How to identify and nurture gifted children

DISCOVERING and nurturing a gifted child can be a daunting task for parents, often leading to feelings of confusion and a lack of direction. Unlike typical challenges in parenthood, dealing with a gifted child is not a routine experience as these children exhibit their exceptional qualities around the clock, making them permanently wired to think and behave differently from their peers.

Every parent requires guidance on how to identify and stimulate children of this extremely rare group. 

Also read: Is your child really gifted?

Parents often neglect the possibility of their child being gifted because they aren’t aware that being gifted can show up in academics and/or natural talents. Dr Shirley Kokot, an educational psychologist who specialises in gifted children, describes a gifted child as one who is talented. 

“Most children exhibit some form of talent or gift, so, understandably, people might mistakenly believe their child is gifted in another way [besides academics]. However, when we discuss a gifted child in academic terms, it goes far beyond the conventional notion of intelligence. These are rare individuals, constituting only one or two percent of the population, with special needs stemming from their exceptional abilities.

“Being able to pick up on whether a child is gifted can be tricky. Every gifted child is different, so not all signs may apply to your child. Signs that your child may be gifted include the ability to pick up, learn or understand things from an early age; they are very inquisitive and ask a lot of questions; they have excellent retention of information; they can become hyper-focused on certain activities; they show early development of motor skills, and they find satisfaction in finding new interests and learning new concepts.

“Caring and nurturing gifted children is completely different from normal children as they require special attention. Being a gifted child can cause the child to get very emotional, they often don’t fit in with same-aged peers and they often have a low attention span in most instances because their brain is not being stimulated appropriately.

“When dealing with stimulating gifted children’s brains, parents need to encourage them to do better in tasks that they are bad at as this relieves the constant pressure to succeed. Parents should feed their children’s curiosity with knowledge. Parents can help enhance the child’s social skills as this tends to be a grey area for most gifted children.

“Support your child’s emotions as they are prone to being very emotional and empathetic, and as parents, you need to allow them to express their emotions. You can encourage your child to be inquisitive and ask questions about certain topics. Lastly, parents should avoid making comparisons with other children – these gifted children already struggle with self-acceptance, and comparing themselves to other children would just worsen the situation. 

“While many parents may be thrilled to learn that their child is gifted, understanding the implications of parenting a gifted child is crucial. It demands unwavering support, undivided attention and significant sacrifices from parents. Informed parenting is key to providing the correct care for these exceptional children,” added Kokot.

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