Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Do You Parent Differently After Testing Results?

I definitely do parent differently. I support his interests and help him go as deeply into those topics as he wants to without being dismissive. I constantly try to "find the ceiling" and see how far he can go. He continues to surprise me. I give him more responsibility because I know he can handle it. I advocate for him at school because now I understand why he complains about it. I seek out classes that will appeal to kids like him. I am finding social groups to attend so he doesn't feel so different. I research constantly to try to understand what might come next, what it means, the things to watch out for, ideas on how to challenge him, and what this new normal looks like in the future. These are all the beautiful things about being blessed with a highly intelligent child. I love having deep discussions with my 6yo because he thinks as deeply as many adults. He has helped me rediscover my own love of learning and opened my eyes to my own giftedness. Testing has changed every member of our family and has made us better parents. The insight has been massively helpful in understanding his strengths and weaknesses. I knew he was bright, but testing helped me realize just how rare and special he is.

Having introspected a bit more I think that Dude's post exactly matches my own experiences to a tee - especially the bit about The Next Big Thing LOL

Not really. DS's IQ scores and subscores came as no surprise--they fit really well with my perception of his overall learning styles, cognitive strengths and weaknesses, speed of learning and interest. So we simply kept doing what we did. DD never had an IQ test because I didn't think it would add much to my understanding of who she is--her abilities, interests and personalities were really obvious (DS took the test because we applied to a GT school which needed the s.cores).)

I think this was beautifully written. This is what a aspire to do.

Then, last night at IKEA he was a regular 5 year old, so excited at the ball pit he was jumping and squealing. I was equally excited for him too.

Honestly, though, I also have found myself trying to step up my game. I used to love to learn and explore and have slacked off after lifelong testing and studying. I'd finally gotten somewhat burnt out. Now I'm reading more (not high quality literature, but still), focusing on learning as entertainment on TV, and getting excited about science kits to do with DS.

No, I don't feel like I parent differently. I have always followed their interests and encouraged them to stretch themselves. This honestly hasn't been too hard, especially with DD. She always so obviously "got" things, no matter how age-inappropriate. Or didn't.

What I found has really changed is that I feel more validated in advocating for DD because now it's not just "I think she's incredibly bright"--now I have some solid evidence backing up my potentially biased opinion on the matter.