The One Thing You Need to Confidently Parent Gifted Kids
“Like so many, as he entered school it went horribly wrong, and I’ll never forget how incredibly distressing that was. And yet we were so freaking lucky to find a school that would work for him and within that school a community. From that journey, I learnt that the one thing you need to confidently parent your gifted kid is that community- is that place where you can feel like you’re not alone and it will start to give you confidence and peace of mind.” – Sophia Elliott So, I created the Our Gifted Kids Podcast and now, the Our Gifted Kids Hub, and you’re invited to join our community as we start a new journey together… 7 reasons you should join the Our Gifted Kids Hub:- Confidence in understanding what gifted is all about
- Support in parenting your gifted kid
- Peace of mind that you’ll get through this
- Connection with other parents of gifted kids
- Relief from having a direction and knowing your journey
- Safe places to share and talk about your journey
- Belong and be seen in a great community
- Everything you need to know about gifted in the ‘Understanding Gifted Course’
- A pathway through parenting gifted kids with ‘Journey to a New Normal – 5 Steps that take you from Survive to Thrive!’
- Monthly live online information sessions
- Monthly live online gatherings to meet other parents of gifted kids
- Access to Our Gifted Kids Hub private Facebook Group
- Exclusive member-only Podcast video and interviews
- OGK Hub portal to more information and resources
Transcript
[00:00:00] Sophia Elliott: So, what is the one thing you need to confidently parent you’ll give to kids. Well, in my experience, that’s all about community. It’s finding that place where you can talk about your kids with other parents who are going through the same journey. You can compare notes, you can commiserate with each other.
[00:00:20] You can celebrate with each other. And that’s what I wanted when I first started this journey. When I first discovered that my eldest was gifted. And what that was all about. What I was yearning for was just somewhere I could go that had all the information I needed that answered those questions that I didn’t even know how to ask or that I wanted answered that would just connect to me because I felt so incredibly isolated. I had no idea what was going on. I’d never heard of gifted before. And I just wanted some peace of mind that this very heavy burden that I felt on my shoulders.
[00:01:08] This sense of. Twilight zone the complete overwhelm and sudden responsibility of having this incredibly intelligent child that was just starting to drown me. I just needed a way out of that. And as I learned over the years, The way out of that is to find other people who get it to other people who, when you share the quirky things, your kids do, they go, oh yeah, I get that.
[00:01:46] And here’s my, you know, here’s what happened to me and they share their stories and you get to laugh and you get to cry and you get to feel like this isn’t all in your head that this is real because. There, you know, there is an element of gaslighting. There’s an element of, oh, you think you’ve got a gifted kids?
[00:02:12] You know, there’s so much of myths and myths, misunderstanding out there about what giftedness is. And when you start to talk to other people, when you start to talk to teachers, health professionals, even like psychologists, all sorts of people that you imagine shouldn’t know this more than you should know it.
[00:02:32] And they kind of give it, sending you this message that you’re making it all up and you’re sitting there thinking, what do I know they’re supposed to be the ones who know what a typical or atypical child looks like. And then you, you felt, you feel like you’re, you’re in this Twilight zone. Like you’re, you’re making it all out.
[00:02:54] And there’s all that self doubt, which contradicts the gut feeling that you’ve. As a parent, that gut feeling that there is something seriously, not right going on something seriously, not typical going on. And as much as you don’t know what the hell gifted is all about, it resonates. There’s something in that that just addresses that gut feeling more so than.
[00:03:28] You know, the, the pro the professional or the teacher, or the other parent who was just blowing you off. And so we need that community and we need to know that that we’re not alone. We’re not imagining all this, that this is. And not only is it real, it’s really freaking important. It’s really freaking important that we get this right for our kids, because there are repercussions, you know, it can start to impact their self-concept their idea of who they think their are from this ridiculously early age.
[00:04:04] And who they are is amazing. You know, all kids are amazing. They all have these incredible strengths and incredible challenges and something wonderful to offer the world and our gifted kids do too. And they deserve that opportunity to express that in a safe place where they’re understood whether that be at their school.
[00:04:29] In the doctor’s office, when they’re seeing their therapist, we need to do better as adults to understand these kids. And we also need to do better understand ourselves because the chances are, if our kids are gifted neurodivergent as parents, we probably are too. So it’s a journey that we all go on together and it’s definitely a journey that I have going on.
