MENSA AND THE GIFTED CHILD

Members of Mensa were once gifted children themselves and therefore care that gifted children have the proper attention that is absolutely necessary for their upbringing. All children are impressionable. If the child is in an improper environment, then the child will learn an improper understanding of life that will seriously affect them for the rest of their life. For a parent, raising a gifted child is a challenge. The rewards though are numerous. Many schools do not cater for the gifted child and it is usually left up to the parents to provide the additional stimulation for the child. The most effective direction one can go is to relentlessly hunt for activities that will occupy the gifted child. To occupy the gifted child yourself will make the worst kind of rod for your own back and generate bad feeling between the two of you.

Below is a list of activities that could be considered. Use it as a thought-provoking tool to seek other activities because these other activities are all around you. In general the exercise that has to be carried out is to provide the gifted child with the environment to enable them to do their own thing. The list starts with the specific and moves to the general.

1. Electronics.
This is a vast field that is relatively cheap and can be pursued in any small home. Traditionally this was a boy's activity but in this day and age it is definitely not the case. The child can start with something simple like house bell push and grow through hi-fi amplifiers through to computer applications. There is also huge application for dismantling things like old radios, hi-fis, TVs, etc.

2. Mechanicals.
This is very similar to the electronics concept except that here the child can make things or take things apart. It is more difficult generally because it will require some form of workshop. One can hardly take a motorbike to bits in the bedroom.

3. Computing.
A PC can be a marvellous thing to occupy the gifted child. It offers a vast range of different games, systems like Microsoft Office for developing computer applications; and a wonderful range of CD-ROMs for such things as Microsoft Encarta and all the excellent Dorling Kindersley programs. Then of course there is the Internet. This can lead to the additional problem where we cannot tear the child away from their PC.

4. Scouts and Guides and Other Youth Leadership Organisations.
This is a possible pursuit outside the home. Beware because this is an environment where the gifted child can rapidly become bored. Some gifted children are willing to comply with the drill and then they have a marvellous leadership opportunity.

5. Music and Musical Instruments.
Music provides a huge field, and if the gifted child can start an interest in exploring it then it will provide many absorbing hours for many years. This will naturally lead on to learning to play a musical instrument that will be a huge asset to the child throughout life.

6. Foreign language.
Again, this is a very absorbing pursuit, which will also provide a huge asset to the child throughout life.

7. Reading.
Take the child to the local library and get the librarian (not on a Saturday) to show the child how the library is organised. This may spark an interest in literature and all of the other things that are available.

8. The Home.
The Child is often excluded from the business of the home because it isn't grown-up. Involve the gifted child in such matters as your bank and your tax, your cash flow, affordability of future purchases. If the child has a mathematical bent then he/she could be a huge asset here.

9. Business and Investment.
If the mathematical bent is there, the child could help with business, investments, and the stock exchange.

10. Talking.
In a situation where you, the parent, are not gifted and the child is, then you have one resource to cash in on - your experience of life. Where you may not be able to keep up with the speed of ideas processing of the gifted child, you can bolster those ideas with your personal experiences in those fields of ideas. The word of caution, the gifted child may be precocious and know it all. A conversation in this area could be offensive to both parties.

11. Their Own Thing and their Future Profession.
What are they interested in? Consider interests: climbing, hiking, chess etc. and careers: a train driver, a doctor, an architect. Let them find out what is involved. Once they have read up in books and found out more, let them meet someone who practices their interest, and then visit the person in their workplace or "playground". Let you child try several options. Let them try extremes -- fine art to welding.

12. Curiosity.
Encourage the gifted child to be curious and then satisfy that curiosity. Attend presentations and pursue sparked interest. Where there is an interest pursue it. The gifted child is characterised by a rapidly changing and hugely broad range of interests. Your job is to provide the stimulation to generate an interest and then to provide the material to satisfy that current interest. But do nothing more than to hold the hand when necessary. Be prepared for frequent changes.