Gifted children can be argumentative and/or manipulative. Even though a child might be able to present a logical or convincing argument, they still need boundaries and discipline around their behaviour else they learn that these undesirable behaviours get them what they want.
Let's face it, your gifted child is a master manipulator. Often, the motives behind the manipulation are not malicious. In many ways, your gifted child is just like other children who want to do what they want to do when they want to do it. However, gifted children are incredibly determined.
Gifted and talented children might behave in challenging ways because they question rules, feel frustrated or lack learning opportunities. You can tailor strategies to support children's behaviour, social and emotional needs.
Many gifted kids struggle with inattention and disorganization, in part because they're abstract thinkers and in part because they have many diverse interests competing for their attention. It's also very common for a child to be gifted and have ADHD, a state known as being “twice exceptional.”
Sensitivities and Overexcitabilities
Because of these unique characteristics, gifted children may have adverse reactions to intense stimuli, which can look like problem behavior on the surface. For example, a perceptive child may see something on the news that frightens them and refuse to sleep alone at night.
Gifted children are challenging to parent in many ways. The more gifted the child, the more often it seems the more the parent is frustrated with the discrepancy of someone able to do school several levels above age level but unable to remember to take their finished work to school.
Common Characteristics of Gifted Children:
Ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers. Surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age. Strong sense of curiosity. Enthusiastic about unique interests and topics.
If you were a gifted child, chances are you've had some serious mental health struggles now that you're a gifted adult. Many of them may have stemmed from gift-specific traumas in your childhood, or even some that you're experiencing in your adult life.
Social shyness and awkwardness in new situations are very common with gifted children. Parents need to handle their child's difficulty in new situations by setting up interactions that will not be threatening and giving help when help is needed.
Challenges Gifted Children May Face
Or, once they are teenagers, they may try to hide their intelligence in order to fit in with others their age. They also might experience boredom in the classroom—particularly if they already know the material—which may mean they avoid doing schoolwork or misbehave.
Gifted children can be argumentative and/or manipulative. Even though a child might be able to present a logical or convincing argument, they still need boundaries and discipline around their behaviour else they learn that these undesirable behaviours get them what they want.
One of the most common sources of frustration for a gifted child, in my experience, has to do with their perception that others' rules don't make sense, aren't logical, and things that others say or do aren't rational (and therefore need not be obeyed).
One fairly common fault of gifted children is bossiness. 1 This fault can be rather puzzling to parents when it exists in a child who is otherwise sensitive to the needs of others.
Humans are strongly reciprocal in nature. Healthy relationships are built on giving and getting in return. A gulf in reciprocity creates a power imbalance. This is why gifts are a common tool for manipulation.
ADHD AND GIFTEDNESS are sometimes described as having the same or similar characteristics. However, one diagnosis is considered a disability and one, a gift. Neither assumption is ideal in supporting the child identified with either ADHD, giftedness, or both, often referred to as twice exceptional or 2e.
Many gifted children are highly sensitive individuals. 1 They may take things personally and become upset by words and deeds that other children may easily ignore or get over quickly. How can parents help their emotionally sensitive children cope with these intense emotions? Here are some suggestions that might help.
Not all bright children naturally wish to avoid their peers; for many gifted kids, fitting in is a struggle—one that can leave them feeling isolated and vulnerable. A failure to fit in is more than just uncomfortable for gifted children who want to make friends.
Gifted children are more prone to depression, self-harm, overexcitability, and learning deficits. A gifted student might be so paralyzed by her own perfectionism, say, that she refuses to hand in any assignments.
Gifted children may be more likely to experience existential depression, as their minds tend to be more attuned to contemplating the big life and death issues facing the world.
Genetics do play a large part in being gifted, definitely. It has been thought that the brain of a gifted person can actually process information faster. However, one's surroundings are equally important. Nature and nurture are at work as some traits are genetic and others are learned.
Being gifted runs in families. If your gifted child has brothers or sisters, there's a bigger chance that they might be gifted too. But they might not be gifted in the same way. For example, one gifted child might be advanced in music and their gifted sibling might be passionate about spiritual learning.
One of the most common characteristics of gifted students is their ability to learn things early and rapidly. Many gifted students have excellent memorization skills, which aids in their ability to connect previous knowledge with new information, thus accelerating their acquisition of new concepts.
Social and Emotional Traits
They also can be perfectionistic, have high expectations of themselves and others, and have a well-developed, if not quirky, sense of humor. Gifted kids also tend to be intrinsically motivated, meaning they set goals and challenges for themselves rather than to get the approval of others.
Gifted kids are not naturally more defiant than typical learners. However, when they are, it's a sight to see (preferably from the duck-and-cover position). Many of the readers of this site are gifted adults, and friends, we're not always awesome at handling defiant kids.