Let's say you're a calculus professor. How easy would it be for you to sit through a class on multiplication tables and long division? If you had to sit through that class day after day and month after month, how long would it be before you crafted a blowgun from an ink pen casing and spattered the chalkboard with saliva-soaked balls of paper? How long would it be before you carved your entire family tree in the surface of your desk? How long would it be before you decided you didn't need the class and began missing days here and there?

Optimistically, you'd survive for about a week.

Gifted kids are faced with the same problem. There's no challenge in repeating things they already know; on top of that, they aren't learning anything new - so they aren't getting any smarter.

THE PROBLEMS GIFTED KIDS FACE
Letting a child's intelligence become stunted by lack of challenge is a tragedy. Unfortunately, many gifted kids' talents go unnoticed and they get stuck in the rut of being labeled as misbehaving miscreants instead of mavens. Of course they're misbehaving - they're bored out of their minds.

Gifted kids may also misbehave so that they get some positive attention from their peers; nobody likes to be called a nerd or be known as the one who doesn't have to study but aces every test. Their boredom gives birth to classroom jokes, misdeeds, or anything else that will invoke "oohs" and "aahs" from their peers; kids would rather be the class clown than the class dork.

When a child realizes that they're more intelligent than their peers, they may want to foster their skills and expand their horizons - but if there's nowhere for them to turn for a challenge, they get incredibly frustrated. Their self-esteem can rapidly plummet, especially when frustration joins with changing hormone levels and peer influence. It's hard knowing things that other kids don't know when all you want is to fit in and be one of the herd, and that's what most kids want - to be a member of the pack.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
A gifted kid's academic needs must be fulfilled, even if it means reaching outside a four-walled traditional classroom. If your school district doesn't offer programs for kids of above-average intelligence, take action - and be assured that you're not only helping your own gifted child, but others as well.

Go to school board meetings and raise your concerns; you might be pleasantly surprised at the results. In addition, find things that will challenge your child outside the box - music lessons, after-school clubs and activities, or volunteer work is a great start.

Whether you're a parent, sibling, aunt, grandpa or friend, try to help the gifted kid in your life. You can build a foundation of trust with them so that they'll open up to you first; once you've established that, help them grow their minds. You don't even have to be as intelligent as they are - but present them with challenges in any way you can. Find out what they're interested in and ask them to teach you about it; much is learned during the teaching process by all parties involved.

You owe it to your little future Einstein to give them every opportunity to grow as a person. By simply making resources available to them, you're investing in their happy, healthy and productive adulthood.

Learn more about this author, Angie Papple.
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