I had the big talk with DS7 last fall when I was attending a GT conference that had a kid component to it. He was seeing GIFTED flashed before him all over the place and I really wanted him to have a working definition of that word. And at the time, he was a bit OCD about having a textbook definition about any word that was new to him. I told him that this is something that made it easier for him to learn at school than some other kids. I didn't make it a better or worse thing. Just like someone else being good at sports or someone who is able to be a good friend to many people.
I know it probably would have made a huge difference in my old childhood to have this "label" and to know that there were other people out in the world that thought like me. I definitely felt like a bit of a freak in elementary school. And since this talk I noticed I really haven't had to keep him in check on bragging, although it pops out every once in a while when someone asks him if he knows how to read yet.
