Since it's also been suggested by another person who knows your child and your situation, I'm going to make a book recommendation, Helianthus. This is one of the BEST parenting books (especially for gifted children, IMO) with one of the most horrid titles. Trust me-- ignore the title and read with an open mind. The reason why I believe that pro-social, chameleon-like children need this kind of mindful parenting more than any other kind of child is that
they are innately SO good at manipulating people to meet their needs and desires, and often fail to learn to meet their OWN needs assertively.
The Manipulative Child. That one book is a stand-out for me personally. I found that most parenting books were useless or worse in parenting a highly asynchronous kid. But this one was pure gold. DD was an
expert at drawing us into her personal drama at 2-4yo, and while no, she wasn't exactly a sociopath, she WAS doing it to meet her own needs. She was so good at it that it was quite concerning to us that it was coming to dominate her interpersonal style, in fact.
She still tends to show people what
they want to see from her. But she
can be assertive and not manipulative now.
