Parenting a gifted child could be challenging. A gifted child suffers from social and emotional issues a lot. As a result, they need parental attention and encouragement. Parents should offer a helping hand to them, putting themselves in that child’s shoes.
See things from their perspective, respect their choices, and give reasons when the contrary is true. Avoid arguing about rules and parental expectations with the child. Group them with children of like minds, and consider their passions and feelings.
In this article, we will consider why gifted children have social and emotional issues, Gifted child characteristics that interfere with regular identification, and why gifted children struggle. And Help them develop emotional and intellectual balance and teach them how to manage their emotions.
Does A Gifted Child Have Social And Emotional Issues?
Of course, a gifted child does have social and emotional issues. They often find it challenging to fit in and make friends. Even when they make friends, they hardly sustain the relationship. Their potential traits and characteristics expose them to emotional issues.
Anxiety, gender, future aspiration, and losing a beloved one can make a child have emotional issues. Perfectionism is another factor contributing to a gifted child’s emotional problems, excessive work, lack of enough sleep, and overthinking. When the body develops slower than the mind’s ability to imagine what will happen, this can lead to much frustration made worse by advanced verbal reasoning, like arguments and debates.
Insecurity arises in children who manipulate their parents, and this can also result in emotional issues for the child. An advanced sense of humor may bring rejection from peers and can result in social issues. The tendency to associate with adults and older peers keeps them at arm’s length with every other child.
Why Does A Gifted Child Have Social And Emotional Issues?
A gifted child has social and emotional issues because, in some areas, they are more mature than others. They are more vulnerable to specific social-emotional disorders if their needs are unmet.
These characteristics may include increased awareness, anxiety, perfectionism, stress, problems with peer connections, and concerns about identity and fit.
Parents, adults, and caregivers must keep in tune with their unique child’s needs and help develop a robust framework for social-emotional wellness.
Remember that a youngster who excels in one area only sometimes excels in all.
Giftedness can cause the concealing and misinterpretation of issue indications. Not all talented children are the same, including their distinct social-emotional profiles. There is no definitive prescription for keeping a child’s emotional equilibrium.
To lessen stress/anxiety in the talented child’s life, parents must demonstrate balance and set the tone. We can teach our children skills and give them tools for dealing with life’s ups and downs.
How To Support Your Child Emotionally
What can you do to support your brilliant child emotionally? There are tons of things you can do to support a gifted child, and below are some of them:
You may encourage your child to make time for friends.
Be open to new friendships.
Practice being a good host.
Play out scenarios to practice your friendship abilities.
Be a good listener and make eye contact to show that you care about other people.
Avoid boasting while remaining honest about their strengths.
Participate in a variety of group activities to foster new friendships.
Accept those who believe and act differently than you.
Enroll in a comprehensive social and emotional learning program.
Spending time with like-minded peers can allow your child to interact with individuals who think and learn similarly.
They can share their ideals and interests while also challenging one another.
This makes it more likely that he ‘ll be understood, gives him more chances to make substantial, helpful friends, and give him the comfort of feeling accepted. Remember that your child’s emotional requirements may be at a different age than their intellectual capacity.
Recognize your child’s chronological age and soothe them according to their requirements. A 6-year-old with the arithmetic ability of a 10-year-old would most likely require the emotional care of a 6-year-old.
Some of the problems enumerated in this article could be fixed with proper education and counseling. For example, the “Best of Friends” program has been carefully designed to meet the social and emotional needs of teens with special needs.
Why Do Gifted Children Struggle?
Gifted kids struggle because they can learn things quickly, talk like adults, and devise creative solutions to problems. Parents are sometimes astonished when their gifted child exhibits social and emotional behavioral issues.
However, problems are frequently associated with talent. Gifted children frequently grow at the same or even slower rate than their classmates in terms of social and emotional development.
When these talents—intellectual skills and social and emotional skills—develop at different rates, development is said to be asynchronous.
Asynchronous Development
Gifted children often have higher-than-average cognitive skills that allow them to work at a high level and solve complex problems. However, significant social and emotional intelligence is sometimes accompanied by high IQ.
Gifted children frequently grow at the same or even slower rate than their classmates, both socially and emotionally. Development is called asynchronous when these talents—intellectual capabilities and social and emotional skills develop at different rates.
