Do you think your child might be gifted? If so, keep reading!

We all think our child is the brightest kid on the planet (and we’re all convinced that we’re right!). Especially if you’re a parent in New York City! And we tend to have thousands of anecdotes to prove our child’s academic fortitude. You’ve probably known since the day he or she was born that your child was smart. But how can you know whether your child is “gifted” in the sense that NYC gifted and talented schools and teachers use the word?

Educational psychologists perform questionnaires and interviews of children and parents in an effort to determine whether a child is gifted. During this process, psychologists look for a number of attributes or markers that tend to point to an advanced child. In addition to taking tests like the Stanford-Binet and OLSAT they ask parents fill out a survey to self-assess their child’s giftedness.

Over 80% of parents who think their child is gifted are correct!

Here are some of the attributes that gifted children tend to have. (Don’t worry, gifted children don’t necessarily possess all of these traits, although they tend to have many of them.)

•  Creative talent:

  If your child displays above-average aptitude for art or music, it could be a sign that he’s gifted.

• Attention to detail:

  If your child is able to remember and understand the intricacies of academic concepts – or even things she encounters in her everyday life – it points to the possibility that she’s gifted.

• Good with complexity:

  Gifted children often show a keen understanding of intricate concepts and are able to work through multi-step problems.

• High verbal ability:

  Gifted children tend to have an advanced vocabulary and the ability to use it at a high level.

• Emotional sensitivity:

  If your child is able to understand and perceive others’ emotions or feelings, it could be a sign that he’s gifted.

• Good sense of humor:  

  Gifted children tend to be wittier than their general education counterparts.

• Works independently:

  Many gifted children don’t mind working independently of others to solve problems; many even teach themselves to read before their counterparts learn it in school!

• Reaches milestones earlier than other children:

  Among other things, gifted children tend to walk, talk, and read earlier than their general education counterparts.

• Good memory:

  If your child seems like an encyclopedia, constantly retaining and reciting information that she’s learned, it could suggest that she’s gifted.

• Likes collections:

  Many gifted children like to collect certain things that have something in common (baseball cards, model cars, etc.).

• Has older friends:

  Sometimes, gifted children prefer the company of older children or even adults, as they find them easier to talk with and relate to.

• Has good attention span:

  A long attention span and determination to finish the job is a marker of a gifted child.

Does this sound like your child?

Whether the answer is yes or no, don’t worry. The best way to increase your child’s academic performance and creative processes is to engage his brain on a regular basis with doing practice questions from the OLSAT ande NNAT-2 tests. Don’t rely on school and homework to keep his brain limber and his creative juices flowing; work with him after school and on weekends to expand his mind beyond the “four R’s” of traditional school. Brain teasers, online interactive test prep, and even conversations about complex topics or phenomena (for example, pointing out all the geometric shapes that occur in everyday life) can be tremendously helpful in advancing your child’s mental acuity.