How Can I Motivate My Gifted Child?
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW CAN I MOTIVATE MY GIFTED CHILD?
Your attitude is essential to the development of a gifted child. Researchers Hall and Skinner tell parents to enjoy their gifted children and to remember that they are, first of all, children.
MOTIVATE your gifted child by:
- Being enthusiastic and optimistic
- Encouraging goals set by the child
- Encouraging independence
- Encouraging novel ideas
- Encouraging trial and error
- Giving constructive criticism
- Giving honest evaluation
- Helping your child recognize strengths and weaknesses
- Recognizing achievement
- Setting a good example in all of these areas
Along with a POSITIVE ATTITUDE, there are many other ways to motivate a gifted child:
- Arrange your child’s room to appeal to natural curiosity
- Base enrichment activities on your child’s interests and hobbies
- Encourage participation in outside activities
- Furnish books that cover a wide range of subjects and reading levels
- Make use of resource people in the community
- Plan ways to apply what your child has learned
- Play games of strategy with your child
- Provide reference materials and laboratory equipment
- Set aside time for reading