Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments DS only interested in sport (and reading)

Hello,
It seems to sit outside what you usually hear about 'gifted' kids but my bright little boy (8yrs old) is only interested in sport. He will do his work, he was grade skipped this year and is doing ok, but is just obsessed with sport. He still says school is boring (but i think that it is in comparison to you guessed it - playing sport).
He does like to read and is currently reading the most recent Percy Jackson but when it comes to writing or maths (that he used to really like) he is just not interested. He has been learning trumpet this year and playing in the band but wants to quit because it reduces the time he has to play sport (even in the backyard).
I just wondered whether there are any other kids out there who really just think about sport ALL the time?
I love sport but i guess i wonder whether he is still not being properly engaged in school and this is making him focus so much on sport.
Cheers,
HHBELLA.

I know someone else whose DS went through a phase like this at about this age-- eventually Mom made a rule that baseball could only be discussed at certain times of the day, or for a set amount of time at once.

This child is HG+ and also well-rounded otherwise-- highly musically gifted, good at academics, but occasionally obsessive about an interest. For a while it was baseball.

My son is not quite three, so obviously we are okay with him playing whatever, but yes he is obsessed with sports. He talks sports, he wears almost only sports themed clothing, he plays at different sports all day. He can hit a pitched baseball really well and apparently is getting quite good at golf (I let daddy enjoy the obsession while DD and I do Shakespeare etc, ha). It can get wearisome, but it helps motivate him easily, too. I did order some sports themed pens etc for Xmas because I would like him to say color or scribble a little sometimes. He's always been so physical, since a babe. So different from his sister, and we really tried to be anti-sexist. They just have their obsessions and predispositions!

My dd9 is very into sports - she has a particular sport that is her passion, she participates in a few others that she also loves, and any new sport she's introduced to she automatically wants to join a team/group and add yet another sport into her already over-crowded schedule. We've let her follow her heart with her sports outside of school simply because being able to fuel that passion also fuels her 24/7 in other ways too - it keeps her happy

The one thing it doesn't do is take over her mind to the extent that if she's bored in school she daydreams about sports, and it hasn't replaced any of her drive to excel in her academics. If she's bored in school, I still hear about it If you have doubts about whether or not your ds is being properly challenged in school, I'd ask him about it and also check in with his teacher. Go with your gut feeling on it - you probably have a good idea of what's up

Best wishes,

polarbear

My dd8 is a sports fanatic! Like polarbear dd9, she has her passion which she does year round, but is usually playing a second sport depending on the season. She is gifted but not exactly sure yet how far along the spectrum, but she is in 3rd grade doing mostly 4th grade work and 5th grade math. We decided to homeschool her because she was bored with school and it drove her nuts that she had to "sit around and wait for others kids to finish their work because they don't know how to behave" She actually hates reading but likes math and writing.