Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy does parenting a PG child have to be expensive?

I don't think so... the cost of a computer/tablet + the internet... there are a million free things to do outside on top of that.

Well, I think PG is harder because you really may have to go way outside the box. I don't think parenting a GIFTED child has to be expensive, though it's nice to have resources. I'm glad we live somewhere with an excellent library, and I'm glad we live in a city with a lot of free or cheap cultural activities and resources. We have so far not gone the expensive private lessons route. I'm not saying it won't happen eventually, but there will be a limit by necessity. I do see some amazing summer camps in other states that I wish we had the money for.

{nodding}

Exactly. We've reshaped our family's interests/leisure activities to some extent to accommodate having a HG+ child.

We forgo some more normative (but $$) activities in order to save that cash for other purposes. We realized at some point that normative wasn't really on the table for her to start with, and that we were spending a lot of time, $$, and energy on window dressing.

St Margaret, you should be able to get e-copies of shakespeare for free. Try project Gutenberg, or just amazon.com. Kindle versions ofthe classics are a dollar or two each. I have a kindle app on my ipad.

http://www.amazon.com/Free-Shakespeare-Books-Kindle-Reads/lm/RBQBBYOT4B01N

http://www.amazon.com/SHAKESPEARE-Illustrated-Shakespeares-Shakespeare-ebook/dp/B004OEIELA

Our priority hasn't been on the books or other stuff for ds7 but on the therapies (water therapy and neurofeedback) or other medical expenses and food (a true superfood diet isn't cheap). A 2e expert advised me that 2e issues come first and to think of myself as a special needs parent rather than a PG mother.

I absolutely think you can accommodate a PG child on the cheap. Is it easy? No. But I do think you have to be creative and resourceful and think outside-the-box. I also really do believe that unstructured play is vital to these kids and is just important to their development than anything else. Heresy, I know.

I really don't believe you need to be a challenged cruise director here with activities. I'm not saying that there's value to some structured, adult-directed activities, but that there are limits within life, within a day, within a week, etc.

I just read the following books:
Madeline Levine's Teach Your Children Well
Peter Gray's Free to Learn
Kristine Barnett's The Spark - which involved educating a PG/STEM-prodigy on the cheap. Her book was quite refreshing for me. She believes in the importance of getting PG kids to just be a kid and play too and do some 'normal' stuff.

I've been writing on opensource.com about free resources (http://opensource.com/education/13/4/guide-open-source-education) - so you might find something there. I've got some livebinders (under name Wivenhoe) which may be useful. You can also search other livebinders according to grade, subject, etc.

My motto is to go with resources/activities that are free first. Then, I go as cheaply as possibly - less than $10+. After I've exhausted the free and nominal ways, I might consider shelling out the money. But I've often found that the first two options suffice.

Books - ebay, amazon, craigslist, freecycle are possible places for used books if you don't have a used bookstore locally. I live in a college town, so we have a town free book recycle day that has been wonderful. I also live near some homeschoolers who have offered free books.

There are certainly lots of things you can do to keep the cost down, but in general, yes raising an HG/PG child will be more expensive than a non-gifted child.
We love backyard science, so rock collecting along the creek, pond dipping at the same creek, raising caterpillars of native butterfly species, backyard astronomy (sidewalk chalk and a long sidewalk works great for illustrating relative distances of the planets), etc. have been nearly free activities.
Certainly a good local library can help save in book costs.
Thrift stores are another good place for books, craft supplies, and random cool items (steel drum [no mallets] for only $16!).

Costs that can be hard to avoid: testing fees (IQ, ACT/SAT), instruments/lessons (if your kiddo is musically inclined), if the public schools are not ideal - homeschooling or private schooling have their associated cost/opportunity costs.

Best of luck,
-S.F.

Maybe, but I know a number of parents of average children who pay for tutoring of them just to *keep up* with schoolwork, especially in math. Gifted students usually don't need tutoring to avoid getting bad grades.

Bostonian - I suppose I had not thought of those types of "average kid" costs.

Setting that aside, the only time I can see where my DD12 ended up "saving" me money was when she skipped a grade while attending her private elementary school. Of course, we were only at the private because our public school was doing more harm than good...

Now, I should note, I am happy to have spent what I have on my daughter, and I am ecstatic that my wife and I are in a position to afford what we have been able to. I am sure there are many parents squeezed between their HG/PG child (rock) and a tough financial situation (hard place).

-S.F.

I too am firmly in support of free time and unstructured play. However, if a child is in a totally inappropriate school then the only time available for actual learning is after school and weekends. School time almost has to be seen as their downtime.

Thanks to the Internet, I think that information has been made cheaper and more available than ever before.

Books are invaluable and the combination of a decent public library and the Internet means that information doesn't have to cost a fortune.

The Internet is a two edged sword, however, because it is also a bit like giving a medical dictionary to a hyperchondriac (sp?). I am sure that I worry about a ton of things that my DD is missing/complexes that she may be developing etc just because I have read about them on the Internet. The 'giftedverse' is full of hucksters and snake oil sellers...