Parenting and Teaching the Gifted Book Review

I was in the library looking for some other books and I found Parenting and Teaching the Gifted

Rosemary Callard-Szulgit which I decided I should read.  My son has been in preschool for three years and is entering kindergarten next year.  There seem to be so many people on either side of the issue of what you should do with your children whether it is supportive or pushing them to learn more.  

This is the picture of the cover that Amazon shows but the copy that I got from the library was the second cover which is a lot less professional looking.  Before I even get to the review, I am going to tell you that this book is never going to be worth the $26 that Amazon is charging because it was a short book that doesn't provide enough information to justify the cost and space on your bookshelf.  If you are interested in checking it out, look to your library or other book sources.  I don't know if any additional information or updates have been provided to the other version but it doesn't look like it.

The book started with a table of contents including the following:

1. Who Are the Gifted and Talented

2. Programming and Curriculum Development in Gifted Education

3. Perfectionism and Social Emotional Development

4. Time Management, Homework Issues, and School Related Studies (S-R-S)

5. Advocacy

6. Gifted Children Speak to Us

The book is written in all questions and answer format which makes it quick and easy to read but doesn't provide the in depth answers that I expected.  There were a few charts and ideas that the author had about how much homework a child should have based on their age and how they should manage time so that they don't get overwhelmed.  There were also some very poorly illustrated cartoons and there were some that were so small that you couldn't even read them.

I do understand that this issues might be a problem for older children but I am hoping that they aren't an issue for my kindergartener.  There was only one part that addressed homeschooling although I think that many parents decide to go with homeschooling as a better option for their kids to learn more without covering the information that they already know.  I found the book to be lacking in real information and didn't answer any of the questions that I was thinking like if I leave my kid in the mainstream class, what can I do to keep his love of learning?  What if there is too much work in the gifted program and not just alternate learning?  There are lots of questions that I will have in the upcoming years when I am choosing what to do with my son but this book was not the answer to my questions.  Maybe your questions will be in there but make sure you check it out of the library because it is not worth the cost on Amazon!