Parental Pressure Stunts A Child's Development Of their Talents and Gifts

Katie was completely unique as a child with amazing concentration. While four year old little boys were struggling to print or draw, my second youngest daughter would cover sheets of paper with tiny intricate drawings at 18 months old. Once she drew at least fifty  tiny "eyes"  while she stood on a chairand leaned over that paper, in deep concentration, for half an hour.

After we bought her a chalkboard  for the Christmas before she turned two, she was so out of touch with anything but her drawing that she kept drawing her little designs off the chalkboard in a line on the wall and kept going around the corner. We laughed so hard at that example of her quiet passion.

When Katie was a newborn, her hair was thick, black and stood straight up on end and her eyes were huge and very dark brown; they were almost comical  looking the way they popped out in a constant look of surprise. Those eyes seemed to study everyone and everything. Her hair became brown with gorgeous blond highlights that looked like she had streaked her hair but she still has those big, brown eyes that study everything.

How did this toddler fall asleep?
Why by cutting tiny triangles out of magazines until she passed out, child proof plastic scissors still in her hand. I'd gently remove the scissors and cover her with a baby quilt. Once a week I'd sweep up a whole overflowing dustpan of tiny triangles! When I wanted Katie to help, she'd be so absorbed in a craft or art work that she would not even hear me. She really, really marched to her own tune.

Our daughter, Katie became the philosopher/ artist that she is today partly because I didn't have time to try to "normalise" her or the money to put her in a constant cycle of sports or other after school activities. Katie, like ALL children need time, down time even boring times to discover who they really are, what they are good at and what they like to do.