Parenting Gifted Kids

I have read many books on gifted and talented kids and this one is one of the better ones out there.This book is good for every parent, not just a parent of a child that has been either recognized by the school system or by their own intuition as a gifted.EVERY child has some gifts! EVERY CHILD! The problem is that this day and age people mostly look for certain gifts, usually those that support academic growth. However, the giftedness goes beyond and above that very narrow perception. It is important that parents learn how develop child's full potentialin any area that a child might be inclined. It is important to recognize all gifts, nourish them anddevelop.That takes a little more then instinct, while sometimes it is enough, other times it is not.As a parent you need a little extra support to help your child to grow and flourish comes to their talent, skills and gifts.This book will help you to do just that. The worse thing is to waste potential of a human being because if you recognize the talents and gifts early enough and you provide support for their growth then they can develop in something magnificent. While neglecting early support might prohibit them from ever achieving their potential.Just like with gymnastics or ice skating.. if you won't support those gifts, but only realize them when a child is 18 or 20... it will be rather impossible to match the opportunities and skill level of those whostarted early in life.Similarly with academics, if you provide growth for the child academic needs early on, their mind will growwithout limit.Great book. I highly recommend it.

I have been an educator for many years, and I have often worked with gifted children either in the regular classroom or in a special program, so I can say that I am very familiar with what the author is talking about and highly recommend this book. I would say you can call this a parents survival guide and every parent should read it - not just the parents of gifted kids.Delisle's research and years of experience are presented in an easily understood and common sense style that makes the reading very enjoyable instead of dry and scientific. His examples are drawn from real life and his tips and methods are right on target. I especailly liked his suggestion about school to "never request a teacher, always request a style" which makes so much sense. He provides excellent methods for working not only with your child, but with the educational system and other people in your child's life.Too often our children are stunted because of a lack of understanding from adults, and now Delisle has provided some excellent methods for encouraging a healthy and varied/balanced life for gifted children, and these ideas can be applied to all children.

This was a well written book that covered many important topics, but it is definitely geared towards older kids (like high school age), and focuses a lot on underachievement in gifted kids. My kids are still pretty young, but I still found the book useful. There is a particularly good section on identifying the characteristics of "OE's". I found a lot of nostalgia and self reflection upon reading this book, having come up through gifted programs in school myself. I will be much more aware of the value and pitfalls of these programs as my kids enter school.

The well written Chapter 2 "Better At vs. Better Than" seems to conflict with the author's desire that gifted children (and adults) wear the title "Gifted" on their sleeves. It does appear to be useful for teachers and administrators to label certain learners as "gifted," but in general conversation I think I prefer that family, friends, and educators refer to my child according to his specific gifts, rather than just throw around the elitist and nebulous "gifted" title; when you read the extensive definitions of the term ([...]) I think most practical people would agree.The latter half of this book included this theme and a couple others that were underdeveloped or just overly philosophical. The rest of the book was awesome; full of practical information and experiences that is expanding our capability to visualize not only what our child can become, but what he can be right now. I whole-heartedly endorse this book to any parent that wants to make sure that their child is stimulated, productive, happy, fulfilled and a lover of learning in general. What mom and me learned from this book will definately help us avoid the common pitfalls of raising children that are constantly exceeding expectations.

After wasting too much time searching through loads of websites for information, I settled on this book, and another, "Giftedness 101" by Linda Silverman.This book is the fast starter, quickly getting into why and how the kids are different, and how to help them. In learning about the kids, many adults learn they themselves were the same as kids and still are the same. Good advice on how to speak to gifted kids, what not to say, and how to advocate for your kids. Not all schools and teachers will 'get it', many just don't have the funding or the knowledge and too weighed down by differentiated teaching - all abilities at once - he goes int to that as well.Insightful, knowledgeable from experience the author gives us, quickly, a much clearer picture and better understanding our gifted kids and ourselves. This book has already been a great help. II strongly suggest getting another book, like Silverman's, that does go deeper into the psychology and recent history of giftedness to gain a more thorough background understanding. Not everyone will enjoy the scholarly writings meant only for academics, but SIlverman's book is a balance between that and the Delisle's book for those who want more.

I've been stuck in school hell listening to how my child has ADHD, ODD, and every other emotional/behavioural issues they can think of. My son is gifted and his behaviour is exactly as described in this book. The behaviour of the school has exacerbated his issues rather than helping because they have no idea what gifted really means. (He corrected a teacher who taught a lesson wrong and was labelled defiant..he complained about repeating the same worksheet multiple times and was called difficult). This book really helps in understanding a gifted child and how to help advocate in a school system for them.

I'd read good reviews about this book but I honestly wouldn't buy it again at this stage if given the choice. I'm about a third of the way though and will continue on reading. It might just be that it's aimed at parents with older children that are gifted which would be the reason I'm not relating to it / finding it helpful / informative for the early years.