About gifted children
Gifted children have natural abilities that are well above the average for their age. If your child is gifted, you might notice these abilities in the way they’re learning and developing.
Children can be gifted in one or more areas. For example, a child might be gifted creatively and intellectually. Or they might have above-average physical coordination and memory or more social and emotional maturity than other children their age.
Children can be gifted in some areas and struggle in others. For example, a child might be gifted in maths but find English hard.
Children can be gifted at different levels too. That is, some gifted children have more highly advanced abilities than others. And some gifted children also have disability. These children are often called ‘twice exceptional’. For example, a child who is intellectually gifted might also have hearing loss or a specific learning disorder. Autistic children and children with ADHD can have gifts or talents too.
Advanced natural abilities often run in families. And there are gifted children in all cultures and from all family backgrounds.
Gifted children tend to show their natural abilities in the preschool or early primary school years. For example, a gifted child might teach themselves to read, ask deep questions, or show advanced understanding of numbers before starting school.
When gifted children are identified early and get support, their gifts can develop into talents.
‘Gifted’ is the term most people use, and it’s used in relation to abilities of all kinds. You might also hear people talk about children with ‘high potential’, ‘advanced abilities’ or ‘advanced development’ or children who are ‘extremely bright’ or ‘very athletic’.
About talented children
Gifts become talents when they’re developed and nurtured.
This means that gifted children become talented when you support and encourage them to use their natural abilities to learn, concentrate and practise. For example, if your child is musically gifted and you give them opportunities to learn a musical instrument, they might develop a talent for playing.
Many things influence whether a gifted child’s natural ability becomes a talent. These things include family values, educational opportunities, personality,motivation, health and opportunities. For example, if your child is gifted in business, with your support they might develop this gift into a talent for marketing and selling eggs their chickens have laid.
Advanced natural abilities in gifted children and talented children
Gifted children and talented children can have abilities and skills in many areas, and they can be gifted or talented in one or more areas. These areas include:
- academic learning – for example, language or maths
- social relationships – for example, the ability to make friends
- technology – for example, electronics or coding
- arts – for example, music or drama
- business – for example, sales or management
- sport – for example, athletics or dance.
Signs that children might be gifted or talented
Advanced development is one of the signs that your child might be gifted.
You’ll generally know if your child is more advanced than other children the same age. For example, some intellectually gifted children teach themselves to read at a young age, like 3 years old. Some physically advanced children might excel early in junior sports or physical activities.
Another sign is that your child might prefer to talk with older children or adults. For example, your 4-year-old child might relate better to 6-year-old children than to children their own age.
Your child might also learn differently from other children. For example, they might:
- be able to concentrate and focus well on tasks, especially tasks they’re interested in
- be intensely curious and ask challenging questions
- learn very quickly
- have an extremely good memory
- be very imaginative and creative
- have advanced speech.
People might comment on your child’s abilities if your child is gifted or talented.
Gifted older children and teenagers might show their advanced natural abilities when they start a new subject. For example, your child might start chemistry at secondary school and learn new ideas much faster than other students. Or your child might win an award. For example, they might be selected to swim at the national championships, or they might win a woodwork prize in an art show.
You know your child best. If you think your child might be gifted or talented or your child has been identified as gifted or talented, you could contact the association for gifted children and talented children in your state or territory. These associations are listed in our article on associations, programs and support groups for gifted children and talented children.
Jack’s teacher started commenting on his ability to ask really deep questions and then ask more deep questions that arose from the answers he’d been given. We just thought this was a quirk of Jack’s – to ask these really difficult questions.
– Fay, mother of Jack (7 years)
Supporting gifted children and talented children
Some things might come easily for your gifted child, but they might need support in other areas, depending on their particular abilities and personality.
For example, your child might:
- not have much in common with children of the same age, especially if they have wide-ranging or unusual interests, so they might get frustrated with other children
- get bored at preschool or school or stop trying when lessons are about things they already know or when the pace of lessons is too slow
- use their high verbal abilities to take over discussions with other people, especially at school, or they might use these abilities to avoid doing tasks they don’t like
- find it tough to follow strict rules – for example, at home, school or sporting clubs, especially if they have original ideas and like coming up with creative solutions
- have strong feelings about complex issues compared with other children the same age – for example, they might be very upset about climate change
- might hide advanced interests or learning because they want to fit in with friends.
If this sounds like your child, you can help them make the most of their potential bysupporting your child’s learning along with their behavioural, social and emotional development.
Families of gifted children might need to help them to understand others, manage challenges and follow family routines and rules. Your family is a safe and secure place where your child is accepted, valued and loved for who they are.
Raising gifted children and talented children
Your gifted child might amaze you with deep questions about life and death or creative drawings that show the thinking and skills of an older child.
Keeping up with a gifted child’s need for learning can be exciting, but it can also be a big job that takes time, money and energy.
Looking after yourself can help you do this big and important job well. You canlook after yourself by eating well, getting enough physical activity and rest, making time for things you enjoy, and managing any stress you experience.
Parents of other gifted children can also be a great source of support, information and ideas. You can meet them through your child’s gifted programs or through an association for gifted children and talented children in your state or territory.
The way you support your gifted child’s development depends on your family circ*mstances. For example, you might decide that you can’t afford extra dance classes for now. The main thing is to support your child’s development in the long term.
