Customer Reviews

Guiding the Gifted Child: A Practical Source for Parents and Teachers

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As the parent of a gifted child, I found the book's focus on the psychological and emotional uniqueness of gifted children extremely helpful. The book gave me great insight into my daughter's way of thinking and feeling and perceiving the world which in turn led to some changes in my parenting approach that have had enormously gratifying and rewarding results for both of us.

Although titled as designed for guidance of parents and educators involved with identified gifted children, this book has many "proven" parenting techniques that work equally well with all children. The information especially designed to help in identifying the uniqueness of gifted and talented children adds to its' value. It usefullness does not limit it to a single age group but can be referred to again and again as the child matures

This is one of the best books on gifted children I have read. I think it is particularly valuable because it focuses less on schooling concerns and more on dealing with the specific issues these children deal with. There are chapters on stress management, motivation, peers, and feelings, to name a few, and each chapter gives tips on how parents can help kids with these issues. This is a great book, and I find myself referring to it often!

I truly enjoyed this book because of the primer nature of the text. Written to appeal to an intelligent lay person, the book addresses a vast array of parenting issues--not just those specific for gifted children. The soft-cover is a good beginning for your research on the concept of "giftedness" in your child and perhaps even yourself. Well worth it and the price is much better than I paid at a Webb talk. An engaging speaker, the text is conversational and straightforward.

This book helped me to realize the special needs and problems that gifted children face. From temper tantrums to societal expectations, this book really gave me a better understanding of my daughter's behavior and needs.

Too much psychobabble with little practical help that hasn't been offered a thousand times before. The book should focus more on the opportunities the giftedness creates for the child both in education and in living a richer life. Developing the "hungry mind" is key, and not letting the child's curiosity be stifled by a lowest-common-denominator public schooling system. A much better book was "Bringing Out the Best: A Resource Guide for Parents of Young Gifted Children."

I've returned to this book again and again for advice and reassurance raising a profoundly gifted child. A must-read for those who need a comprehensive understanding of giftedness -- whether your child has been "identified" or not, this should be the first book you buy.

The book starts out with an anecdote about a gifted child who committed suicide, and continues with other warnings and horror stories about stress, discipline, depression and underachieving in gifted children. Although much of the information is potentially valuable, it is presented in a pseudo-scholarly manner that takes much of the joy away from the challenge of raising a gifted child. Like my son, I was labeled as highly gifted as a child, and after reading the book, I am grateful to be functioning and not on Prozac. A more simplistic but much more enlightening book on the subject is "The Survival Guide for Parents of Gifted Kids" by Sally Yahnke Walker.

I first read this book in 1989, when my first-born began school. She is now a young adult, has read the book, and thanks me for following the advice. It is timeless. I have since bought 11 more copies, as gifts for friends, as well as re-reading my own copy countless times, as my next 2 children were also identified gifted. I was also fortunate to find a parent group that was based on the topics of the book. It was the most positive and helpful parenting support I ever received.

This book has provided me with a lot of advices on how to care and nurture a gifted child. Incredibly good. I was very sorry to finish it, because it was a great delight to read it.