The 5 phases of the gifted child
Gifted children are treated so differently from a very young age to met the end thier potential that the psychological aspects are often forgotten.
It is commonly believed that every person is talented and gifted in thier own way. But when the world detects those "talents" and " gifts" in an early age suddenly pressure come sophisticated in every direction as people see hope in you before you can even spell the words.
Life is different as a gifted child, especially as an academically gifted child. You are held in a high pedestal and nothing you do is good enough compared to your imaginary self who is some how the "future of the country",as people put it.been told "you can do better" multiple times instead if "good job",most gifted children go through 5 phases before becoming a fully functional adult.
Phase one starts as a toddler. The child is isolated from his/her peers to do some special actively often.s/he usually gets the lead in school projects and lots of attention from parents.Everything they say is amazing to the people around and they get aplouse and praise very easily. In this stage not only the child, but also other children are aware how different s/he is,so the child develops a feeling that s/he is better than others and life is going to be easy for them.This later affects the self concept they develop and the attitude they give toward facing every day struggles. That takes
us to phase two.
Here the child starts to process multiple emotions. The special treatment they used to get slowly starts to fade due to multiple reasons and that starts to affect the grade. Praises don't come as easy and the things they were once celebrated for will suddenly come as of as annoying.facing the slightest criticism will most likely cause the child to lash out and it is surprizing to others that the most "perfect" child is now some how having academic flaw. What makes this phase harder is that his/her peers are tired of being compared to them so socializing doesn't come easy as well.But also is facing multiple harsh emotions as different accusations raise up saying "s/he doing it on purpose" and " s/he has changed" but the reality is the child is hurt and lost and the perfect world persuption starts to a close.
Phase three is mostly giving up. The grades are low,the people are yelling but the child is depressed mentally unstable so none of this matters. The one time curious mind is phased wondering what went wrong.signs of depression and anxiety could be seen on this stage.They seek and might gain some company from their peers as they are now retable.They are not as threatening to thier peers as they were once since the image that they are better has faded.
The child might be glad to fit in the crowd but is internally bazed by identity question.This phase is very hard and disturbing for the parents as well.Wendy Rondell said on her article "unsure about thier ability to live up to their own expectations and elections of others,confused about the direction of thier true talent, and worried about the ways in which they are different from average students while simultaneously freeing medicoricy. These are the dilemmas which face gifted students attempting to define themselves in a confusing and often hostile world."
When it looks like there is no hope,sudden revival is seen in the child as they understand thier ability.The child is now learning how to use thier talents and gifts for their own good and make the future they once thought was going to be handed to them with minimum efforts.
They go back to old hobbies,thier grade starts to have a big raise and passive.isolation is seen in the child. For outsider it looks like everything is normal, even better and s/he healed from the mental struggle that held him/her back. But in the opposite the person develops toxic traits and coping mechanisms into his/her core personality that will eventually unpack in the adult life. Perfectionism, people pleasing and chasing academic/ career validation. But lucky for us these traits are celebrated in society.
Although it has it's down sides,being a gifted child has the obvious perks,like identifying passion and abilities from an early age and having an easier way to get things done. But one should learn how to use these perks properly or else they aren't perks anymore. Which brings us to the last optional but vital phase,detangling self worth from achievements.
