By far the majority of studies of the gifted and talented have found them to be emotionally stronger than others, with higher productivity, higher motivation and drive, and lower levels of anxiety.
Indeed, high level creativity, in particular, requires real strength of character to overcome the forces of conventionality and the sneers of those who do not understand.
How to spot a clever toddler
Here are the important things an adult can do for a bright child. The old physical milestones of when a child first sits up, crawls, stands up, or walks, are no longer seen as firm pointers to future intellectual potential, but they are excellent indicators. Gifted children are just as different from one another as any other group of children - some may be lively, into everything and very friendly, while others can be shy and prefer to keep to themselves. Here are four strong clues.
Lively minds:
The most noticeable feature of gifted children is the liveliness of their minds. This
comes across in many ways, especially in their delight with words. Even as toddlers
they’re usually very quick to spot tiny differences and catch on to unusual
associations between ideas.
Awareness:
Gifted little ones use their radar brains to seek and absorb information, sometimes
catching your meaning before you’ve reached the end of your sentence. They copy
other people’s behaviour and learn fast from the experience. Sometimes they seem
quite grown-up, but genuine maturity will come later.
Ability to learn:
A keen appetite for learning marks out the gifted, so that when they’re given the
chance they grab it. As they get older, their knowledge often becomes wider and
deeper than that of other children of the same age so they seem to be even more
intelligent. Parents wonder where clever children get all their knowledge from; they
seem to absorb it from everywhere - television, people’s conversations – the air!
Independence:
The clever toddler takes pride in what they can do. Even in their first few days at
proper school, they’re usually outstandingly independent and competent, though some
get a shock when they find all the others working at a very much lower level. Some
develop special interests even at nursery school, though these might change. By the
time they reach primary school, they may be really beginning to know their way
around a subject.
(
excerpts from articles of joan freeman ,a psychologist researching on gifted childern)