Learning About Our Own Giftedness
Thursday April 3, 2008
Something interesting happens to many parents of gifted children as they read about giftedness and learn about their children. They discover they are gifted too. That is not really surprising since giftedness does seem to run in families. Gifted people have a knack for finding each other, as do gifted children in school. And when a gifted man and a gifted woman meet, marry, and have children, those children are quite likely also gifted.
Because giftedness tends to run in families, most people in a family are gifted. That means that gifted characteristics are so common that they are the norm for the family. However, unless people understand giftedness, they assume that these traits -- and sometimes quirks -- are normal in the general population as well. Children can grow up thinking that they are odd because they don't fit in with the other kids at school, and the parents don't know what to do about it because they don't know about giftedness.
When those kids grow up, they may have gifted children who are identified as gifted in school or the parents may have a friend who points out the gifted behavior of the child. However, they find out about giftedness, the parents start reading about giftedness and see themselves, as well as their children, described in the books and articles they read. They begin to look at their youth in a whole new way, a way that begins to make sense.
A good number of parents, even after reading about and recognizing many gifted traits in themselves, will still refuse to accept the possibility that they themselves might be gifted, telling people that their child's giftedness comes from the other parent. However, even if the parents of a gifted child knew they were gifted because they had been identified in school, chances are good that they still didn't know much about what it means to be gifted: most school gifted programs don't include that kind of instruction or exploration.
Poll: Did you know you were gifted before you had a gifted child?
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Because giftedness tends to run in families, most people in a family are gifted. That means that gifted characteristics are so common that they are the norm for the family. However, unless people understand giftedness, they assume that these traits -- and sometimes quirks -- are normal in the general population as well. Children can grow up thinking that they are odd because they don't fit in with the other kids at school, and the parents don't know what to do about it because they don't know about giftedness.
When those kids grow up, they may have gifted children who are identified as gifted in school or the parents may have a friend who points out the gifted behavior of the child. However, they find out about giftedness, the parents start reading about giftedness and see themselves, as well as their children, described in the books and articles they read. They begin to look at their youth in a whole new way, a way that begins to make sense.
A good number of parents, even after reading about and recognizing many gifted traits in themselves, will still refuse to accept the possibility that they themselves might be gifted, telling people that their child's giftedness comes from the other parent. However, even if the parents of a gifted child knew they were gifted because they had been identified in school, chances are good that they still didn't know much about what it means to be gifted: most school gifted programs don't include that kind of instruction or exploration.
Poll: Did you know you were gifted before you had a gifted child?
- Yes
- No
- I'm not gifted - My child got his giftedness from his other parent
- Have more to say? Share your thoughts.
More polls from your guide
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