Gifted youngsters may encounter difficulties when their other talents differ from their intellectual abilities. “Because of their innate ability to absorb greater concepts and circumstances, gifted children may experience social and emotional issues as a result of being overwhelmed or overstimulated,” explains Chamberlain.
“For example, a brilliant child may absorb all the features and consequences of a divorce, producing worry, whereas a regular youngster may take the same situations at face value.” Similarly, their physical development is acceptable for their age, but their IQ is advanced.
They might think they’ll be able to hit a target with a tennis ball when they’re in preschool, but they won’t be good at it until they’re five or six. This might result in excessive irritation and behavior. A bright youngster may also be able to join in adult debates about climate change or world famine one minute and cry the next because a sibling snatched a beloved toy.
Advanced Verbal and Logical Reasoning Skills
While brilliant children can read, speak, and even reason above their chronological age, these skills can be challenging to manage in various ways. Gifted children, for example, can be argumentative. This is because they have advanced verbal and logical reasoning skills.
Adults may even comment that these children seem like little attorneys. No matter how sophisticated the conduct appears, a child needs appropriate direction and boundaries. Furthermore, this high reasoning ability might make children feel uneasy since they lack the emotional capability to make decisions or take on additional responsibilities.
A gifted child might not be understood by his or her peers because he or she has an extensive vocabulary and a mature sense of humor. This might make them feel rejected and inferior. This is one of the reasons why gifted youngsters want to be around older children and adults.
Gifted and talented children often have strong intellectual skills that help them work at a high level and deal with complex problems. However, intellect is only sometimes accompanied by strong social and emotional abilities.
Read critical thinking skills for a gifted child here
When a gifted child’s other skills don’t match their intelligence, they may have trouble. Gifted youngsters may be able to grasp complex topics academically but not emotionally. This comprehension can lead to severe fears about mortality, the future, sex, and other subjects that children their age may not be dealing with.
Chamberlain adds, “Gifted children may become overwhelmed or overstimulated quickly because they are naturally able to understand more complex ideas and situations.” For example, a gifted child may take in all of the effects and side effects of a divorce, which can make them worry more. In contrast, a regular youngster may accept the same conditions at face value.
Similarly, their physical development is age-appropriate, but their IQ is accelerated. They may anticipate hitting a target with a tennis ball while in preschool. Still, they only develop a grasp of this talent once they are five or six years old. This might result in excessive irritation and acting out.
A bright youngster may also be able to join in adult debates about matters such as climate change or world hunger one minute and cry the next because a sibling snatched a beloved toy.
This may perplex adults and lead to an overreaction to age-appropriate conduct.
Perfectionism,
Perfectionism comes with fear of failure, and the implication is that the child will refuse to try. The child might be demanding full details of the work before venturing into it for fear of not getting it right.
Perfectionism can cause a gifted child to sit on the fence for a long time, trying to analyze full details before engaging. Because they want to perfect their work, they can work excessively
they are very conscious of responses and criticisms from parents, teachers, and peers, and they take this trait very personally. Perfectionism, when not adequately checked, can bring anxiety and result in depression in a gifted child
A gifted child who is sensitive and a perfectionist is more likely to experience social and emotional issues.
Signs of Perfectionism:
Worries over small mistakes
Difficulty making choices
Focuses on the one wrong thing
Fiercely competitive
Carried away with details
Own worst critic
Never satisfied with own work
Makes excuses or blames others for mistakes
Skips time to rest, play or socialize because there is too much work
Puts off big projects
Trouble letting go and finishing big projects
These people believe; you are what you do, the world is watching, failure would be humiliating, and perfect performance gives them a sense of control that they think will relieve their anxiety early Perfectionism in Gifted Children.
High-level abilities are excellent, but they also create unrealistic expectations. For example, some brilliant youngsters become perfectionists, anticipating excellent grades on every examination. Perfectionism, in turn, can lead to a fear of failure, prompting an intelligent youngster to hesitate to attempt something new.
According to Dr. Hollman, the parent or caregiver of a brilliant child might sometimes exacerbate perfectionism.
“If [the child’s] parents or instructors are narcissistic and treat them as their trophy, [the youngster] may have identity issues as they strive to discover their own course.”
Emotional Sensitivities
Giftedness can also result in exceptional observation, inventiveness, and the ability to perceive beyond evident and emotional sensitivities.
