Skip to content
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL DOMESTIC ORDERS $35+
FREE SHIPPING ON ALL US ORDERS $35+
The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-Discovery and Support for Families of Gifted Children - Paperback | Diverse Reads

The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-Discovery and Support for Families of Gifted Children

Availability:
in stock, ready to be shipped
Save 15% Save 15%
$32.95
$32.95 - $32.95
$32.95
$27.99
$27.99 - $27.99
$27.99
In "The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-discovery and Support for Families of Gifted Children," clinical psychologist and parent Gail Post, Ph.D. addresses the needs and emotional life of parents of gifted children. Gifted children can be overwhelming; parents must navigate a maze of heightened intensity, asynchronous development, and astonishing intellectual abilities. These challenges and the emotions they evoke are not always easy to discuss with friends or professionals unfamiliar with giftedness. As a result, parents of gifted children often struggle in relative silence, reluctant to voice their concerns.

Most books on raising gifted children focus on the child, paying little attention to the parent's unique experience. This book, instead, will guide parents along their gifted parenting journey, exploring what they might worry about and feel. How they can weather and even thrive despite roadblocks to their child's education, criticism from others based on stereotypes, and their own self-doubts. Understanding their thoughts and feelings - and distinguishing these emotions from what their child needs - is key to making informed parenting decisions.

Throughout this book, parents are invited to discover more about their deeper emotions and motivations, what influences their attitudes and expectations, and how certain reactions are elicited in response to the gifted experience. Readers will be prompted to explore questions that should increase self-awareness, and are offered both practical tools for managing their emotions and guidelines for improving their parenting skills.

Dr. Post provides the latest research, clinical vignettes, and insight based on decades of experience as a psychologist. Findings from a recent online survey of 428 parents of gifted children, initiated for the purpose of this book, explore what other parents want readers to know. While this book is specifically geared toward parents of the gifted, it also offers guidance for anyone interested in understanding gifted children and their families: grandparents, extended family, caregivers, teachers, and other professionals. The guidance, support, and increased self-awareness acquired through this book should enhance parents' well-being and confidence along their gifted parenting journey.

ISBN-13: 9781953360151

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Gifted Unlimited

Publication Date: 10-10-2022

Pages: 200

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

Dr. Gail Post has written hundreds of blog posts and articles about giftedness for newsletter and online publications, along with book chapters in Gifted Underachiever and Perspectives on Giftedness. She is passionate about advocating for the needs of gifted children, dispelling the pervasive misconceptions and stereotypes about giftedness, and supporting families in their parenting efforts. Her current book, The Gifted Parenting Journey: A Guide to Self-Discovery and Support, combines her experience as a psychologist, parent, and advocate for change, and offers supportive tools to help parents of gifted children.

Table of Contents

Dedication iii

Introduction 1

Surprise! Your child is gifted! 1

What is so challenging about parenting a gifted child? 2

How does this affect your child? 3

And then, as a parent… 4

How this book can guide you 5

Chapter 1 What is Giftedness? 9

What is giftedness? 11

What about gifted children who are not identified as gifted? 18

What is gifted education? 21

What's next? 25

Chapter 2 The Social and Emotional Aspects of Giftedness 27

Living with Intensity 27

Asynchronous Development 29

How intensity and emotional reactivity affect psychological well-being 31

Developing a sense of self-in a world not geared toward the gifted 35

Are the gifted predisposed to emotional difficulties? 36

What's next? 40

Chapter 3 The Essential Importance of Self-Awareness 41

Understanding your reactions and feelings-and why this is so important 41

How do these emotions affect you? 44

The daunting responsibility of raising a gifted child 45

Advocacy wherever you go 47

Taking on a new identity 50

Could I be gifted, too? 52

What we know … and don't know from the research about parents of gifted children 56

Where Do You Go From Here? 59

What's next? 61

Chapter 4 Finding Connection, Community, and Support 63

Playing by different rules 64

Raising a gifted child-in a vacuum 65

Navigating others' reactions 66

Why parents need support 69

How parenting support affects your child 73

Group support for parents of gifted children 74

How do you find support? 77

What's next? 84

Chapter 5 The Sky Is the Limit-Pride, Joy, and High Expectations 85

Why is it important to acknowledge your child's success? 89

The conundrum of high expectations 92

Managing expectations 96

Are you too involved? 99

What you should know about expectations 102

What's next? 106

Chapter 6 Comparing Your Child to Others 107

Embarrassment 108

Envy 113

What can you do when feelings of envy arise? 119

In summary… 122

What's next? 122

Chapter 7 Troubling Emotions 123

Anxiety 124

Regret and Guilt 135

How to cope with the "what-ifs" and "If only" questions that fuel guilt and regret 140

A word or two about disappointment 141

What's next 144

Chapter 8 Guidelines for Raising Your Gifted Child: 145

The Importance of Love and Limits 145

Love, empathy, and trust 146

Discipline and limit-setting 155

What's next…for you? 164

Afterword 167

Appendix: Results from the Gifted Parenting Survey 171

Survey rationale and methodology 171

Results 172

Limitations 173

How to interpret these findings 174

End Notes 207

About the Author 229