Keeping Your Kids Out Front Without Kicking Them from Behind

Do you believe your child is gifted— certainly more talented than the kid next door? Are you proactively positioning your young child for college honors, a professional career, and well-deserved fame? If so, beware! You could be unwittingly pushing your kid to fulfill your own dreams of grandeur and success. Because a typical day may be crammed with advanced academic assignments, after-school piano lessons, art classes, and soccer tournaments, many of these talented children are careening off the fast track to success. Under so much pressure and stress, they are crashing and burning before they reach adolescence. How can you, as a parent of a truly gifted child, walk the fine line between supporting your talented kid and projecting your own needs and desires? Written with wisdom and a healthy dose of wit, this practical guide shows how to avoid the negative effects of Achievement by Proxy Distortion (ABPD) and protect kids from being overscheduled, overworked and overpressured. Filled with a wealth of interviews and insight from noted experts in the field of child development, this enlightening book includes directions for evaluating a child's abilities, suggestions for monitoring a child's mental and physical health, and information for understanding the financial and emotional commitment needed to support the development of a child's talent. Most important, the authors present guidelines that will help parents separate their own needs, ambitions, and dreams from those of their children. Using the author's Seven-Step Program for Encouraging and Protecting High-Achieving Children, parents can Establish if a child is truly exceptional Select classes, schools, and camps that nurture high-achievers Learn to deal with over-the-edge instructors Weigh the cost of sacrifices made in the pursuit of excellence Watch for red flags of ABPD behavior Exceptional children need exceptionally balanced guidance. The suggestion