Aggression and G and T

[agirlandtwoboys]

My friend's son is very very bright(not officially labelled G&T) and is very aggressive and angry.
His teacher says he has lots of friends but mum is not convinced.
Is this a common thing with very clever kids or should there be cause for concern.
he is in Y1.
Thanks

Gifted children come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and behaviour. They have behaviour aspects that are frustrating, just like other kids. If he was not gifted, would you be worried? Being gifted is not an excuse for this behaviour.

Avenap makes a very good point. There isn't one category of gifted children who all behave them same. Being gifted doesn't exempt you from having problems in other areas, nor does it necessarily cause problems.

My dd is gifted and physically disabled but without behavioural problems. Another friend's child is gifted and physically healthy but has behavioural problems. Yet another child has similar behavioural problems without being gifted (or, for that matter, disabled). There's all possible combinations here.

Some children do seem to react with particular irritation and aggression if they are bored and understimulated- yet other equally gifted children do not seem to have the same reaction. And lots of less gifted children also react with aggression when work is too hard for them.

It is hard to know how much of a problem your friend's child is without details. Does the teacher think he is a problem in class? Or is it just the Mum who finds him aggressive? Who is she comparing him to? Is she aware that it is common for boys to show heightened aggression at this age because of a sudden rise in levels of testosterone? How does the Mum feel about him being bright?- has she think of this as something likely to cause social problems (we can sometimes project ideas onto our children)?

This is common with some gifted children. Some will persist in challenging behaviour beyond all discipline. I don't agree with avenanap. It can take many years of talking to help them to learn emotional control and overcome aggressive tendancies. He will know if he has lots of friends.

There was a poster on here in the past, Dadatlarge, who IIRC excused his son's awful behaviour at school because he was "Gifted" .

Jeez sandy1969 why are you bumping ancient threads?

Good point DeepThought

I would say in my experience bright or gifted children are not more likely to have aggression or behaviour issues. Gifted children might be more prone to various sensitivities which can cause emotional issues but not simple aggressive behaviour. I'd agree with the first 2 replies you got: being bright or gifted is not a cause of agression or behaviour difficulties. Gifted children are not 'likely' or 'more likely' to have these tendencies and it should not be seen as an excuse for all sorts of unacceptable behaviour. What ever the intellectual ability of the child he still has to live in the same world as the rest of us and needs to be taugt to behave properly and control himself at an appropriate level for his age.