1. Knowing that this is normal for gifted kids makes it better. It is part of raising a gifted child.
2. Know that our asynchronous development can really benefit us later. When adolescents are feeling their angst, the gifted child, who has already gone through that stage, may be more focused on their short and long-term goals and are already working very hard on them.
3. Try to remember how you felt at this age. It helps to remember and relate. If the child's gifts are inherited from someone else in the family, talk to them or the people who knew them well. Putting the behavior in a family context makes it more manageable. Those parents of ancestors got through it and you can, too.
4. Redirect the child for short-time sanity. Gifted kids have strong interests, so you can change and control the situation by introducing some book, toy or activity that will engage them.
5. After the upset, figure out the trigger, the issue, the cause, etc., and try to talk about it in detail. Gifted kids are often highly intuitive, insightful, and may want to discuss it in detail. (For example, our child will feel outraged or indignant at some perceived injustice that other children will not even detect.)
6. Make sure you feel rested, so that your patience is strong.
Good luck and give yourself credit for your hard work.
