Family Life, Nurturing, and Finding Help
By Carol Bainbridge, About.com Guide to Gifted Children
Family life with gifted children can be as intense as the gifted children themselves. The intensity may come from the characteristics of the gifted children themselves or from the stress parents sometimes feel to nurture their child's talents and abilities. The resources here provide suggestions for making family life easier and fun. They also provide strategies for nurturing gifted children, including recommendations for toys and books gifted children love. Finally, resources are provided for finding more help.
- Nurturing Gifted Children
- Parenting Tips
- Activities Gifted Kids Enjoy
- Toys for Gifted Children
- Books for Gifted Children
Nurturing Gifted Children
Parents of gifted children sometimes feel overwhelmed with responsibility once they learn or even suspect that they have a gifted child. They are afraid they will fail to nurture their child's abilities and will therefore be responsible for their child not reaching his or her full potential. It's not as difficult to nurture a gifted child's talents and abilities as parents think it is.
- Ways to Nurture Gifted Children
- Nurturing Gifted Children
- Nurturing Giftedness in Young Children
- When Does Nurturing a Gifted Child Become Pushing?
- Nurturing or Pushing Gifted Children -- How to Know the Difference
- Keeping Gifted Toddlers and Preschoolers Stimulated at Home
- Creative Ways to Foster Creativity
- Encourage a Gifted Child's Artistic Expression Through Gift Wrapping
- Driving Vacations
Parenting Tips
Parenting is a tough job and parenting any special needs child is even tougher. That includes parenting gifted children, who are special needs children. Their characteristics lead to behaviors that require parenting strategies other than those found in the typical parenting books. Whether it is their extreme emotional sensitivity or their constant need to debate every rule and issue, their behavior can be frustrating.
- How to Deal with Your Child's Asynchronous Development
- How (Not) to Argue with Gifted Children
- Help Your Gifted Child Fall Asleep
- Loving and Liking Your Gifted Child
- How to Raise Your Children to Be Optimists
- Dealing with Never-Ending Questions
- Stop a Fussy Gifted Baby From Fussing
Activities Gifted Kids Enjoy
A gifted child's idea of fun is not always the same as the typical child's idea of fun. Gifted children will often prefer reading over playing outside, for example. Whether you're looking for activities for your children to do themselves or with the whole family, you'll find ideas here that gifted children will most likely enjoy.
- Family Fun Nights
- Animated Movies Gifted Children Will Love
- Activities for Gifted Children During the Holidays
- New Year's Activities for Gifted Kids
Toys for Gifted Children
You buy the latest popular toy for your child, who may play with it, but tires of it quickly. Closet space is taken up with a number of such toys. Gifted kids don't seem to find the usual toys much fun. They prefer toys that challenge them and allow them to use their minds. Such toys may be difficult to find, but not always. Parents simply need to understand what their gifted child will find interesting.
- Buy a New Toy for Your Gifted Child
- Toys for Gifted Children
- Games for Gifted Children
- Construction Sets for Gifted Children
- Pretend Toys for Gifted Children
- Toys for Gifted Toddlers
- Toys for Gifted Babies
- Summer Toys for Gifted Children
- Games for Gifted Children
- Benefits of Video Games for Gifted Children
Books for Gifted Children
"Read early and read often" is a phrase that applies to many gifted children. About half of all gifted kids start reading before the age of five, many of them self-taught. And the majority of gifted children, whether they started reading early or not, love to read. However, they don't always seem to enjoy the same books that most other children enjoy. They tend to prefer high fantasy (like The Chronicles of Narnia), mysteries, biographies, and books about science and other non-fiction books.
