Super Sunday Series - Friendship and Gifted Children - Week 1

It's Super Sunday Series Day!  Did you notice the handy little link at the top?  Say it with me - LOVE IT!  Now you can catch up with all the episodes you miss in one easy, quick click. 

Today starts the first week in a series of 3 about Friendship.  Today I'm giving you links to internet information and books I've read and found useful.  Next week - tips for helping your gifted child find, and keep, friends.  Week 3 will be an analysis of some common friendship struggles for gifted kids. 

So away we go!  You know I love resources - sending you places to get the real deal.  Not just rely this mom's biased version.  And truthfully, I fall way short with helping my kids make, nurture and keep friends.  I am an introvert.  I like being alone.  I like a quiet house.  I have a small number of friends.  I find it much easier and (usually) more fun to spend time with my girls than try to entertain Youngest while she's begging to join Oldest when she has someone over.  I get hot flashes during playdates, wondering if it's going to end happily or in tears.  I shy away from something Oldest desperately needs help with, sadly.

But I do read a lot of books on it!  That's how I know that what I'm doing is a little . . . lacking. 

Here are some resources for you to consider in the friendship quest.  The following books aren't gifted-specific, but I've certainly found them indispensible in my understanding of friendships and their importance. 

Good Friends are Hard to Find.

By far the best book on helping your child make friends.  It even includes action plans for it.  Well worth the buy - mine is all marked up with my notes!

From Bullies to Buddies

Queen Bees and Wannabes

I believe that every mother of girls MUST read this book before their daughter gets totally immersed in the pre-teen and teen customs Rosalind describes. 

The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander

Here are some sites of interest:

Supporting the Emotional Needs of Gifted Children

Author Carol Fertig recently wrote a post at Prufrock Press with loads of online resources for gifted children and friendship.  I highly recommend clicking through some of them.

Next week, I'll draw on many of these books for Week 2 - helping your gifted child make friends.  Until then, check these out!  Hopefully you will learn something new. 

OR better yet, if you have other friendship books you know of, send me a comment about it and why you love it.

I'll leave you with a question - does your gifted child have an easy time or hard time with friend making?  What have you done to help him/her? 

Tomorrow - Happiness Monday!