The early discovery: when you notice you're different from a young age (giftedness)

Your four-year-old toddler stands in the playground. While other children run around happily together, she stands on the sidelines. Not because she doesn't want to play, but because she first wants to analyze all possible routes. She observes, thinks, plans. Her brain is working at full speed, like a Ferrari reving at the traffic light.

Your four-year-old toddler stands in the playground, giftedness

The First Signs

Perhaps you recognize this in your child:

• Questions that make you dizzy ("Mom, if the sun dies, will we die too?")

• A surprising sense of justice

• Intense emotions over seemingly small things

• A preference for complex conversations with adults

• A deep need to understand and analyze everything

What's Happening Inside?

Imagine: you have a brain like a cabinet with countless drawers. In each drawer lies a treasure of thoughts, feelings, and ideas. But what if you notice at a young age that your cabinet is different from others? That your drawers open faster, are fuller, react more intensely?

The Environment's Reaction

Often the environment mainly sees the 'problematic behavior':

• The child who doesn't want to participate

• The endless questions

• The apparent fear of new situations

• The need for control and planning

But what we're actually seeing is a young, gifted brain trying to get a grip on a world that can feel overwhelming.

From Struggle to Strength

It's important to understand: this isn't a phase that will "pass." It's also not a problem that needs to be "solved." It's a fundamental part of who your child is. And that's beautiful! Because these are the same qualities that can later lead to:

• Innovative solutions

• Deep empathy

• Creative thinking ability

• The ability to oversee complex situations

Practical Guidelines

For parents and caregivers:

1. Validate your child's experience

2. Give space to the need to observe and analyze

3. Provide structure where needed, without limiting their uniqueness

4. Seek developmental peers - children who think in the same way

5. Celebrate your child's uniqueness

   
   
   
   

A Message of Hope

To all parents of gifted children, and to all gifted individuals who recognize this from their own childhood: you are not alone. That feeling of being different is real, but it's also valuable. It's like a Ferrari engine that you first need to learn to drive. With the right guidance, understanding, and support, your child can grow from 'being different' to 'being authentic.'

Because you know what's so special? That little thinker in the playground, who first observes everything? That's the same person who will later find new paths where others only see walls. Those intense emotions? They become the wings on which creativity and empathy can fly.

You don't have to fit into a world that's too small for you. You may create your own world - big enough for all your thoughts, feelings, and dreams. Because being different isn't a limitation, it's a superpower in disguise.