THE family is the first and basic school of life that takes care of a child from birth until adulthood. It bears the responsibility for raising the child, educating him and providing him with a suitable environment for personal growth. All of these responsibilities are multiplied when a family has a gifted child as such children need greater care. A gifted child's talents may go to waste if they are not discovered at an early age or if the necessary developmental tools are not available. In most cases, talent and ambition die a premature death and the child's energy turns into laziness. Detecting a child's talents is not easy and many parents ask: Who is considered a gifted child and how can he or she be discovered? In most cases, a gifted child's mental state is highly developed and he or she is able to carry out any tasks assigned with little or no mistakes. Gifted children always perform better than their peers and are therefore considered to have superior intellectual capabilities. Families must be careful not to raise the ceiling of expectations by exerting pressure on the child. The fear of not discovering a child's talents often prompts families to push their children to improve their academic standing. When this happens, children often develop a fear of failure and this burden may hinder their mental growth. Speaking to Al-Riyadh daily, teacher Al-Bandari Al-Mishary said identifying gifted children and helping them reach full potential is the most difficult task for parents, educators and society. “A gifted child needs to be provided with tools that help him or her think in different ways and encourage creativity. Different teaching methods must be developed. The Kingdom's current school curriculum that focuses on rote memorization is completely unsuitable for gifted children. The rote system is unsuitable for any child,” she said. Qumashah Abdulaziz, also a teacher, said the burden of discovering gifted children falls on the state, not on the family. “Some families do not have the education or knowledge that allows them to discover talented children. The concerned authorities must pass laws that protect and nurture creativity and talent. They should work with gifted children in order to transform their ideas into real projects. Gifted children are a treasured resource and the future of the country so they need financial and moral support,” she said. Munirah Muhammad, a primary school director, stressed the importance of setting up special centers for the care of gifted children. She said there was a need to invest in gifted and creative brains for the betterment of society. “The Ministry of Education established the Mawhiba (Giftedness) Program but the main shortcoming of this program is the education staff. Some male and female teachers are concerned about outstanding students while neglecting others who might be gifted as well,” she said. Umm Faisal, a housewife, narrated her sister's experience with her talented son who, at a young age, was able to hack into computer networks. “My sister and her husband were unaware of their son's talents. He had a talent for hacking computer networks. Everyone used to think his success was a coincidence but then he started hacking his family's e-mails and everyone realized he had a talent,” she said. Despite being impressed by his hacking abilities, Umm Faisal said she would scold the boy for hacking other people's e-mails. When she told her sister, the boy was punished but he continued his activities regardless. “One summer, he tampered with the flight scheduling system at a European airport. He and his family were waiting for their flight that was delayed for five hours. His mother informed me that there was a state of confusion at the airport and she asked her son to fix the problem and he did,” she added.
