Pipe Down: Your Child Isn't Gifted PAGE 2

Pipe Down: Your Child Isn't Gifted PAGE 2

Monday, September 1, 2008

Continued from Pipe Down: Your Child Isn't Gifted...

What's more, there are different types of giftedness: Academic, creative, intellectual, visual and performing arts, and leadership--just to name a few. So your kid may read quickly, but his friend may be better at math--and you'll never know who's "smarter," especially if his parents are coaching him through his homework or making him study longer. Even so, given the chance, most kids catch up to quick learners with extra studying.

But know this: "There is no test to determine if a child is gifted," says Cheryll Adams, Director of the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development at Ball State University in Indiana.

"Whether or not a school says your child is gifted depends on what state you're from," Adams says. "Each state has a different definition of what it means to be 'gifted'--some only identify giftedness, and others may identify and help nurture it. So you can have a gifted kid on your hands and not even know it."

And other factors are at play: If a child comes from a disadvantaged background, he or she may not have been afforded all the opportunities to exercise their talent. And for kids not born in this country, they may not qualify for Special Ed, but they likely need to study more to keep up. What's more, certain schools administer IQ tests and determine giftedness based on an arbitrary score.

As for those braggarts on the playground? "Parents who boast like to wear their kid's talent as a badge of honor," Adams says. "But we don't know for sure how much of nature or nurture plays into giftedness. A child could be predisposed to easily understanding math, but another kid could be just as proficient, given the time and practice to learn."

"The school system is highly evolving and gifted kids aren't getting special treatment or higher education, they're just learning material tailored to their needs--just like everyone else."

6 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

This is a ridiculous post that wasn’t well-researched. There is a difference between smart and gifted and this piece barely defined “smart,” much less, “gifted.” There is serious research on gifted children and their differences that can be found in many places. MomLogic is now on my last nerve.

- mamajama

Posted 09/03/08 02:41 PM

mamajama, you have just echoed my thoughts. Makes me wonder if the other articles are also so poorly researched.

- mite

Posted 09/04/08 03:37 AM

Let me guess, mamajama, is your child “gifted”? This article wasn’t saying that gifted and smart are the same thing. But that smart does not equate to gifted. Almost every parent I know is convinced their kid is gifted, but most of them are average or slightly ahead of the curve in one area or another. 99% of parents have the 3% of children that are gifted… that’s some amazing math.

- tarakeet

Posted 09/06/08 12:49 PM

I tend to agree with the article, to some degree. I hear so many parents point out how gifted their child is. I had one good friend whose daughter passed the kindergarten readiness test at age 3, and she thought that meant her IQ was high. She started enrolling her in ‘gifted child’ enrichment classes two days a week. The girl is now in 3rd grade, and guess what? She’s at completely average (to slightly above average) skills for a third grader. Meaning, all the other kids caught up. My son tests in the gifted IQ range. He didn’t read early. He struggles with reading comprehension. Having a gifted child is not the same as having a smart child who breezes through anything given to them. My son regularaly tests 2-3 years ahead of his grade in math and vocabulary, but still struggles in school. There are disabilities that limit him—the inability to filter out noise making all sounds a big jumble, including what the teacher is saying; muscle weakness that causes him to have trouble sitting still and upright for long periods; and a handful of other social issues that I won’t go into, but they generally make it hard for him to relate to other children. Social issues definitely affect learning! Most parents of truly gifted children find that some sort of disability or special needs go hand in hand with it. Be careful what you wish for—a gifted child is not always what you really want. Bright, smart, clever are great things, and don’t usually come with the issues that giftedness often brings. Be sure to know the difference!

- Heather Tenney

Posted 01/30/09 12:04 PM

This was a ridiculous article. Is your kid gifted? Possibly. And as a parent of a child who has an IQ in the gifted range, I agree with Heather Tenney - it’s not all a bed of roses. My daughter has the same issues as her son. She struggles in school in many ways, although she does not have trouble mastering the material.

- Mary

Posted 02/01/09 09:01 PM

Unfortunately, this article conflates mistakes the general population have made through their misconception of their child as “gifted” with actual giftedness, trashing both in their own holier-than-thou way. “Gifted” is a way the brain works—not knowing lots of vocabulary. It can’t BE “learned”, although it can certainly be encouraged. There is a lot of pain that comes with actually being “gifted”. One of them is the sheer agony of not being able to “connect” with 99% of others on your age level, of actually believing you are inferior, because if you are bored, it just means you have a learning disability. It DOES exist, you just haven’t experienced it. So you’re telling everyone that because braggarts have tried to boost the “image” of their kids as gifted, then we should discount true mental differences? I’m not saying gifted kids are “better”. That’s for the braggarts. The reality is, most gifted kids/parents try to HIDE it—from people like the author of this article. Tired of everyone telling you that getting together a campaign to save endangered birds when you are seven years old is neither a fitting use for your time nor even possible. That your parents hothoused you. No one ever believed me when I demonstrated highly advanced skills. Maybe I should have played dumb to be seen without fear and jealousy by those who had no idea what it was like. —A former “student”

- Kate

Posted 05/19/09 12:21 AM