Early Childhood Giftedness & Aggressive Behavior

Young children who are gifted often display aggressive behaviors.

Children who are gifted have a high IQ and are very intelligent. However, being academically intelligent does not always translate to having advanced social skills. Gifted children often exhibit negative behaviors, including aggression, for a variety of reasons. Often, determining the root of the behavior problem is the key to solving it.

Boredom

Gifted children learn faster and complete assignments in less time than their peers. The Maclean County Unit 5 Gifted Program's website explains that, as a result, they spend a lot of time being bored in class. They may display aggressive behavior because they are frustrated by this boredom or they want to entertain themselves.

Defensiveness

Sometimes gifted children stand out in a crowd. They feel different than other children and may become the brunt of other children's teasing as a result. According to the National Council for Gifted Children, gifted children sometimes turn to aggression in order to defend themselves from other children.

Perfectionism

Some gifted children are perfectionists; others just like things to be correct and orderly all the time. The National Council on Gifted Children reports that when someone else makes a mistake, "[gifted children] may not be very good at discussing it reasonably and may get angry or anxious about it, particularly if they are perfectionists."

Misunderstandings

Gifted children do not always pick up on social cues. In a game with other children, they may take the play-fighting of the other kids to an aggressive level because they do not understand that they have crossed a line socially. The National Council on Gifted Children adds that, "sometimes gifted children fit in by becoming the class clown or they defend themselves by becoming aggressive or rude to other children."

Frustration Buildup

By the end of the day, a gifted child may have silently endured a variety of frustrations due to all the thoughts warring in her mind, her classmates' inability to learn things quickly, or even the mistakes her teacher has made. After dealing with frustration all day she may become aggressive.

Intervention

Gifted children often need an adult to explain proper behaviors and social rules to them. With intervention, they can learn to process their thoughts, words and emotions more appropriately instead of turning to aggression.

References

• Maclean County Unit 5: Differentiated Educational Activities Program
• National Association for Gifted Children: Schools