not proud of my GPA at all and DH says he never would have guessed it was that low if I hadn't told him because I tested TERRIBLY. I think there is a lot to be said for those tests in elementary school being to much for little kids to handle.

[Ravenclaw]

Luanne, I'm sorry your daughter had to go through that but that's so great she got the help she needed and is thriving now. No kids here yet but I can already see how it's so hard to know what the right thing to do is, especially when others are telling you what they *think* is best for your child. Hindsight is 20/20!

Luanne, a friend of mine has ADD (or ADHD or whatever that is) and still takes medication for it. It was a huge turning point for her.

[Vanquisher]

My kids are smart. I don't know if that makes them "gifted."

I was a superoverachiever. DH too. We both had full ride scholarships to college. He received the school's general sterling scholar award, I received a Presidential scholarship. He was a national merit scholar, and I had one A- in my high school career. We both took several AP classes and started college as juniors. We both tested as gifted in school. School was always easy. College kicked our asses a bit. We still did relatively well, but we also had a baby and worked full time jobs. That made it harder to be as studious. We both have always tested well, though, and this has been an advantage to dh throughout his education. He just didn't seem to have to study as hard as anyone else. In med school, he hardly ever studied. He did really well on the MCAT, and really well on Step I. His friends were pissed because they knew how much less he studied then they did, but they also saw it coming from him.

Ryan, my DS, is in his school's gifted program. They meet once a week and study above and beyond what they study in the classroom. Ryan's lowest grade this year was a 96%. I don't know if that means he's gifted, or if all the other kids aren't that bright? He's smart, but he's not a freak, KWIM? He tests well above grade level in all subjects.

My DD is a gifted princess. She can hold court with any imaginary kingdom you place before her.

[Momo]

Let ,me preface this post by saying I am hesitant to write about this as I don't want to come off as bragging( so not my intention)
My kiddos are always being commented on by family members, friends, friends who are educators and even strangers about how "smart" /precocious they are :huh: . They are quite verbose and apparently their vocabulary is advanced for kids their age. They get the talking part honest. I was an early talker and dubbed "little miss big words" by my siblings. I attribute the advanced words , from having spent so much time w/ my folks. I was a middle child of 5, so I often didn't have anyone to play with. The older & younger same sex siblings paired up.

It appears their father was gifted. He skipped a grade & began med school @ 17, in his country you go straight to med school out of HS, so that's not so unusual. What was pretty amazing was that DH refused to buy his Text Books in Arabic, instead he chose to buy English text books. He said this killed 2 birds w/ 1 stone, he was able to increase on the little English he already knew, and learn medicine. Here in the states he passed his 5 boards. The last 4 (I can vouch for this) w/out really studying. He never hung out @ the library, didn't go to practice exams and never purchased preparation materials. He recognizes that he has been very blessed and is quite thankful for this. I will be curious to see how are kids will turn out. The older 2 head off to all day Montessori mid Aug...finally they will be around others...I guess I'll find out!

[Meenah]

My DD is a gifted princess. She can hold court with any imaginary kingdom you place before her.

That is too cute.

I just hope it doesn't take Caroline too long to bring up her GPA, she has some work ahead of her. She is on the right track now, but I still feel awful that I didn't do more when she was younger. If the schools ever want to test your child, make sure you also get an outside professional to do the same to confirm whatever the school district Psychologist says. I now have a VERY NEGATIVE attitude about school psychologists. I wish I had followed my gut instead of thinking the professionals knew best. Too bad we can't have the experience of raising kids before we actually have to do it.

[Michele]

We're similar to Heidi...Russ and I were both 'gifted' and did well in HS and college....we also both test pretty well, etc.

I actually think more about the pressure I'll subconsciously place on Daegan to be smart. My sister and mom both point out (a little too often) that Russ and I have a tendency to make others feel dumb. No one else has really said we do this....so I don't know if it's just my family. But it's something I am aware of and I don't want to project onto my children. I guess we'll see.

[Cumberland]

My parents were sure that I was gifted and had me tested multiple times. Each time I was a point or two below the mark, and my mom would have me tested again. I have a little bit of an inferiority complex about not ever making the mark

At what age do you have your children tested?