[00:04:56] Oh my God. So I dunno, we started out five or so years ago on this journey and it was a rough, it was a really rough start. We were completely clueless. Our eldest is profoundly gifted. We had no idea, never heard of giftedness before. Like so many kids as he entered school, it went horribly wrong and I’ll never forget how incredibly distressing that was.
[00:05:27] It was awful. And yet we were so freaking lucky to find on our doorstep, a school that would work for him and within that school a community. And. From that experience and that journey, I learnt that the one thing you need to confidently parent, your gifted kid is that community is that place where you can feel like you’re not alone and it will start to give you some confidence and peace of mind.
[00:06:01] So somewhere along this journey, a couple of years ago, I was like, right. What we really need is what I wanted was a place I could go to with this community, with this information. And I couldn’t find it out there. And so I was like, well, someone’s going to do it. And, and I just, I couldn’t let it go. So I created our gifted kids podcast to start talking about.
[00:06:31] Giftedness because it’s such a taboo thing and it was not easy at first. I’ll never forget. The first time I went live on Facebook. I’ll never forget publishing the first podcast because I was packing it. I was like, oh, it was very scary. I, you know, even though I had my community around me, On the ground.
[00:06:55] And I knew that we, we needed these conversations. It was, it was a big, scary step. Now I don’t care. I give a toss. What anyone else out there thinks I’m absolutely convinced of this conversation even more, every day that I get these comments from parents. Saying, I’ve just binged listened to the podcast.
[00:07:19] Thank you. And when are you doing more? I listened to everyone. There is no, every time I even like met someone they’re like. You’re the person with the podcast. I was so embarrassed. I, um, yeah, I was just kinda like, oh yeah, that’s me. So it’s so much easier to do it online. Well, let me tell you, um, but I’m really proud of this work and I mean, so incredibly humbled every time by the guests that we have on the podcast, they’re just amazing and so generous with their knowledge and their time.
[00:07:56] And. I just feel incredibly grateful for myself and all of you on this journey that every time, you know, I’ve contacted someone. Like nine, literally like more than nine times out of 10, it’s like, yeah, we’d love to, sometimes it’s hard to find a date, but people want to talk about this, those people within the community.
[00:08:20] And so the podcast was all about bringing together parents, educators, academics, you know, professionals together to have a conversation because there’s some great research out there. But as a parent, Like I’m busy. I didn’t have time to research and find all of that. I want to find that for you. And so I’ll give to kids as always about saving parents time and energy and just laying it all out there.
[00:08:50] It’s what I wanted when I first started on this. And it’s been developing. So we’ve been doing the podcast for a little bit over a year or over 26,000 downloads. At least last time I checked. Bogle’s my Brian because, uh, I wasn’t as consistent last year as I would have liked, you know, there was a small issue of burning out and realizing I was gifted in autistic that a little old thing, which knocked me for a six for a bit there.
[00:09:20] Uh, so I’m really excited about this year ahead. My youngest is at school. Now, which is amazing if you’ve ever been in that position as a parent, it’s, uh, I’m really excited for him. And I’m really excited for me because it’s a game changer and I’ve got great plans for this year and for this community.
[00:09:42] And, and just so we continue to celebrate gifted. So, where are we going? Well, we’ve been doing it our nine days arrest because I realized I was not alone in burning out. And I realized how common that is for parents of gifted kids, because. You know, with servicing these, these kids with such high needs that, and for longer, for like years longer than what a typical child would need that support.
[00:10:14] And co-regulation so were burning out as well as parents. And, um, I definitely burnt out last year. So in my journey to figure out what rejuvenated me, I I’m taking everyone along with me. And, it’s like, I feel great. So that’s super exciting and I’m really excited to, to share those discoveries with everyone else as well.
[00:10:40] In our gifted kids this year, we are starting a new journey and that is where the, our gifted kids have. And this is what I’m calling an early bird launch. So I’m opening the doors, I’m inviting people in and I actually quite proud of what we’ve created. I’m really excited with.
[00:11:05] All of the plans I’ve got for it over the year. Um, but what it is is a resource for parents. So seven reasons you might like to join the gifted kids, hub one confidence in understanding what gifted is all about, support in parenting, your gifted kid. Peace of mind that you’ll get through this. Connection with other parents of gifted kids relief from having a direction and knowing what your journey is safe places to share and talk about your journey and a place to belong and be seen in a great community.
[00:11:48] So our gifted kids has always been about bringing people together, saving time and energy for parents by laying it all out there. That’s why we bring in the, the academics and the experts on the podcast, because we want to hear what their experience is or their knowledge is all about. So that can help us parent.
