Your Second Gifted and Talented Child

A GAT parent wrote into CPSObsessed.com that of the 27 children in her child's Gifted and Talented classroom, 25 of them are the oldest child.

I've noticed this too, and it seems to be a consistent pattern and I cannot think of a counter example.

It is natural for a first time parent to hover over their first child, convinced that this person is the most special, cutest, smartest thing in the world.  There's time for Baby Einstein tapes, lots of reading, flash cards, whatever.  Then number two comes along and it's a different story.

I started this blog when I started training my second child for the Gifted and Talented exams.   It's not just that I don't want to short change him on the opportunities that his older brother got, it's that I don't want to have to drive to 2 different schools.

So the second child gets 15 minutes a day of my time for reading and worksheets.  The older one doesn't.  Skittles are passed out for challenging milestones for child #2.  I will just had a few to child #1 and say "You've already earned these."  The oldest is struggling to adjust to this new order.

Conversely, what if things went the normal route:  When the oldest child hits a Gifted and Talented program, there is 1 to 2 hours of homework a day that a parent needs to help with, and if the second oldest get less attention before, he now gets no attention.  That's why I think the GAT programs are primarily made up of the oldest child.  That's what I want to avoid.

And that's why my Top 10 Ten List for Gifted and Talented Test Preparation includes item #10.