Willoughby-Eastlake Association for the Gifted and Talented WEAGT |
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Links and Resources for Parents |
Are You a Gifted Parent? Checklist: Are You a
Gifted Parent?
The more gifted
children are, the more they need parents who are gifted in helping them discover
and develop their abilities. In that sense, gifted children need gifted parents. This checklist is not all-inclusive, and there is no
passing score. It is intended as a set of reminders of the most important
principles for promoting children's giftedness. Parents who can answer
"yes" to a large proportion of these questions can feel that they are
effectively promoting their children's gifts. 1. Do you answer your children's questions with
patience and good humor? 2. Do you take advantage of their questions and
expressions of interest to guide them into further learning and exploration? 3. Do you help your children develop physical and social skills as
carefully as you encourage mental growth? 4. Do you help them learn how to get along with children of all levels
of intelligence? 5. Do you avoid criticizing them by comparing them with their brothers
and sisters or their companions? 6. Do you set reasonable standards of behavior for your children and
then see that they are met? 7. Do you impose firm and fair discipline that is consistent and neither
too harsh nor too permissive? 8. Do you show your children that they are loved for their own sake and
not for their intellectual achievements? 9. Do you try to find something specific to praise when they show you
their work? A generalized compliment means little to gifted children. 10. Do you help them to select worthwhile reading materials and
television programs? 11. Do you provide your children with hobby materials and books of their
own? 12. Do you provide places where your children can study, work at their
hobbies and display their work? 13. Do you participate in some of your children's activities? 14. Do you let them learn about and share in some of your hobbies and
interests? 15. Do you take your children on trips to points of interest? 16. Do you enable your children to take advantage of lessons and
activities offered by private groups or community organizations? 17. Do you teach your children how to budget their time, organize their
work and improve their study habits? 18. Do you help your children to make their own plans and decisions? 19. Do you give your children increasing independence as their ability
to handle responsibilities increases? 20. Do you give them household responsibilities and other tasks suitable
for their age? 21. Do you avoid overstressing intellectual achievements? 22. Do you avoid "pushing" your children too hard by not being
too demanding about after-school lessons or activities?
23. Do you resist the impulse to show off your children before relatives
and friends? 24. Do you resist any temptation to exploit their gifts commercially? 25. Do you teach them to use their gifts for the benefit of society
rather than only for their own selfish purposes? 26. Do you encourage them to set high educational and vocational goals? 27. Do you refrain from trying to pick their vocations for them but try
to help them learn about as many occupations as possible? 28. Do your expressions of attitude and your behavior set the example
you want your children to follow? 29. Do you avoid talking down to them and speak to them as you do to
adults? 30. Do you try to speak as correctly as you want them to?
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Last modified: July 17, 2010 |