[00:12:06] So right now the door is open for this early bird launch, the gifted kids help. It’s going to close midnight Monday, the 24th of June. And let me share a little bit about what is inside the hub. First of all, is everything you need to know about gifted. I’ve done an online course and that’s a part of the package and it goes through like everything I could think of a part, one is actually free and on the website and you can check that out.
[00:12:38] It’s, you know, how the gifted brain work and then in part two, and in the rest of the resources information, it goes through. Like all those terms that you come across, uh, asynchronous, the different levels, uh, the bell curve, the history of the IQ test. Um, what else is in there? Uh, what is a percentile?
[00:13:00] What’s the difference between gifted highly gifted and profoundly gifted? Everything. Uh, there is also a pathway through parenting gifted kids, which I call the journey to a new normal five steps that take you from survive to thrive. First of all, we have got understanding. We need to know, uh, dealing with, right? Secondly is education is power. So it’s what do we need to know to get that education on fit? Right? Third one is finding their happy place. So it’s all about how do we support our child’s emotional? Well-being the fourth one is actually about a new blue print for the family.
[00:13:43] So. Often on this journey. We, we started this journey because our child is in crisis or struggling. And because that’s immediate, we need to deal with that. We need to understand what gifted is all about. We need to understand what educational fit they need, and we need to understand more about the health and wellbeing.
[00:14:05] But after that, we need to make sure the rest of the family is okay as well. What is going on in the rest of the family? And that includes other kids. And the grownups. So parents, we need to look after ourselves . And in some ways we need to look after ourselves. Like first, that should almost be the first step, because if we can’t be there for them, if we burn out, like I did last year, then we’re no good to anyone.
[00:14:33] But the reality is when your kid is in crisis, you kind of got to deal with that first because. Oh, you know, because, because they need you, uh, so the fourth step is all about everyone else’s wellbeing. And the fifth step is about actually looking forward into the future.
[00:14:51] So every month we have a live online information sessions and alive, online gatherings and opportunity to meet other parents of gifted kids. There’s access to a private Facebook group and there is. Like member only podcast, video and interview content as well as the actual hub portal itself. So the hub portal is an online resource with all of this information in it.
[00:15:19] And there’s an absolute ton in there already, but I have plans for more. Um, so it’s at your fingertips. You can search for a topic if there’s something in particular that you’re looking for or. You know, you can just have a look at the content library and check that out. So as our first official early bird launch, it’s only 24 99 a month.
[00:15:45] And as long as you remain a financial member, it stays at 24 99 per month. Future launches, there may be an increase in price, but you will always be at that price or you can pay. $249 90 for an annual subscription and get two months free. So if you’re ready to have peace of mind and confidence, well, consciously parenting, you’ll give to kids to take on life without feeling isolated and unsure. Then you already for the gifted kids. So it’s peace of mind and support for the equivalent of a coffee per week. You can cancel at any time. So have you got to lose do it now?
[00:16:24] So you don’t forget, you can go to hub dot our gifted kids.com backslash signup, and I’ll put a link in the notes.
[00:16:32] The doors will close on midnight, Monday the 24th of January, because then we get on about doing the work and engaging and using all that information. And I will open them again later on in the year, but, um, they won’t be permanently. Because I want to focus on the members and what’s going on in the hub, in those meantimes.
[00:16:56] So I’m actually super excited about this. I had a number of founding members come on board late last year. And so we’ve been in there. We’ve been kind of feeling our way through it and seeing what parents were looking for. And so what we have in this kind of hub 2.0 is the result of that work. I’m incredibly, incredibly grateful to those founding members for coming on that journey with me and having the faith in me to come on that journey when we were really just starting out.
[00:17:31] And there’s such an amazing group of parents. Uh, I love you all. Thank you so much for having that faith. In our gifted kids and helping me build something awesome. I absolutely love engaging with you guys and, and I’m really excited about. What we can create together for parents of gifted kids. You know, it doesn’t have to be so hard.
[00:17:59] We can do this, we can make something wonderful. That just makes it so much easier. And, and I think that we’ve really got that here. So thank you so much to those founding members for coming on that journey with me. Um, you’re always have a warm place in my heart and it’s hugely appreciated. So. If you’re ready for the gifted kids help the link is in the show notes.
[00:18:25] And I really look forward to seeing you there. Talk to you soon. Bye.