Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Where do all the parents go?

It seems like there is an exponential drop off in postings about kids as they get older on this site especially after say 6 or 7 years old. What do you think is driving that?

We would have to ask them.

Maybe they have given up on school and moved to home schooling boards.

We opted for private school after 4 yrs of public school.
My ds just turned 11. That kind of fits your time frame.

I was wondering this same thing the other day.

They've probably mastered the advocacy skills they needed. The ones who stick around are disproportionately parents of extremely complicated kids...

My son is 9 and in fourth grade...maybe some children get accepted to dys and they go to dys only boards? My son didn't get qualifying iq score...just under. So I stay here.

I found that in my area, where there is an overabundance of gifted adults (and hence gifted children), there is a lot of uncertainty, second guessing, cross checking etc when the kids are in the K or 1st grade level. After that stage, the parents have found a right fit for their kids - through different schools and/or through afterschool enrichment programs.

Maybe because it isn't an issue until it is an issue. So, many of us join when the kid is six, and we realize that status quo isn't going to work. Start off at five get into a kindergarten that tracks to a gifted program, cruise along.. eh, no... there is a significant difference between your kid and the other gifted kids... oh... look a website on the very topic.

Many forums have a "need help" --> "got help" --> "ciao" lifecycle. With a small percentage entering the "need help" --> "got help" --> "give help" chain, and another small percentage hit the "need help/curious" --> "found peers/love the topic" --> "hang out." Something like that.

DS before turning eight achieved temporary geosynchronous orbit, got what I came for, but like it here and maybe can help sometimes.

Having one GT son age 20 and one GT son age 15 as well as a wife who teaches the subject and having contact with a lot of parents directly, I think that as GT kids get older, a few things happen:

1. They slowly find their way. Never completely comfortable or satisfying mind you, however, enough to where were not desperate for help / input / guidance.

2. Things tend to get better and GT kids tend to find those of like mind the older they get. The problems, especially social-emotional, often diminish somewhat.

3. Parents eventually realize it doesn't matter how much injustance there is, it doesn't matter how hard they fight the good fight, it doesn't matter what we do, we're simply not going to find any one school or organization that is going to fill the needs of our gifted child, it's WE that has to create the opporunities. In short, we cry for help less and create our own having no other better option. (We don't start out seeing ourselves as the best option usually, however, realize eventually we might very well be)

It doesn't surprise me that the frequency of posts goes way down as GT kids get older. The school systems too seem to think that as kids get older their need for gifted services disappears, unfortunately that couldn't be further from the truth. Simply because AP course become an option doesn't mean all is solved, not by a long shot.

I agree with the explanations given by others but will also mention that as children get older they can use the Internet (and ideally, like-minded peers) to find books and other educational resources, so parents don't need to do it for them as often.