Personality and Tendencies of Gifted People

Negative

• Pretentiousness

• Showing off

• Nosiness

• Procrastination

• Neglect of responsibilities

• Anxiety

• Pessimism

• Lack of empathy

Parental point of view

Positive

• Great memory

• Quick witted

• Curious

• Social ability

• Auto-criticism

• Mentally advanced

• Humorous

• Self-motivated

It is important, when parenting a gifted child, to determine as soon as possible that they are gifted. This understanding makes their childhood much happier and healthier. There is such a thing as gifted underachievement, so don’t immediately write off your child for being gifted because they don’t show the typical signs. Some signs of gifted underachievement are a lack of interest in school despite having proven to themselves and others that they would excel if they tried. They may push back on work that is repetitive or seems pointless (thus producing homework battles from a young age). They also may go out to the other extreme and show signs of gifted perfectionism, which is exhibited by intense anxiety of a feeling of doom and soul-crushing failure at the slightest slight. They have high standards for just existing, and they procrastinate a lot. They may instantly shut down tasks or even games at a young age because of their inability to execute them perfectly the first time. They may have unreasonable standards for everyone else too and see no one as capable except themselves, even authority figures and parents. This can lead to trust issues from incredibly young ages.

Understanding what type of gifted child a person is, and encouraging extension work, can help a lot when raising your gifted child. Focus on having judgment-free discussions about their goals rather than yours. It is very important that you find ways for them to talk to like-minded peers. Parents should be their biggest advocates and follow their lead in matters that affect them more than they affect you. Don’t forget that under the surface of an overmature and incredible cognitive mind is a regular kid, so don’t treat them as if they should be acting like adults 24/7. Just because you are used to their not acting their age doesn’t mean that when they do you should shame them for it. Take the pedestal of being gifted away and congratulate on effort rather than achievement, because circumstances will change. Lastly, let them do the hard things and give them some freedom - living through your child will not make either one of you happy.

Social point of view

Gifted children tend to act uniquely in social situations. They may have leadership abilities and can exhibit a certain power over their peers, but they are also often considered arrogant.

They rarely let social situations happen naturally and tend to exercise subtle control over them. Their development in intellectual and emotional areas is uneven so despite appearing to be a mature thinker, they may not have the emotional maturity to deal effectively with challenging social situations. One of the biggest social and emotional traits to look for is a heightened sensitivity to rejection. Their emotions are far more intense than average emotions and they may react easily to small stimuli.

Academic point of view

Each gifted child is different in their school life, but these are some of the common traits observed across many gifted children. They generally have a long attention span, but only if they want to. They are very much in control of this because of their ability to succeed without paying attention at all. They require, and usually even seek out, minimal to no instructions. They love learning things as they go. They are proficient in most things beforehand and look advanced and natural just after learning a new skill. They usually try to go beyond a task and prefer to act and do it alone, as they feel no one can keep up with them. They also are self-aware of the fact that they tend to be a bossy and degrading partner, which is also why they work alone. They are very innovative and intuitive with learning. They don’t act upon rules, as they are spontaneous and sometimes boisterous. They have an extreme talent for improvisation and charm. They are extremely fast writers and readers, and they procrastinate a lot, but when they finally begin, they get it done quickly. They are self-sufficient.

Am I Gifted?

Qualities to look for:

• Abstract logic

• Problem-solving skills

• Early talker and reader

• Curiosity

• Strong logic

• Scepticism

• Self-criticism

• Persistence

• Independence

• Roundedness

• Inventiveness

• Humorousness

• Fantastical

• Constant need for stimuli

• Intuition

• Flexibility

• Self-acceptance

• Self-initiated projects

• Abnormal emotional intensity and depth

• Sensitivity or emotionally shut down

• Frustration and high self and peer expectations

• Abnormal self-awareness, knowing they are abnormal

• Easily emotionally wounded, need for constant praise

• Either extremely high or extremely low consistency

• Advanced moral judgement

• Dry, pessimistic realism

• Spontaneity

• Abnormal energy, bad sleep patterns

• Intensity in all aspects

• Constant curiosity

• Temperamental

• Non-stop talking