The curse of being a “gifted child”

If you, as a kindergartener, thought classes were boring and lengthy, found yourself finishing sums way before the rest of your classmates, and passed tests with flying colours with minimum effort put into studying the night before, you tick all the boxes for being what the internet calls a "gifted child".

While being a gifted child may seem enviable, the world often seems to overlook the difficulties this specific group of children face as they grow older and advance in their academic stages. These children usually have the innate ability to comprehend lessons and apply themselves in studies, along with being able to get to get away with spending a minimum amount of their time studying. That is where the biggest curse of being gifted comes in – the inability to develop proper study habits.

Often, these children realise that they do not need to study as much as their peers do in order to achieve the same grade, especially during the initial years of schooling. Though it seems like an advantage early on, it is only when they start settling into more advanced classes that they realise they have actually begun to fall behind.

The student in question will continue to use their intuition to pass tests with minimal effort until the time comes when their intellect is no longer sufficient to handle the schoolwork and tests. And this usually happens when 8th grade rolls in, where the coursework becomes tougher, where regular, persistent studying is required in order to understand the lessons and do well in the tests.

And so this perceived gifted child now suffers from burnout and stress, as they struggle to understand why they are having a hard time coping with studies, and maintaining their usual grade levels.

Moreover, the superficial praises and glorification of this group of children actually tend to do more harm than good in the long run. The words "You have a lot of potential," are ones that are almost universal for every child perceived to be "gifted". They are never taught how to truly unlock that "potential". Parents and teachers inundate these individuals with compliments and place the burdens of expectations on them, but they never receive the proper professional assistance required to truly perform well.

You as a six-year-old are not mature enough to realise that you need to develop a proper work ethic in order to keep up with the rising difficulty of school all the way to college. The ultimate solution to this problem is the simple acceptance of the fact that only hard work can beget success. A head start will only get us that far if we do not continue to finish the rest of the road.

Koushin is your average leftist e-girl with crippling imposter syndrome. Send her video essays on indie films at: fb.com/omgitsunber