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Behavior issues with gifted children and tips for resolving them:

1. Self Esteem and Social Isolation:

Moderately gifted children are often academically superior and demonstrate high levels of social skills. In fact, they can hold a conversation fluently with an adult as easily as they do with their peers. Still, their peers might isolate the gifted kid because he or she is different. This means that gifted children, especially the highly-gifted ones, are likely to feel socially isolated.

A good tip for parents to use is to provide the child with a variety of opportunities to do what the average children do. Have your child join a soccer team or play any other sport. Sports provide a healthy sense of competition where the gifted child won't need to shine so brightly. He'll learn the art of cooperation and camaraderie.

Teachers should pay attention to the peer interactions in the classroom and try to discreetly protect the gifted child from snide remarks and hurtful words like, "nerd." The teacher can use the gifted ability to do peer tutoring. Every child likes to be tutored by a peer and the result might just be a new friendship.

2. Sibling Rivalry:

More often than not there will only be one gifted child per family, but even if you have two, there will always be sibling rivalry. When the gifted child is singled out as being, "brilliant," it creates the mistake of seemingly favoring one child over the other. The gifted child may react by isolating from the sibling and from peers at school. He might avoid answering questions in class, or simply begin to break your rules as a way to fit in with the sibling.

Parents need to be cautious not to pay so much attention to the gifted child's needs that you neglect the needs of his siblings. A balanced amount of attention and activities designed around each child should break the ice between the children in your home.

At school, if the child is used to attention, he might expect his teacher to pay more attention to him too. Gifted children tend to be verbal and they will try to monopolize the teacher's time if given half the chance. They refuse to play with other children at recess and remain by the teacher's side at all times. Teach the child to share the attention he gets and use quiet time to read, but encourage him to run and play with the other kids at recess.

3. Boredom:

A parent and teacher's biggest challenge will be to provide enough challenges for the gifted child so that he won't be bored. Misbehavior is created from

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