In This Issue:
~ Developing Leadership Through Parenting Choices
~ What Does Gifted Look Like?

Developing Leadership Through Parenting Choices
Parents and the Development of Leadership Preparing young people for leadership responsibility begins in the home with an enriched environment that offers opportunities for children to acquire broad interests, self-esteem, and the insights and skills that characterize leaders. Parents can provide their children with support and encouragement as they participate in a wide variety of home and community activities. Parents should encourage their children to be involved in the selection, planning, execution, and evaluation of family activities ranging from a day at the zoo to a vacation overseas. Youngsters should also be encouraged to plan, initiate, and complete a variety of self-evaluated individual projects, but these skills are not learned automatically. They must be patiently taught and modeled by parents in the home. Discussion and debate about current events and other topics foster independent thinking and nurture leadership potential. Parents who listen openly and thoughtfully without expecting children to embrace their social, political, and economic views are demonstrating leadership characteristics. Mutual respect, objectivity, empathy, and understanding are highly valued by gifted young people, particularly those who need a safe place to test their ideas. Opportunities for decision making at an early age will help to foster the critical reasoning skills necessary to be an effective leader. Inappropriate decisions by children and youth, although difficult for parents to accept, may enhance future decision-making skills when self-evaluated. From: www.kidsource.com

What Does Gifted Look Like?
Some of the earliest signs of giftedness include: unusual alertness in infancy less need for sleep in infancy long attention span high activity level smiling or recognizing caretakers early intense reactions to noise, pain, frustration advanced progression through the developmental milestones extraordinary memory enjoyment and speed of learning early and extensive language development fascination with books curiosity excellent sense of humor abstract reasoning and problem-solving skills vivid imagination (e.g., imaginary companions) sensitivity and compassion If a child exhibits a majority of these characteristics, parents may wish to have the child assessed by an experienced examiner to find out if the child is gifted. Firstborn children tend to be recognized more often than their siblings. When one child in the family is gifted, it is quite possible that others may also be gifted. Early identification is recommended (ages 3 through 8) because it permits early intervention, as important for gifted as for any other children with special needs. From: www.kidsource.com