Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Funny moment, but scary?!?

Does anyone but me ever feel like there is no way they can possibly do enough to encourage their child? DD6 has recently (thanks to a creative Kindergarten teacher last year) developed an interest in Biology, especially Marine Biology. I feel fortunate that we live near the coast, because while it is a subject I know little about (I majored in Physics in college) we have lots of aquariums and hospitals for various sea creatures within a couple of hours of us. The other day she picked up a high school Biology book that I picked up when I was teaching high school )they were about to throw it out, and I can't bear to trash books). I honestly thought she was just looking at the pictures and reading a caption here and there. But today, out of the blue, she asked me what sex was. I was taken by surprised and not sure how much detail she would want at her age, so I just told her that it was how babies are made. Her response: "Nuh-uh.....babies are made from amino acid, and they evolve."
I was so proud of her for actually reading the book that is far above her grade level. At the same time, it was another in a series of moments that made me think I am not doing anywhere near enough for her, and I don't know how to fix that.
Sigh....as I've said before....I thought it would make life EASIER to have a gifted child!

If she encountered the word "sex" in a biology textbook, she may not have been asking about the human reproductive process, but rather about sexual differentiation in general. I'd discuss it all with her in as much detail as she doesn't balk at; she has already shown interest, and there's no reason not to present such information to a child who's intellectually ready, stripped of titillation and taboos.

I identify with your worry about feeding her interests enough and in the right ways. Why not start with some books and online resources on the life sciences, with an emphasis on evolution and the human body, and science in general? Some ideas for life sciences enrichment that may appeal to your daughter:

The Cartoon History of the Universe
Child Atlas: Human Body (you should ignore the three prudish reviews, at least two of which are by the same person; see also the free study guide by Ellen McHenry to accompany the book)
The Dawn of Life
Discoveries: The Human Body
Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be
The Magic of Reality
The Science Book: Everything You Need to Know About the World and How It Works
The Story of Science
Thread of Life: The Smithsonian Looks at Evolution
The Visual Dictionary of the Human Body

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/
http://www.becominghuman.org/
http://www.biology4kids.com/
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/
http://www.hhmi.org/coolscience/
http://www.hippocampus.org/Biology
http://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology?k
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/
http://www.neok12.com
http://www5.pbrc.hawaii.edu/microangela/index.html
http://www.pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/
http://science360.gov/topic/Life+Sciences/
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/science.htm
http://www.tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html
http://faculty.usiouxfalls.edu/arpeterson/science%20standards.htm
http://www.visiblebody.com
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Category.aspx?CategoryID=122
http://www.zo.utexas.edu/faculty/antisense/DownloadfilesToL.html
http://www.zygotebody.com/

All you can do it work on creating opportunities for learning. Life certainly isn't easier with a gifted child, it's just different. Certainly some things are easier, other aspects are much more difficult. That's what even a lot of teachers don't understand. Gifted children have their own unique set of challenges and parenting them does as well.

This doesn't stop when they're in a GT program at school either. That time is most often very limited, the child's need to learn and be challenged though doesn't stop nor is it limited. Be prepared to keep on looking for opportunities, mentors, and classes outside of the school to help meet the needs of your GT child.

Passion learning is the highest form of learning. If you child has a passion at this point in their life for Biology, by all means, fill er up! Use it as well as a tangent to show her how other subjects relate to Biology. Sure, that means that you're going to have to address some topics that aren't always age appropriate but it's better than not feeding her the knowledge she craves. It's pretty typical for example for accelerated readers to have a difficult time finding age appropriate reading material that is also challenging.

That makes me remember what I did as a kid with reading: unbeknownst to my mom, I would regularly sneak her lusty Danielle Steel and John Jakes novels starting around 2nd grade. Oy.

I like to remind myself that my DS' incessant questioning, super-sensitive nature, and thirst for learning is a "blessed inconvenience". Wonderful and trying all at once.

I love her response. At least it was a biology textbook, and not Maus: A Survivor's Tale, which a certain young lady of my acquaintance brought to her first grade teacher's attention a few years ago...

(yes, I apparently AM mother of the year for letting that one slip past me)

Wow, thanks, Lucounu! That was pretty much my plan, but I had no idea which books might be good for her. Always good to have a list to start off with.

Evemomma - I did the same with my mom's Stephen King books! That is probably why to this day, I'm a little creeped out by clowns and spiders. I try to steer my two toward more appropriate books, but if they are dead set on a certain one, I'll let them read it and just prepare myself for some uncomfortable questions. (Like when my son's music teacher told him the stork was bringing her a baby, and he said, "Stork? Do you even KNOW how babies are made?"

LOL Stephen King! I have too vivid of an imagination for horror. Pet Cemetary was my first and last. I hope to be much more plugged in to what my kids are reading/watching...but it's tough.

I was frustrated with the promos for the series "Grimm" that aired during the Olympics. I also get frustrated with horror movies previews during more family-oriented shows.

AND am horrified at the imagery and subject matter on Android and Kindle's app store.

Sorry - tangent.

ROFL (sigh)

We started a "question/answer" binder. Anytime either of my kids asked a question I couldn't answer (many times, hence the binder ) I texted the question to myself to google at home (so I wouldn't forget). At home we'd then google and print up a page or two for the binder.

It helped a bit. It was a system that enabled me to somewhat satisfy their curiosity....

I remember reading my Mom's John Jakes,..now that you mention it! I was older thankfully...at least 10. I called them shiny paperbacks.

As for questions...around age three DS started in with 'why?' Like a parrot. I had the idea that essentially the answer to most questions was either 'custom' or 'nature.' I exxplained those ideas and from then on would respond with one word answer...either custom or nature. I pointed out that people get much more riled up is you question the custom stuff than the nature stuff. I gave more info if my DS requested it, but I tried to wzit and see if he would axk. Then I would always ask him what he thought first so I could use his vocabulary as much as possible. I thought I was tremendously clever.

That was back in the day when I believed in nurture rather than nature for IQ so I promptly sent off my idea to a parenting magazine thinking that I had lucked on a great basic truth. I got a very nice letter back that said 'well bless your heart.'