Surefire Signs Your Child is Gifted

Did you know you may have an exceptionally gifted child without even knowing it? The sad part is, without discovering and nurturing your child’s talent(s), they stay undeveloped, and may even wear off over time.

The best way to tell if your child is gifted is to observe his behavior. Is he showing different and advanced skills compared to his peers? Some kids start showing signs of giftedness from as early as the first 5 years.

According to RaiseSmartKid, if your child shows characteristics from any of these 6 categories, then they may be gifted!

1. Gifted with Intelligence

• Very fast in understanding ideas and concepts.
• Unusually fast in seeing relationships and patterns in objects and ideas.
• Likes to be precise and perfect, thus likes to correct errors and argues a lot.  .
• High degree of ability to think abstractly and in metaphors and symbols at an early age.
• Appreciates complexity, and has the ability to see many sides to an issue or problem.
• Fast learner, usually in great leaps.
• Very good memory.
• Very persistent in solving hard problems and have long concentration span.
• A fascination with ideas and words, advanced vocabulary and development of language.
• Advanced visual and motor skills.
• Unique way of interpreting events.
• Very observant and has great attention to details.
• Unusual and early insight into social and moral issues.
• Easily understand ideas and how other people think and feel.
• Very high energy level.
• Above average ability with numbers/jigsaw puzzles
• Vivid imagination
• Early/avid reader, and loves reading
• Preference for older/matured companions
• Has wide variety of interests
• Very creative, inventive and does new ways of expression and doing things
• Quickly and accurately answers questions
• Very entrepreneurial and makes money from his own efforts
• Very resourceful and solves problems ingeniously
• Comfortable with complex ideas
• Gets good grades in most subjects
• Asks provocative questions
• A good guesser

2. Gifted in specific areas:

• shows characteristics of one with  general intellectual ability but concentrated around one or a few fields (science, music, math, literature)
• has a long attention span in the area of interest
• learns rapidly, easily and with less repetition in the area of interest
• spends more time beyond assignments and homework on the subject of interest
• able to judge other’s abilities in the area of interest
• seeks the help of others in extending his skill and knowledge in the area of interest.

3. Gifted in creativity

• makes unusual associations between different ideas
• thinks about and solves problems in unusual and sometimes “silly” ways
• comes up with many solutions to problems
• can think through ambiguities and inconsistencies
• readily guesses and makes hypotheses
• is intellectually playful, interested in fantasy, imagination
• always trying to adapt or improve things
• very good sense of humor
• doesn’t mind being different, even if his peers look at him as weird or crazy
• a radical thinker, doesn’t readily accept what is told to him by authority but challenges everything
• gets bored with memorization and recitation
• displays energy, sometimes disruptively
• exhibits high degree of concentration and hard work on creative projects.

4. Gifted in leadership

• can get others to act
• organizes others based on their skills, personalities and abilities
• interacts with others easily showing social skills
• can communicate ideas, goals, and directions clearly to a group
• understands how people feel and how groups function
• naturally exercises authority reliably and responsibly
• coordinates and supports the work of others
• is looked to by others for ideas, suggestions, and decisions

5. Gifted in sports and physical activities

• has a suitable body build
• is coordinated, balanced and confident in physical activities
• full of energy
• is able to bridge his physical abilities and intellect
• shows endurance, stamina and persistence in physical activities
• demonstrates prowess in physical activities common amongst age peers

6. Gifted in visual and performing arts

Music

• has good sense of rhythm
• has an unusual liking for music and musical activities
• shows tonal memory
• responds readily to rhythm, melody and harmony
• shows interest in musical instruments
• makes up original tunes
• enjoys dance and dramatic activities with musical elements

Dramatics

• interested in and enjoys drama
• uses voice to reflect changes in mood
• effectively communicates feelings by means of facial expressions, gestures and bodily movements
• enjoys evoking emotional responses from listeners
• can understand and act out other people’s or even an animal’s feelings and personalities

Art

• loves drawing and draws very well
• treats art seriously and enjoys it
• shows originality in his work
• uses art to express feelings and experiences
• is interested in other people’s art, both appreciating it and criticizing it
• likes to model three dimensionally with clay, soap carving, plasticine etc

Literature

• writes in a journal, diary, blog or self-crafted book
• loves to read and writes by imitating what he reads
• loves stories from books, T. V. and other media, and loves to make up stories
• has a vivid imagination and can express it in written words
• can evoke feelings from other people with his writing

Find more tips and inspiration here.