Parenting a gifted child is akin to sailing uncharted waters without navigational aids. Raising a profoundly gifted child can require a profoundly unique manner of parenting and education, sometimes tacking into the wind in order to map a course for balanced development.
Gifted is the new and thoughtful drama directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer), which depicts the struggles of raising a child prodigy amidst differing parenting philosophies. The story line follows a series of affective moments, lending Gifted a compassionate look at the life of an exceptional child.
Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is doing his best to raise his niece, Mary (McKenna Grace), a young mathematical genius, in what he believes is a normal life on Florida’s west coast. Frank’s imposing mother, Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan), believes Mary’s specific needs are not being met and wants to take custody away from Frank.
The prominent Gifted cast also includes Octavia Spencer as Roberta, Frank’s landlord and neighbor, and Jenny Slate as Mary’s teacher, Bonnie. Through notable acting and a sensitive script, Gifted manages to accurately portray both the price of being a child prodigy and the conflicts arising from helping Mary reach her goals.
Children with unusually advanced intellectual development are uniquely vulnerable. While they are complex, creative and intelligent, they may struggle with extra-sensitivity, boredom, and less developed social skills. As Mary finds kids her own age boring and her Uncle Frank tries to help her fit in and not stand out, Mary turns to Roberta for friendship. At one point, Mary projects her own feelings onto her one-eyed cat, Fred, by stating, “Fred’s really smart but no one understands him…” McKenna Grace expertly captures the spunk of a precocious child while portraying Mary’s frustrations and struggles with realistic and believable skill.
Approximately 2% of the population are gifted. “A child prodigy is someone who at an early age masters one or more skills at an adult level.” (Feldman, David H: “Child Prodigies: A Distinctive Form of Giftedness”) As the movie accurately depicts, children with highly uneven development may find true peers vary depending on the activity. A child with extraordinary intelligence, but average social skills, might have one set of peers for discussing math and another set of peers in Scouts.
With four caring adults and their individual expectations for Mary, the movie concerns the importance of finding balance—balancing an extraordinary gift with a “normal” life. This feel-good movie will please viewers with its resolution and poignant message—there is a synergy that comes from working together to provide security and balance for the child with rare and special talents.
Rated PG-13, “Gifted” became available for streaming and on DVD, July, 2017.
Think you may be raising a budding Einstein? If your child is younger than eight, it may be too early to tell whether they are bright or gifted. With time, identifying the gifted child is important as they need challenges beyond the regular classroom. Because they are overall more intense, active and creative, they can sometimes be seen as trouble-makers or problem students. Failure to adjust to the usual classroom protocols and their peers may lead the gifted child to maladjustment and a dislike of school.
As Leta Hollingworth, a 20th century psychologist stated, “It is difficult to have the intelligence of an adult and the emotions of a child in a childish body.” Disparity between a child’s intelligence and their social and physical skills can lead to unrealistic expectations for performance. When adults expect a child’s social maturity to match their high level of intelligence, they may mistakenly label a gifted child as a behavior problem when the child is only displaying age- appropriate reactions.
Doing well in school and achieving success later in life is not automatic for the gifted and depends to a greater extent on environmental support. And as Gifted, the movie, so correctly depicts, it is important for family and educators to work together to provide the optimum environment for the child’s growth and happiness.
Photos by Wilson Webb. © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved.