This might make a gifted youngster look bashful because they may hold back in new settings to evaluate the ramifications.
A talented youngster may also demand complete information before answering inquiries or assisting.
Intense sensitivity can sometimes drive gifted youngsters to absorb criticism or even general hostility personally.
Sensitivity and a strong sense of right and wrong can lead to worry about wars, starving children, pollution, violence, and injustice. In that case, they might become shy and shy away or even get existential depression. 1
What is the effect of perfectionism and emotional insensitivity on a gifted child?
One of the effects of perfectionism and emotional insensitivity on a gifted child is that he can sometimes take criticism or even general hostility to heart. Giftedness can also lead to good observation skills, creativity, and the ability to see past the obvious.
This could make intelligent children look shy because they might hold back in new situations until they figure out what to do. A talented youngster may also demand complete information before answering inquiries or providing assistance.
Sensitivity and a strong sense of right and wrong can rise to worry about wars, starving children, pollution, violence, and injustice.
Why Are Gifted Children Overly Sensitive? What Can You Do to Help?
Gifted individuals are often exceedingly sensitive and emotional. They are more sensitive to nuances; their brain analyzes information and thinks about it more profoundly. At their best, they can be very wise, intuitive, and keenly aware of how complicated their environment is.
Before 18 months, developmental disparities between talented individuals and others become apparent.
Gifted children may understand that their method of seeing the world differs even before they can speak.
They have the omnipresent sensation of feeling like a Martian visiting Earth.
This lack of a shared reality with people they depend on, like their parents, older siblings, or older people, may make them feel very uneasy. Unfortunately, many susceptible and brilliant individuals have grown up internalizing that something is wrong with them or that they are somehow flawed, ‘being too much,’ or even ‘toxic.’
Raising a brilliant child necessitates a strong awareness of their abilities, passions, interests, and the specific problems they experience. This implies you must become a student of your child and parent in a way that meets their requirements.
Be a Good Listener
Pay close attention to what they say.
Be receptive to their ideas, thoughts, and criticisms, and attempt to devise solutions together.
This will give your youngster the courage to face obstacles.
Try to give your child a safe place to talk about problems and work through them as they come up. Keep in touch with your child’s school to ensure proper support, advises Chamberlain.
It is also beneficial to seek the services of a mental health expert to assist your kid in developing other areas of intelligence, such as social and emotional abilities.
Gifted Child Characteristics That Interfere With Normal Identification:
There are lots of characteristics that interfere with the standard identification of a gifted child. Below are just a few:
- A gifted child quickly gets bored with homework and routine tasks.
2. Jumping from one activity to another gets them pissed off
3. Despise authorities
4. Inappropriate jokes
5. Overreacting emotionally
6. Most gifted children hate detailing
7. Stubborn and often want to do things their way
8. Desire to always be in control of other kids
9. Exercising authority
10. Undivided focus on the area of interest
11. Hate relating with their age mates
12. Lack of time management
13. Hate observing rules and assignments
Conclusion
In conclusion, gifted child has a lot of social and emotional issues that make them feel and respond differently. They often prefer to associate with adults because they see themselves as young adults. Observing adults who are not as bright as they are, they tend to be rude, bossy, and highly demanding.
Perfectionism is a significant challenge for them. in some areas, and they are disorganized slobs in other areas. They think a lot and can be depressed easily when faced with unresolved challenges. Gifted children often desire special attention and counseling, especially those with disabilities. Gifted children mostly have problems with ADHD, OCD, anxiety, and depression.
Identify what went right and praise effort and persistence over the outcome. Don’t correct their homework, allow failures and disappointments, Teach smart self-talk and coping strategies, but not when they are upset, and focus on reasonable effort rather than “doing your best.” Don’t overlook a child because he has a behavioral disorder. People like Einstein and Edison were neglected during childhood. Their gifts and talents were ignorantly blanketed.
Read more of our articles here: https://abundanceandkiddies.com/
Shop children’s winter clothes and sweaters here
Children’s bikes and bicycles here
Home furniture for children here
Pingback: Overexcitability In A Gifted Child: The Best Approach - PARENTING
Pingback: Narcissism In Children: The Review You Need To Know - PARENTING
Pingback: Poor Parental Communication: What You Need To Know - PARENTING