5 Traits of a Gifted Child
All parents feel their children are gifted and talented. I agree. I believe all children have their own special gifts, but some children exhibit the high levels of abilities in the following areas: intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership capacity, or specific academic fields.
These children qualify for services that are not available to all students. If you wonder if your child has characteristics of giftedness, consider these traits of a gifted child. If your child shows high performance levels in more than one of these areas, your child might be gifted.
1 Intellectual traits
Intellectual traits of gifted children include large vocabulary, problem-solving skills, intense curiosity, being an independent learner, having diverse interests, early reading skills, keen observation, excellent memory, critical thinking, and more.
2 Creative traits
Gifted children who exhibit creative traits will show several of the following characteristics: willing to take risks, inventiveness, flexibility, ability to create new ideas, produce a variety of ways to solve problems, high level of wonderings and questioning, a great or unusual sense of humor, intense concentration, persistence, and more.
Read also – How to Help Your Kids Stimulate Their Creative Juices
3 Artistic traits
Artistically gifted children are a little harder to identify, but children who show these types of characteristics might be artistically gifted: unending imagination that builds upon ideas, do not need to stimulate imagination, easily perceives space, color and other artistic values, many draw well before the age of two, may have a favorite art form like watercolor painting or sculpture, extended ability to concentrate, and more.
4 Leadership capacity traits
Children who show giftedness in the area of leadership will present the following characteristics: automatically assume the leader role and it is responsibilities, are liked among peers, highly organized, confident, have high expectations, are deep thinkers, keen sense of justice, and more.
5 Specific academic fields
When looking at specific academic fields in the area of giftedness, children will usually focus on one specific field, like science for example, or more specifically within that area. Here are other traits that may be seen: excellent memory, early skill development in the specific area, focused attention and interest in reading on the specific area, knowledgeable about that specific field, and may display enthusiasm and expertise within the specific area.
Read also – 3 Worst Excuses Parents Make for Their Kids’ Bad Behavior
How are children identified?
School districts across the country all identify gifted children through multiple evaluations. Each district has its own protocol for what evaluations are administered. Evaluations are done both quantitatively (assessed) and subjectively (observed). There are multi-steps to the process, so if you believe your child might be gifted in any of the above areas, check with your school district.
As a parent, you want what is best for your child, especially in their education. Many parents believe their child is gifted, but based upon the traits mentioned, giftedness comes in many different forms and is determined in various ways.
If you feel your child needs more challenge in their learning because of an area of giftedness, check with your school district to see if they are identified as gifted. Once identified, they can receive the services that best fit their needs.
