Raising gifted kids is a priority and a dream for many parents. Of course, it is hard to define what is gifted and what is not. For instance, Einstein was a genius, but at school they considered him a dummy. So, what are the practical ways of raising a gifted child and how soon can you start?

Well, many scientists and advanced teachers believe that physical development of a child determines greatly his or her mental development and ability to learn. So, basically this means you can start right after the birth. You can start raising gifted kids by giving them enough activity and exercise in each stage of their development.

There are many practical things you can do even for a baby to stimulate physical development. You can massage and do simple exercises with the baby. Some believe it is best to swaddle a baby but others say you should not swaddle a newborn, if you want your baby to become strong and eager to learn. Swaddling does not allow your baby to learn moving its hands and legs and bereaves it of touching experience. Just imaging wearing thick gloves on your hands all the time. You miss out on a world of sensations.

When raising gifted kids, allow your toddlers to crawl and move around the house freely. Do not keep them in the crib or in the play pen. Make your home safe for a toddler and let him or her explore it. Do not guard your toddler of all the dangers, such as turning a cup of water over from the table. Let the kid get wet once or twice and learn a useful lesson.

Many say we cannot raise smart kids without letting them get their fingers burnt few times. When raising gifted kids avert and avoid danger, but allow a certain level of exploration at the very early age. This would keep your kids eager to learn and motivated for developing his or her gifts.

Homeschooling gifted children might be the solution you need because regular school may not be able to meet your kids’ needs or be too slow for them. However, when making a decision to teach your kids at home, you need to consider several factors. Let us take a look at some of them.

First of all, teaching is not an easy job. And teaching your own kids might be even harder than teaching strangers. We tend to expect too much of our own flesh and blood, especially if the kids are talented. The saying goes: a talented person is talented in everything. However, that is a perfectionism statement.

Being talented in one area, your kids may not be equally talented in another. So, homeschooling gifted children can be trying for their parents. Another thing to consider is the character and temperament of both the teacher to be and of your pupils. Gifted kids might easily become frustrated, learning sciences, difficult for them. And, if the parent teacher is not patient and easily gets emotional about things, he or she may have hard time giving lessons.

Another aspect of homeschooling to consider is the time you can dedicate to it. It has to be done daily. You cannot expect even the most talented kids to study on their own. Lessons should be given and explained. Sometimes, you might have to admit you do not know the answers to their questions. So, getting ready for homeschooling gifted children, you should get prepared, too.

Finally, when homeschooling gifted children you should be able to come up with a schedule and maintain a home studying and living regimen. It is so easy to get distracted, when you study or give lessons at home. TV, games, PC, home chores, friends, all these things can distract you from schooling. So, there should be some strict rules developed and kept as well as fun games for gifted children.

Characteristics of gifted children are numerous. Not every gifted child will necessarily exhibit the same traits. The following is a list of characteristics that are often seen in gifted children. How many characteristics do you see in your child?

1. A gifted child is very observant. He or she will notice things in the environment that the average person will not. The child will remember faces, colors, and details.

2. Characteristics of gifted children often include extreme persistence. They will keep trying to find a way to accomplish something long after others have given up.

3. They pick up and respond quickly to non verbal clues.

4. They have large vocabularies. The gifted are usually verbal and articulate.

5. A gifted child will have a vivid imagination.

6. They often prefer the company of older children and adults to that of children their own age.

7. Gifted children often disagree with others and are not afraid of a spirited debate.

8. A gifted child will learn very quickly. Most people require a certain amount of repetition to master a skill. The gifted don’t need to practice nearly as much, and often learn things after seeing or hearing it only once.

9. Gifted children have many hobbies and interests. They want to be involved in a variety of activities.

10. They are quick to grasp generalizations, pointing out similarities in events and situations.

11. Gifted children sometimes have the ability to focus on more than one thing at a time.

12. Characteristics of gifted children often include a special sensitivity to beauty, or another extreme trait that stands out in another individual.

13. A gifted child often has a great sense of humor, and may even be the class clown.

14. One of the biggest characteristics of gifted children is a high level of energy. Sometimes they are even diagnosed as hyperactive.

15. Gifted children can transfer thoughts and ideas from one set of circumstances to another.

16. A gifted child may be bossy in group situations.

17. Gifted children have better comprehension skills than their peers. They are able to understand and explain in detail something they have recently read.

18. The gifted child will possess excellent problem solving skills, and is able to think outside the box.

19. Sometimes gifted children have more street smarts than book knowledge.

20. Characteristics of gifted children often include coming up with a better way of doing things.

21. Gifted children often want to do things on their own. They don’t like relying on other people.

22. A gifted child usually begins reading at an early age.

23. The child is very curious. Gifted individuals are not content with superficial knowledge. They want to know as much about something as possible.

24. Working independently for long periods of time is a trait of gifted children.

25. These children have good memories. They will be capable of recalling specific events in vivid detail that others will not.

26. Gifted children enjoy putting together jigsaw puzzles.

27. They are quick to see relationships among things that seem to be different.

28. A gifted child may sometimes take on too much and become frustrated.

29. They have long attention spans. When other children become fidgety, the gifted child will still be attentive.

30. Gifted children often enjoy sarcasm.

31. If a gifted child discovers an error in his work he may erase until there is a hole in the paper, or crumple and destroy the work completely.

32. They become frustrated if others don’t meet their own high level of expectation.

33. The gifted child often manifests his or her ability through the arts and various musical endeavors.

34. Gifted children can think quickly on their feet.

35. Characteristics of gifted children include original thinking. They think in unconventional ways when solving problems.

36. They can be good guessers.

37. Gifted children don’t like to waste time and may be impatient.

38. Gifted children have emotional sensitivity. They have a keen sense when something is bothering another person.

39. They may demonstrate playfulness intellectually. They like to imagine and take risks with their ideas.

40. Sloppy handwriting can be a characteristic of gifted children.

41. Gifted children are often nonconformists in their dress and behavior.

42. They are sometimes critical and can be quick to spot inconsistencies.

43. A gifted child is usually a natural born leader.

44. Gifted children are often perfectionists.

45. Seeing cause and effect relationships are characteristics of gifted children.

46. They prefer to work independently instead of in groups.

47. Gifted children may harbor inner insecurities because they fear losing their intellect or talent.

48. Gifted children can approach complicated material by separating it into individual components.

49. They are sometimes daydreamers. They get bored focusing on the conversation of their peers.

50. Characteristics of gifted children includes not believing at face value everything they are told. They want to research, investigate, and find out things for themselves.

National Association of Gifted Children
More Characteristics of Gifted Children
Characteristics of Giftedness Scale – pdf
The Profoundly Gifted
Giftedness: The view from within