January Newsletter... along with a Favor
It's been a tough January. But amidst an avalanche of news, I have found a few gems related to parenting, happiness, and supporting students.
Greetings, weary January survivors!
This January’s Gifted Challenges and A Psychologist’s Perspective Newsletter is not intended as a post-mortem on the recent highly stressful world events. Even though it’s hard to ignore their impact.
Families are struggling to navigate political divisiveness among loved ones, to calm their children’s fears, and perhaps, endure worries about family members who might be deported. The wildfires in California wrought devastation accompanied by renewed climate change worries. Much that seemed routine in government is now uncertain.
That being said, I will not belabor the point here, given the readily available articles already laser focused on current events (although I might wade into those waters at a later point). Instead, I am sharing some engaging and enlightening articles I have stumbled upon this month related to wellness and education.
But first, if you are the parent of a gifted child, I have a favor to ask of you.
A Request for Parents of Gifted Children, ages 6-18.
If you are the parent/guardian of a gifted or twice-exceptional child, I am asking for your participation and roughly 10 minutes of your time to complete an online research survey. This pertains to the parent’s experience while raising a gifted child. I have conducted workshops and written extensively about the parenting experience, including hundreds of blog posts, articles, several book chapters, and my book, The Gifted Parenting Journey. These were based on research findings, my experience as a clinical psychologist, and sometimes, personal anecdotes. But there is a need for additional research about the parenting experience.
I have partnered with Dr. Kali Fedor, Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education and Exceptionality at Commonwealth University of PA, to revise and extend a parenting survey I circulated several years ago. (If you previously completed that survey, I am immensely grateful… but ask that you do not complete this survey again to avoid duplication.)
Here is a link to the survey:
(A more detailed description of this IRB-approved study can be found here.)
A few of my recent articles:
Don’t Transition Unconsciously into the New Year. Three simple questions to enhance self-awareness going forward.
When Failure Serves No Good Purpose. Failure is a drag, despite the hype about how great it is supposed to be for us. Here are some tips about how to revise and reframe failure experiences and then, move on.
Buyer Beware: How to Navigate the Maze of Gifted and Twice-Exceptional Resources. How to tell when a resource will be helpful… and when it might be a scam.
An Emotional Toolkit for the U.S. Inauguration. The inauguration is behind us. Or is it? How to cope with feelings about the next administration, regardless of your political views.
Dylan, Youth, and Reimagining a Younger Self. Music serves as a connection to our younger, more idealistic, passionate selves, and can inspire us going forward.
And a podcast…
I had the pleasure of joining Julie Withrow on her Exceptional Girls podcast to talk about eating disorders in relation to neurocognitive differences, including giftedness. You can listen to Understanding Eating Disorders with Dr. Gail Post here.
The following are some great articles I have stumbled across this month:
When parents show empathy toward their children, the benefits persist for years. A 25-Year Study Reveals How Empathy is Passed from Parents to Teens to their Future Children.
A review of 100 studies found that by age 6, children view boys as better in STEM fields. What can be done about this? Girls Face Stereotypes about STEM Abilities as Early as 6, Study Finds.
Where are teens spending their time on social media? New Report Provides Insight into Teen Social Media Use.
What makes people happy? Let Happiness Find You.
Would changing the name from a “gifted program” to an “asynchronous development program” propel schools to provide much needed services for these students? Meet California’s Most Neglected Group of Students with Special Needs: The Gifted Ones.
Why are we seeing such a high number of young adults who are estranged from their families? A Shift in American Values is Fueling Estrangement.
Teaching students reflective practices pays off. Fostering Positive Mindsets Through Reflection.
Teens who are involved in music-related activities are more likely to have higher exam scores. Music Participation is Linked to Teens’ Academic Achievement.
Wishing you safe travels through these difficult times!
Please share with others, hit the “like” button, and let me know your thoughts, opinions, or ideas in the comments section below!
Dear Gail, thank you for sharing your articles and research insights.
I found the KLIFF/VIDA study truly fascinating. What an intriguing discovery that kindness and empathy can be nurtured across generations, continuing to bring positive effects to many more people. That's wonderful!
Good luck with the survey!
I find that many, including and especially gifted folks, tend to catastrophize or feel immense guilt over world events. We often assume the worst outcome and waste hours worrying about it, even when we can’t control it, and feel like if we look away, and focus on our ordinary lives, we are doing society a disservice.
Circles I’m in now seem to feel like the world is ending. This quickly becomes peer pressuring. When I was a student, surrounded by other terrified students, I felt that if I’m happy, and NOT anxious, and NOT devoting all of my time and money to protests and charity donations, then surely, I must be a bad person… Turns it the world didn’t end.
News events aren’t always as bad as they seem, we still have a lot to be grateful for in the world, and we don’t have to be Atlas - it’s ok to go on living your life as normal.
If you have articles covering this, I think that’s especially important to share now. Luckily I’ve learned the above but I hate to see the world around me spiraling. There are legitimate concerns to be raised, but a lot of it is being propelled by excess fear.