Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Any ideas for keeping DC occupied?

mamaandmore, I am anxiously awaiting the time when my younger DD is able to play with her older sister more (without trying to eat everything!). I'm glad to hear you say 15-18 mo seems to be that magical age because that means it shouldn't be too far off now. Since DD-almost-1 started crawling and getting into DD3's toys, it's been a bit of a battle between the two. DD3 tries to play with her little sister sometimes, but it just doesn't quite work out yet. I think when they do start playing more together, it will be a win-win for everyone -- DD1 will be occupied, DD3 gets to show off everything she can do and I can actually get some stuff done around the house without two constant shadows!

Hoosier (and Manda), yes, only bugs and kittens are more interesting than humans around here, so a sibling (we think) will help DD develop. We wanted to wait to get to know her and find out if she was an only child or a big sister. The verdict: big sister. She'll surely have adjustment issues when number 2 arrives (we're trying to adopt), but that's all part of the dealio, and things change, as you said Manda.

Mostly, DD wants to help and do whatever we are doing. Her favorite phrase (or most often uttered phrase) is "Can I help?" She's nearly unstoppable in the kitchen, but it's hard to keep her safe from the flames, knives and glass. We're trying to prepare her for being a big sister and hope she'll beam all that helpfulness onto her baby sibling.

Cheers, everyone!

Oops, I forgot to post that at least one study of temperaments and gifted people showed that they tend to be NPs, so I was mistaken about the introvert thought.

Ain't that the truth! DS6 is finally interested in all the toys he never played with, now that he has DD2 to show off to. She likes stuffed animals, so now he has to sleep with a dozen of them himself! She likes his wooden train tracks, so he has to build for her. She gets a kick out of building blocks, so now he likes to stack them up so he can yell when she knocks them over. The list goes on and on.

The best thing that worked for my DS2 was to go to the Home Depot store and let him fill a bowl with nuts, bolts, and washers. He loves playing with them and remembers that he picked them out. Of course this is a bad idea if your kids likes to put things in the mouth.
PVC pipe and fittings are also real big hit around here, with all the kids.

Cool link. Lists some creative activities for gifted preschoolers
http://www.austega.com/gifted/preschoolers.htm