Many a proud mama and papa have deemed their tot advanced or ahead of the game, but most babes are only geniuses in their parents’ eyes. However, some tots actually are branded as gifted. Is yours? There are a few developmental guidelines that often indicate giftedness in children, so here are ten signs that your child may be headed to the head of the class.
- Retains Information: The term “in one ear and out the other” seems to apply to most children. Those who are a cut above when it comes to intelligence actually retain a wide variety of information and are able to recall it at a later time. An example from the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) is: “One six-year-old returned from a trip to the space museum and reproduced an accurate drawing of a space rocket he had seen.”
- Wide Spectrum of Interests: Gifted kiddos display an interest in a wide variety of topics. They may like dinosaurs one month, space the next month, and so fourth.
- Writes and Reads Early: If your tot is a smarty pants, she may be able to read and write very early on and without having had any real formal teaching.
- Is Musically or Artistically Talented: Children who display an unusual talent for music and/or art are often considered gifted. Tots who can draw things to perspective, have perfect pitch, or display any other higher perception of forms of art usually fall into the gifted category.
- Shows Periods of Intense Concentration: Children are not known for their long attention span, but gifted wee ones are able to have longer periods of intense concentration.
- Has a Good Memory: Some gifted tots are able to remember things from when they were smaller. For example, a two-year-old may remember and bring up (unprovoked) an occurrence from when he was 18-months.
Source: Lil Sugar