| When parents are first told that their child is gifted, they experience many feelings such as pride and happiness, but they are also often concerned and confused about how to raise a gifted child. While many patents are vaguely aware that the needs of gifted children often differ from the needs of other children, they may be ill equipped to deal with these problems and challenges (Strom et al, 1994). Gifted children are often faced with issues that other children are not, such as unrealistic parent and teacher expectations, social difficulties, and schoolwork they see as boring and meaningless. As parents of gifted children often feel unprepared to handle these problems or are not even aware of them, a program for these parents would provide them with education about the gifted, warn about potential problems, and provide some solutions for possible difficulties. One of the most significant problems facing gifted children is underachievement. These children risk becoming withdrawn, just "getting by," or having mild behavior problems (Whitmore, 1980). A program to aid in the prevention of underachievement would focus on the psychological factors, as those are the most likely to be affected by parents. Parents can have a definite impact on their child's self-concept and attitude toward school and learning. The risks involved in being gifted have been documented by many studies. The environment in which gifted children grow up clearly has a role in shaping their lives (Simonton, 1978). Parent education and counseling groups can prevent many of these issues or teach parents to deal more effectively with them. An early prevention program would have the advantage of preventing underachievement rather than trying later to break ingrained patterns of underachieving behavior. Traditional parent education has also proven to be an effective way to improve family functioning, provide information, and provide support, but the programs currently available focus most often on the needs of average children. These programs are not designed to, nor are they able to, satisfy the needs of parents of gifted children who face unique issues and difficulties. |
