Parents can be very competitive. How often have you sat through a toddler group session where the mum next to you goes on and on about her child’s extraordinary talent, or read through yet another Christmas round robin letter listing endless achievements? But are these children truly gifted? Are yours?
Wait and See?
Most schools do not start to look for signs of giftedness in children until at least second grade. Perhaps you can just wait and see what the school reports. But some gifted children are moving away from their peers well before that, so parents may want to identify and help them at an earlier stage. Also, not all gifted children exhibit the signs that schools look out for—some do badly in tests because they are bored with the whole business of school. So perhaps you should look for indications of giftedness in your own children.
Language Skills
Gifted children tend to develop language faster than average. They learn new words quickly, and develop the ability to construct grammatical sentences early. They can understand a complex series of instructions, and listen attentively to adult conversations. They also tend to grasp reading skills quickly.
Early exposure to a second language seems to help language skills, but even in their own language a gifted child is liable to demonstrate the knack of using different vocabulary when speaking to different people.
Learning Skills
All children have a natural ability to learn, but gifted children take this to a higher level. They are quick to learn about new things, and ask perceptive questions building on their previous knowledge. They can develop intense interests in specific subjects, and can be very self-motivated in discovering more about them. They generally demonstrate a very good memory.
A gifted child might tend to think and talk fast, and be frustrated by demands that they slow down. They can be very creative in their imaginative play, and in inventing new rules to play their games.
IQ Tests?
Such a list of signs of giftedness is by no means complete, and no one child is likely to present them all. They are also relative—they are things that all children do at different rates. How can parents know if their child’s development is faster than normal?
One possibility is for them to use the various tests available. Tests are only part of any child’s assessment, and have to be seen in the context of their wider development. Moreover, some tests like the NNAT will be different from anything a child has encountered before, so children who have been exposed to that style of testing will perform differently compared to those who have not.
A Parent’s Job
There is no simple way to recognize giftedness. Many supremely gifted adults gave little indication of their distinction in childhood. However any parent who may have a gifted child has a special responsibility to do what they can to help that child reach their potential. It is an exciting and sometimes precarious process.
Joseph Fleming works in education and is especially interested in getting the most out of the next generation, whether they already shown signs of excellence, or need to have their specific talent uncovered.
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