The Signs of a Gifted Child

Earlier this year my Kindergarten-aged daughter came home with a letter from school. I curiously opened the envelope and started reading the letter that was enclosed. To my surprise it was a letter from her teacher requesting that my daughter be tested for “giftedness”. I thought to myself, “Wow, I know she’s smart but I never thought she might be gifted”. Needless to say I was ecstatic with this news. I signed the form granting permission that my daughter be tested and went about my daily business.

A few weeks later, my daughter once again handed me an envelope. I eagerly opened it and was shocked…my daughter passed the test and it revealed she is indeed gifted! I hugged her and proceeded to dance around the room as she eyed me suspiciously.

When the euphoria died down and after several phone calls to everyone I know who cared enough to listen to my good news, I was left thinking, “Now what?”

It’s an overwhelming feeling; being happy with the knowledge that my child is doing well beyond her age and worrying at the same time how I can continue to motivate and guide her accordingly.

Thank God for the power of the internet and the amazing wealth of knowledge imparted by psychologists, teachers, parents of gifted children and gifted kids themselves. The information I’ve gathered helped me come to terms with this newest milestone in my child’s life.

This article will be the first of a series exploring things parents should know about their gifted children so that we can help them reach their fullest potential.

We will start off with the characteristics of a gifted child. 


The Signs of A Gifted Child


1. Very curious and asks a lot of questions

Kids are naturally curious and quite inquisitive. With a gifted child however, he/she goes s step beyond merely asking questions, most of the time they actually act on it. As an example I will share some of my experiences with my own child.