Good point, ss62... many
who are not familiar with the gifted appear to believe that giftedness is nothing more than parents pressuring their kids to learn at an accelerated rate, rather than understanding that a parent may be scrambling to keep up with the gifted child's natural learning pace and demand for something new to think about.
Here is an old link on "
hothousing" and
tiger parenting. There are other old links on these topics, too.
Over time, some of the advice for healthy enrichment has been:
- Let the child lead (setting the pace and choosing topics of interest)
- Do not push (Note- If the child has become lax, underachieving, must learn underlying reason(s). For example: check for a 2e learning difference or disability and address that if needed)
- It may sometimes be difficult to know the difference between a healthy/necessary push and a pushy push (ego, status, or elitism motivated)
- Tiger Parenting does not typically work to produce high achievers, but may rather result in the child developing symptoms of depression
There is a broad range of healthy enrichment before reaching a point of hothousing or tiger parenting.
