Professional Documents
Culture Documents
of Gifted Children
Erin Sandell, September 2015
Is your child
Sensitive
Emotional
Dramatic
Intense
and gifted?
Relationship Feelings
Moral Sensitivity
When I kill a fly or an ant or any other insect, I suddenly get a feeling
like "should I have done that? That's really like going and killing a
human being. I bet the animals have their own life, feelings. They
must because they are really intelligent". The next time a fly gets in
the way, I'll just let it go because I feel guilty.
(female, age 13)
Two boys were fighting in the school ground and I burst into tears. I
couldn't stand to feel their pain and cruelty. The other children
called me a baby and a wimp. The teacher told me to act my age.
(male, age 9)
A five-year old child perceives a horse through eightyear-old eyes but cannot replicate the horse in clay with
her five-year-old fingers and so screams in frustration.
Heightened sensitivity to
things that happen in the
world is a normal response
for gifted children.
Other children may ridicule a gifted child for
reacting strongly to an apparently trivial incident,
thereby increasing the child's feeling of being
odd.
Implementation Plan
Create an emotional response scale
to help children put emotional
experiences into perspective
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Discussion Questions
1. What are some categories of different types of emotions that your child may feel?
2. Some examples of times children have had an intense relationship feelings have to do
with animals dying in movies such as Charlottes Web and Finding Nemo. Others may
have to do with real life animals or people. Share a time when your child has been
emotional over an animal or person.
3. Gifted children are often very critical of themselves. Share a time when your child
displayed frustration during a task.
4. How might your child be treated differently by their peers because of their emotions or
sensitivity?
5. Some phrases to avoid saying to an emotional child are, "You're just too sensitive" or "Stop
over-reacting. Why is this important?
6. What steps can you take to help your child manage their emotions?
Sources
Helping Gifted Children Cope with Intense Emotions
http://giftedkids.about.com/od/socialemotionalissues/qt/emotion_coping.htm
Gifted Children: Emotionally immature or emotionally intense?
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10241.aspx
The moral sensitivity of gifted children and the evolution of society
http://www.sengifted.org/archives/articles/the-moral-sensitivity-of-gifted-children-and-theevolution-of-society