Smart Kid

Smart kid learning

by Stephen Lau

Do you have a smart kid? If you have a precocious child, you must be a proud parent!

However, raising a child genius may not be all that simple for various reasons:

· Limited resources on raising a gifted child

· Few experts on how to develop the intellectual potential of a child genius

· Modest amount of research on gifted education.

Parents of gifted children are often confounded regarding what is best for their children.

In spite of the differences in intelligence and intellectual advancement, your child prodigy has the same basic needs as other children.

So how to satisfy your smart kid's basic needs without compromising his or her extreme intelligence?

First, your smart kid must be comfortable with his or her extraordinary abilities, while being provided with opportunities to expand and fully develop his or her gifted potential You must never satisfy one in favor of the other. Remember, it is more important to have an all-rounded and happy individual rather than an eccentric genius, who is a social misfit.

Your smart kid may see ordinary things in very different ways and often see what others simply cannot see. That makes parenting a smart child a challenge.

In addition to finding out how your smart kid learns, as the parent of a gifted child, you need to fight for his or her rights.

Nowadays, raising a precocious child is no easy task.

You need to take care of your exceptional child's gifted education when he or she reaches school age. You have 3 educational choices:

Public schools with flexible learning schedules

· Does the school have a curriculum for your smart child to work at his or her own pace?

· Can your gifted child be tested out of class?

· Are there acceleration and enrichment programs to benefit your precocious child?

· Are the teachers certified in gifted education to meet the unique needs of your smart child?

· Is the learning environment stressful for your child prodigy, who may be a perfectionist, not wanting to do anything unless doing it right the first time?

As a parent, you need to find out if the school is right for your exceptional child.

Private schools

A good private school education has been the school of choice for many wealthy parents.

Other than the availability of financial resources, private schools may not be an ideal choice for gifted children because in spite of the advanced curriculum, most private schools are structured such that outperforming the curriculum does not necessarily mean advancement to the next level.

The suitability of a private school for a precocious child should be based on the following:

· A challenging curriculum that allows advancement

· A learning environment that nurtures creativity

· A teaching staff certified in gifted education

· The amount of homework assigned (more does not mean better).

Homeschooling

Homeschooling is ideal for gifted education for child genius, especially for elementary education. In the nurturing years, you can instill your own values and beliefs, such as leadership and cooperation.

· Is your smart kid ready for homeschooling at age 5?

· Is your child prodigy emotionally and socially mature enough? (In homeschooling, you would want to bring together children with like-mindedness so that they will thrive in the appropriate learning environment.)

· Are you ready yourself?

· Are you willing to sacrifice your time with little or no break?

· Do you have your spouse's support for homeschooling?

· Are you fully committed to learning what works and what doesn't work for educating your smart kid?

You have brought your gifted child into this world, it is your responsibility as a parent to give him or her the best learning environment that will develop not only the personality but also the gifts endowed.