Intellectual giftedness is an abnormal state characterized by asynchronous development. This means that the brain activity and speed of development is well ahead of the chronological physical stages that typify the child of age three.
Formal Testing For Giftedness Optimal at Age Six
Since most formal testing for advanced development is not a good investment before the age of six or seven, if the very young child exhibits several of the traits of giftedness, she should be assumed gifted until such time as the testing is appropriate.
Parents of a gifted child have a special responsibility to read up on giftedness and to help the child to develop to her full potential. This can involve providing controlled additional stimulation, education, toys and actvities geared to enhancing her intellectual prowess. She also needs plenty of time for play.
Parents Should Allow Gifted Children Freedom to Play and Think
Down time is more important to a gifted child than up time in some respects. He will need to take time to absorb new information, work through issues in his mind and just to let his imagination go in whatever direction he wants. This is healthy and will give him another avenue for blowing off stress, which he feels even as a very young child.
Sure, technology is a great thing for the gifted but so are the wonders of natural discovery, the chance to learn from books and to experiment with different textures and substances. Many three-year-old gifted children are already reading and some have taught themselves through parental reading sessions, tv programs like Sesame Street and reading kits or cue cards.
Everything in moderation is the key to good parenting. An hour a day at the computer, maybe an hour or two watching television and lots of time to play, be outdoors and just be a kid, is the ideal arrangement for the gifted child.
There is nothing wrong with offering the child these reading tools as soon as he seems interested in them, but never push the child to read early or do anything that he is not ready for yet. Frustrating a young one with older puzzles may result in turning him away from these activities. Offer something and if he seems to want to play with it fine, but if not, take it back and reintroduce it at a later date.
Social Interaction and Gifted Toddlers
The parent who wants to help the young child learn will encourage play with other like-age children. They need not be gifted or even the same age for the child to absorb information from and about them very quickly. Keeping toddlers isolated from other young ones could delay some elements of social development that are ready at an earlier point in time.
Even an introverted gifted child is intensely curious about the world around him and others he befriends. He may not be the one to take the initiative in play, because he is so curious about watching the other children. This is great socialization and he will pick up on cues very quickly.
Some young gifted children are actually adept at manipulating others in their social environment, so they can get what they want or play with the toys they are interested in. Parents of gifted kids are not immune to this phenomenon, and the more naturally charming the child is, the better she may become at this preferential treatment.
Gifted Children and Phobias
From the age of two until about five, the child is more likely to develop the seeds of lifetime phobias than at any other time of life. He is very impressionable and violent movies, scary events, being overwhelmed by people or stressful times can result in the development of dysfunctional behaviors including phobias, neuroses, stuttering and related abnormalities.
Closely monitor reaction to things and intervene as needed. Protect the child from trauma now and prevent potential problems in the future. Gifted kids can be even more sensitive to scary things than normal kids because of the advanced development of imaginative powers. He has the capacity, but not the experience to deal with many events. The parent knows her child best. If she sees the child becoming upset, she can step in and remove him from the situation.
The gifted toddler is often a challenge to raise. Providing a balanced life that includes some technology, some newness, social interactions, the freedom to play and experience nature will certainly lead him to thrive in his enriched environment. Be sure to allow plenty of time for play and reflection. For more information, read Raising a Difficult Gifted Child, Characteristics of Gifted Children and Life of a Gifted Child at Age Ten.
Therese Haberman - With a MS degree and 25 years in HR mgmt, in 2005, Ms.Therese began a writing career specializing in children and HR.
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