Peacefully Parenting Gifted Children

Winter 2023

Parenting a gifted child can feel lonely at times. Even more so if you practice a non-mainstream style of parenting such as peaceful parenting.

Yet peaceful parenting is perhaps more “necessary” for many gifted kids (many of whom are also highly sensitive and/or have other forms of neurodivergence) than it is for other children.

In this course we will dive deep into how to apply peaceful parenting to gifted children, including the special challenges that gifted children and their caregivers face, ways we might need to “tweak” peaceful parenting in order to be truly responsive to our unique children, and how we can create an environment in which these children truly thrive.

Informed by the work of Drs. Laura Markham, Mona Delahooke, and Gordon Neufeld, this course will explore polyvagal theory; overexcitabilities and other, often overlooked aspects of giftedness; attachment and right relationship; emotions, feelings, and play; and how parents can support their kids through “just right challenges.”

Course consists of 9 one-hour sessions (1 per week), including 6 “lectures” and 3 integration and coaching sessions where you can get your questions answered and support in implementing these ideas with your unique family. Participation is limited to 6 families so that we have time to address all families’ challenges.

Here’s a closer look at the curriculum:

Week 1: Introduction to Mind-Body Communication and Mindfulness

Week 2: A Crash Course In Giftedness

Week 3: Integration and Coaching

Week 4: Attachment and Right Relationship

Week 5: Working with Feelings and Emotions

Week 6: Integration and Coaching

Week 7: Play, Responsiveness, and the Emergent Process

Week 8: Thriving and “Just Right” Challenges

Week 9: Integration and Coaching

Is this what your family needs?

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Absolutely. I firmly believe that parents know their children best and as such are the best positioned to know if their child is gifted. (And the evidence agrees!) Additionally, I recognize that tests can be expensive and difficult to obtain. Plus, signs of giftedness can present when a child is too young for reliable testing.

    So while it may be the case that the children of other families in the course will have taken an IQ test, that is by no means a requirement for participation.

  • Yes! In fact, in some ways you are exactly the family that this course is made for. In the second week, we will be looking at the meaning of gifted beyond intelligence, and much of our focus in subsequent weeks will be on understanding and creating the conditions that gifted children need to thrive—not just academically, but in all of life.

  • First of all, you’re absolutely right that all kids need the same basic things. But gifted people often benefit even more from those things and/or it is harder for parents to meet those needs because of specific attributes that are common among gifted children. Finally, what constitutes responsiveness (a key tenant of peaceful parenting) can look different with gifted children than it does with others.

  • Because we are all (ideally) part of caregiving villages, the cost of enrollment is “per family” with “family” flexibly defined. Two caregivers from your “family” can attend each call, and it is okay if it is not the same people each time. (Although from a community-building perspective, I hope they will be.) Questions during Integration and Coaching weeks, however, will be limited to 1 per “family.”

  • Peaceful Parenting is an evidence- based approach to parenting that centers the caregiver-child relationship. It is different than other parenting approaches in that it shines a light on the child’s experience and recognizes that how the parent shows up is a pivotal part of how the child experiences the parent and the relationship.

    The main course assumes that participants have a basic understanding of Peaceful Parenting as taught by Dr. Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting. In order to ensure that all participants have this basic knowledge, enrollment includes access to my asynchronous video course, “The Heart of Peaceful Parenting.”

  • I’m here to help you make an informed decision about whether this course is right for you. If you have a question I’ve missed, please email me at heidi@heidigarciaparenting.com and either I’ll answer your question via email or we can jump on a phone call together.

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