Finding and Nurturing Your Child’s Special Talents

Every child potentially holds inside a special talent or gift. Unfortunately for most children, these talents are ever rarely discovered. When they are, the child has often reached a stage of development where developing the talent is no longer desired or even possible.

Considering this, it is imperative that parents take the time to help foster and develop their child’s special gifts and talents in order to encourage full development and growth. Before those talents and gifts can be developed, they must first be found. The question is what can parents do to find these hidden skills, gifts, and talents? There really is not much to it - except for a little common sense in most cases. Here are a few suggestions:

• Don’t limit the child - Although it may appear that a child has a specific talent (or none at all), it is important for all parents to allow their child or children to explore their talents themselves. This can be accomplished by exposing children to as many activities and events as possible. In doing so, the child’s natural interests (a.k.a. talents) will slowly but surely begin to appear. Consider activities such as sports, the arts, and writing clubs - to name a few.

• Provide adequate support - When it appears that a child’s special gift or talent has been identified, it is imperative that it be developed and supported. If a child shows a specific propensity for an activity or talent, parents must make sure that they give the child the opportunity to practice it and develop it as often as possible. There is no easier way to miss out on a talent than by failing to support it. In doing so, parents will either find that it is a genuine talent or not a talent at all.

• Use a bit of testing - When a child’s special talents or skills are not as obvious, or have yet to be identified, one easy step to take is to have the child tested by an expert or a professional. Using standardized testing methods, a child’s strengths can be identified a lot faster than by simply waiting for them to manifest themselves at their own pace. There are a variety of tests that parents can administer themselves, or have an expert administer, that can identify a variety of special talents or skills.

The truth is that there is no secret way of finding and identifying a child’s special talents other than to keep a close eye on a child. When a child is taking part in an activity, a parent should be watching what takes place. There is, after all, no substitution for direct observation. For parents who are homeschooling their child, this is a relatively easy task considering the amount of time they typically spend with the child. By simply looking out for any tendencies, parents increase their chances of identifying any special skills, gifts, or talents that their child might possess.

If you find that your child does have special talents or is gifted, the next step is to nurture that gift. Most schools are not designed to nurture a gifted child. Gifted students often become bored and unchallenged by their school work. So consider having your child attend a school for the gifted. By attending a school that supports exceptional and gifted children your child’s mind will be stimulated and passion for learning grow.