What did you do to make your child academically gifted??

[luckystarmaking]

My DD just started reception and I'm already concerned that she might be behind especially in maths.

She can recognise all letters, a few words and can write a couple of 3 letter words but when it comes to maths all she can do is count to 20-25 (sometimes she forgets the order from 12-20) and she can just do basic adding. She also uses her fingers to count and I read that that method doesn't help with mental arithmetic.

We've done a lot of print out activities in maths but it hasn't really gone in yet.

I really want her to do well in life as I had a crap upbringing and suffered from a poor education. I'm a cleaner, but hey ho.

If your child is gifted, what have you done right? Any tips?

You clearly don't understand the word "gifted", op

My DC is in the gifted cohort at school. I don't know that we do anything unusual though?
We read a lot, we never did baby talk, we answer any questions in an age appropriate way, play board games, listen to music, and demonstrate ways to solve problems/seek solutions to issues including using reference materials.

DH Mother did have his IQ tested as a child and it was really high though I can’t personally remember what it was. She said raising a child like that was incredibly hard and to be grateful that DS and DD were just clever and not on what is literally another plain of existence. I taught myself to read before I went to school but you know I had an absolutely horrible Mother. You obviously love your child that is the best thing anyone can do for a child. Would swap my RG uni education, and distinctions in professional exams for that any day.

It’s in born

@RiftGibbon

My DC is in the gifted cohort at school. I don't know that we do anything unusual though? We read a lot, we never did baby talk, we answer any questions in an age appropriate way, play board games, listen to music, and demonstrate ways to solve problems/seek solutions to issues including using reference materials.

I thought they'd eliminated the term gifted from schools? It's now Able and Talented, because it represents the top % (5 or 10) of the school. Nothing related to true giftedness. That's quite different.

And nothing wrong with working as a cleaner. I do similar. Think of it as a great example to your daughter of working hard and supporting yourself.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/László_Polgár

Perhaps you want to read this if you’re interested helping your child being gifted. I personally think it’s just too much work. Good luck x

Former reception teacher here - it's only September so I'd honestly say just relax. The emphasis in reception - particularly in the autumn term - is on settling, social skills, confidence and independence.

Learning through play is vital and if you search 'eyfs' or similar on Pinterest there are lots of lovely ideas for activities.

I also agree that you can't 'make' a child gifted.

Totally agree with perfumeistooexpensive it is hard work and perseverance which win through in the end like the tortoise and the hare. Being gifted is a double edged sword. Early work in school is too easy, they find it hard to knuckle down and practice if something doesn't click the first time. They are then more likely to struggle later on in their academic careers as they don't have the perseverance to keep pushing when things get tough. I reckon by the time you get to a PhD level it is 95% just hard slog. A child who breezes through GCSEs, A levels etc might not have learnt how to buckle down and push on through.

The advice from others on developing academic skills is great but look for the strengths she has and celebrate those with her now.

Being gifted is genetic. Nothing at all to do with what you do for her.

Reading is important but again, you can read the same to one child as to another, and one could be way ahead.

Be clever yourself and only procreate with a man who has been to either Oxford or Cambridge and got at least a 2:1? Even then it doesn’t necessarily work 😁

Watch numberblocks on cbeebies!

She’s doing fine and so are you. Try to find maths in the environment - so “you’d like an apple? How many do we have? 1-2-3-4. So if you eat one, how many are left?” And if she counts the ones in the bowl to get there that’s completely fine.

The best thing you can do for any child is to tell them they are clever and can do things successfully. Give them some self belief and the confidence to have a go

Reading and sharing books from a really early age is key. We read every night as part of their routine and both are now top sets at secondary for everything. It really is the most important thing.

I didn’t do anything.

I read all of them a story every night. Only DC1 could read by the time he started reception.

I practised numbers with them all. Only DC1 could do basic addition when he started reception.

I did a few writing exercises with all of them. Only DC1 could write in sentences when he started reception.

I don’t know what advice to give, except that you can’t “make” a child gifted.

Why do you want a gifted child?
I have one and it’s complete ball ache
Bored so easily
Doesn’t fit in socially

Surely all you want is somebody who is happy and able to keep pace with their classmates. Anything beyond that is a bonus

Cleaner here... And proud.
Also proud to have 2 dc that are on the gifted and talented list...

I don't think you can, really. I have one who needed a Maths tutor to scrape through her GCSEs and another who excels in Maths and just gets it. If I have a mental arithmetic question, I go to him. I think it's one of those subjects you can either do or can't.

Encourage your child in what interests them and what they are good at and you can't go far wrong.

And there's nothing wrong with cleaning. You won't find yourself out of work often and the hours can be quite convenient / flexible.

Talk to them a lot, facilitate reading, jigsaw puzzles, educational fun programmes, and a new word a day. Give them activities to do which stimulate their investigative functions and curiosity. That, in turn, leads to a thirst for knowledge.

We did all those with our kids and (whether it worked or not!) they all did very well academically and all have professional careers.

DS is ridiculously smart and has always been so. He is an information sponge and retains everything. All I did was read with him each day and narrated our days from when he was a baby.
I love him to bits but the his current world is very difficult for him. School work is too easy so he doesn't want to go, or doesn't have to try which has made him lazy and I suspect this will be a common theme as he moves through school. His comprehension and vocabulary are so far ahead of his peers that he struggles to find where he fits. He's massively highly strung and insanely sensitive. His day to day is exhausting for him because of the challenges his 'giftedness' brings. It makes me so sad that he's so little but can't live in the moment.

I helps, though, if they are bright already. If they find learning easy, it's a great motivator. If they don't, it can become a battle, as I have discovered

You cant make a child gifted but you can support and encourage their development and make sure they reach their potential. I've seen children who didnt because they didnt get that parental attention.

We did jigsaws, played number games starting with snakes and ladders but then pontoon and crib. Played tetris like games and logic games online. Used bbc bitesize www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/primary

The better they read the more likely they will be seen as intelligent, often a self-fulfilling prophecy.