Part 1 of the Davidson Institute series, “How do We Find Good Information?”
- Part 1: Why Finding Good Information Feels So Hard
- Part 2: Where are you already getting information and what’s your goal?
- Part 3: Making Sense of Conflicting Information and Trusting Your Role as a Parent
- Part 4: Accepting Uncertainty and Learning How to Evaluate Information
- Part 5: Finding Support, Setting Boundaries, and Moving Forward
Why Finding Good Information Feels So Hard
As you know, your child didn’t come with a customized handbook when they were born; that would have been wonderful if the stork had done that! Since the bird didn’t, you’ve probably spent a good deal of time trying to find it. You’ve likely browsed the parenting books at your local bookstore and found a ton of books not written about your child. If you’ve spent time doomscrolling through parenting social media or gotten lost in the jungle of parenting blogs and left feeling defeated, overwhelmed, and pitted against your child, you’re not alone. Much of the information out there isn’t fully vetted, backed by research, or evidence-based. There’s, unfortunately, quite a bit of fearmongering and noise out there. At the same time, it is wonderful that more people than ever are sharing their expertise and experience in the fields of parenting, gifted education, and child development. But how do you find the relevant, applicable information and cut through the noise?
To be clear: There is not one book/blog/podcast out there that has your child’s individual handbook hidden amongst its covers. You’re not overlooking or missing something. Parenting profoundly gifted (PG) and twice-exceptional (2e) children is not for the faint of heart! We’re here to help you navigate through this information firehose. What we do here is piece together information from many sources, and we use our experience working with Young Scholar families for more than 25 years as a lens for informing how we select sources, how we interpret the information we pull from it, and how we apply it to our specific community. This is what you do as a parent as well: You piece together information from many sources, and your experience with your specific child is the lens you use to filter through that.
At this point, you may be thinking: Wait! I don’t know what I’m doing. I need a professional to help me sort this all out.
We hear you. It can feel like you don’t know a lot or like the experts know something you don’t. Let’s talk about what being a professional or expert really means. In this context, we see professional as a word with two different (but intertwining) meanings. On the one hand, we have trained professionals. That’s doctors, therapists, and others who have studied in a field to acquire their knowledge. Expert knowledge can look monolithic: Authoritative, enduring, singular, objective. But it’s important to remember that it’s not. That’s not to say that it’s useless. They are bringing research, evidence-based perspectives to the table. But expert knowledge is ever-evolving, informed by their own lenses, and varied.
On the other hand, we have experiential professionals. That’s you! Parents of PG/2e children, or other unique children, have firsthand experience that informs how they walk down their unique path. We often say that parents are our best and biggest resource here at Davidson, and it’s true! You are the ones who live in the house with gifted children every single day and know them on an individual level. That is a role that no one else can fill–which is to say that your knowledge and place as their parent is vital and valuable. You are the expert on your child! Listen to your parent gut.
Okay, you might be thinking: That’s all well and good, but I still want to learn more.
Excellent! Curiosity is one of the strengths of our community; really digging in and learning more about your child’s profile will help you feel steadier on the road ahead.
Most of our discussion here will focus on how to get the most out of the information that is already available to you (like at the bookstore) as well as how to find new information. As we dig into some of these specific questions and reflections, it might begin to help you see a clearer path forward for identifying information that is useful to you, your family, and your child. Here are the topics we’re going to explore:
- Where are you already getting your information?
- When you seek out information or support, what’s your goal?
- How do I make sense of conflicting information that’s out there?
- Will there be an answer for everything?
- Okay, but where do I look for information, and how do I know what holds weight?
- Where can I find good information in real life?
- How do I tap out conversations that aren’t aligning with me anymore?
- How do I tap into the conversations I want to have?
First, let’s examine where you are already sourcing your information in part 2.
Permission Statement
This article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted young people 18 and under. To learn more about the Davidson Institute’s programs, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.
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