Is your child gifted?

[TheBazTheBearandTheBelle]

I am just wondering if there is anyone else out there who finds it hard to talk about their child being gifted? If my son had special needs due to something more debilitating like dyslexia or ADHD it may in fact be easier to push the teachers to act on helping him, not that I would wish those things on anyone. Is it just me or is it truly more difficult?

Both of them have a thing about maps (i guess map reading is a great skil to have) but dd1 can name a lot more flags than i can .

My exceptionally gifted son used to sit in the car with a flag flashcards and would tell me the country, capital, continent and currency at three. He now has no interest in anything! :(

Marne I'm awaiting the report on my younger one with the variation so when I get it I'll let you know what test it was.

All children can be said to be gifted. Good teachers bring it out. The gifted child thing is very Daily torygraph

Of course we want our children to be happy, but I cannot help thinking that once children are given this label, then flunking school and not going to Uni, will be a huge disappointment all round.

I take it you don't have a gifted child Gabby!

Why did the government of the time come up with the "gifted" word? The term at dd's school is "able" which is much more appropriate.

Colleger: "flag flashcards" - er, that says it all, I'm afraid. My ds knew every single Marvel superhero (and there are hundreds of them) and their powers at age 3. My nephew was reeling off facts about the Foreign Legion/Desert Rats/Royal Marines etc etc at the same age. That's BOYS for you - and believe me, they never grow out of it. Look at pub quiz teams - all beardy blokes who I'm sure would have been information hoarders at age 3.

I suggested to my DCs school that sending children home with letters labelled 'G & T' was a bad idea - it gives them an inflated idea of their own abilities.

And wasn't there some research recently that suggested that after a test children who were told that they'd done well because they were clever sat back on their laurels, whilst those who were told they'd done will because they'd worked hard tended to work harder to maintain their standard?

I thought the G&T register was, as others said, to get all bright kids whether from Snotty Grammar or Scummy Comp thereby avoiding pushy parents. Agree there is a big difference between bright on G&T and actual properly gifted like my friend's ds.

grammercy I did not say having flag flash cards made DS gifted. His IQ above 190 makes him gifted as does the fact he has been sitting Intermediate Maths Challenges (Year 10/11) from Year 3 that makes him gifted!

They don't tend to use the term G&T in independent schools, they just have 'bright children.' Ds used to read (pre nintendo ds). He used to be permanently attached to a book. I think this has really helped him but he did find school boring as he'd already read about the subjects. He picks things up far quicker then he should which is a double edged sword also. He excells in maths and languages (and science) but is easily bored because he works at a very fast pace. He's not self motivated, he'd rather discuss things to death which is quite draining.

How and when do they asses "G&T" children - is it as early as reception? And do they tell you/them? And once they are on the register - so what?
I have a dd1, 5 and in reception. I don't think for a moment she is truely gifted along the lines described by others about their children (eg understanding the law of gravity at the age of 5 - I still don't understand that!) but she is probably one of the brightest in her year, certainly one of the best readers and writers. However, she is also the oldest, which muct go in her favour....do they factor age in for this magical "10%"?

strandednomore, hello, no age doesn't really count in so far as oldest/youngest in the year, only year group. And I think it is up to individual schools to decide whether or not to tell parents or children, IME they do neither, but I would not want DD or her older sister to know anyway.

I found out by stealth

I've read all the postings with interest I think that there is a big difference between being exceptional at something and gifted. There are relatively few great composers, artists, scientists. My younger DS is exceptional at maths but so is another in his class I dont think either are gifted. I spent 40 years of my life around competition horses only twice did I see someone ride who made everyone stop in their tracks; lots of fantastic riders but only two with something undefinably unique. Surely the gifted are demonstrating something which even with practice and effort others cant do. I also beleive that if you are gifted in a certain area then schools/goverments/etc. should try and provide you with the resourses to develop this gift for that person own benefit and peace of mind and that of society as a whole.
I'm sorry I dont think being able to memorize 300 flash cards or use words appropriately at 6 months old are gifts, gifts are not as tangible as this and I suspect at their foundations gifts cannot be taught or acheived by others with sufficient teaching/practice.
Its rubbish to say we are all gifted at something this is PC gone mad, patronising, and belittles those who are truely gifted. We can all work hard at something and becone really good but not truely gifted. Anyway does it matter if were not gifted at something? I dont beleive that being gifted is necessarily a road to happiness, the gifted rider I knew was driven day and night by a desire to keep getting it better, he couldn't leave it, it became an obsession in the end he sadly killed himself. Many others feel the same Van Gough, Beethoven all driven but never finding peace of mind.
As you will see spelling is not one of my gifts!

My dd is gifted and on the register for sport. She is a tumbler ( gymnastics). School feel she is exceptionally talented in all sports. School are really good and they take her out for special days (to train with Olympians and at Olympic training grounds).
I don't mention it to anyone. As it's not an academic talent no-one is that interested

All parents with gifed children in the sense that teacherwith2kids mentions:

'bright and of an ability that appears once in 10,000 children and most teachers won't encounter in a lifetime'.

find life very hard indeed IME.

My child was assessed as G and T in reception. Not sure you can tell that early. Plus she was only working at about level 1a so according to another poster she is actually below average!

that often happens, too. Children who are gifted underperform through lack of stimulus....

uggmum - i'm interested! sounds brilliant, getting the chance to train with Olympians. My girls both do gymastics too and both seem to be doing well - but again, I think there is a distinction between good/above average/even very good amongst your peer group and being truely exceptional. I would hope that most of the latter are spotted and helped with their "gift"

The Mensa website has plenty of information about gifted children.

My 4 year old son is very gifted indeed - he can't read, write or do maths yet but I don't know a child his age who has the ability to climb, jump and move his body like him. I mean climb trees, climbing frames, fences, walls, jump from things over double his height - I mean kamakaze style! He crawled, walked, jumped and moved his body so easily and confidently from such a young age and he just carries on. UGGMUM - I think I need to get him into a gymnastics club! He is fearless and very thin which I think helps. Goodness knows how he's going to do in September when he starts school.

I think giftedness is totally subjective - it's all a matter of interpretation.

I have a ds as well. He is thin and very agile. He also does gymnastics and is a tumbler like his sister. He is only 8 and I think he will prob go on the register too.

Islandgirllk, I would certainly consider gymnastics for your ds

I think some people need to be wary of confusing the different scoring systems of different types of iq tests..'gifted' usually refers to the top 2% of ţhe population but in one test this is written as an iq of 148 whereas in another it is 130. So for high ability people it is best to state top % rather than i1 scpre to avoid confusion. From age 10 kids can take tje mensa iq test, under t&is you need an educational psychologists assessment, which privatly costs $300. There !are lots of online tests if you want a guesstimate, though.