Signs that your child is gifted

How often do you hear a mother praising how outstanding and talented their child is? Most parents view their children as exceptionally bright but how does a parent know if their child is truly gifted? “Gifted individuals are those who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude, defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn or competence in one or more domains. Domains include any structured area of activity with its own symbol system (e.g., mathematics, music, language) and/or set of sensory motor skills (e.g. painting, dance, sports),” says the National Association for Gifted Children.

Exceptionally talent

Your child is exceptionally talented if they have the ability to perform a skill at a level usually not reached until later years, sometimes as late as adulthood. A three-year old may read like a third grader or a nine-year-old may be playing piano like an 18-year-old, who has studied for years. If the exceptional talent is in a non-academic area such as music or art, the children may not be identified as gifted by the school because most testing for gifted programmes is based on academic ability or achievement.

Signs your child is gifted

Here are some signs to help parents identify whether they might well have a gifted child:

• Excellent/above average problem-solving skills
• Long attention span
• Extreme curiosity and perseverance in wide range of interests
• Ability to learn quickly
• Perfectionism
• Well-developed sense of humour
• Exceptional vocabulary
• Prolific reader, about many different things, and reads well above grade level
• Reasons well (good thinker)
• Excellent memory
• Morally sensitive, shows compassion, questions authority, and is concerned with justice and fairness
• High degree of energy
• Prefers to interact with older children or adults
• A vivid imagination, and is highly creative
• Facility with numbers
• Good at and enjoys jigsaw puzzles, Sudoku, crosswords, Scrabble, mazes, etc.