Impressive - On-Air Consults I Parenting I Child Psychologist
Kimberley O’Brien, PhD Child Psychologist/Owner of Quirky Kid Clinics/Child Development Expert
20 episodes
7 months ago
Dr Kimberley O’Brien talks to five-year-old Katara and her mother Stephanie about what life is like when you’re labelled a gifted child. Stephanie says they started noticing their child was switched on when she was just a few months old.
When Katara lost interest in day care when she was three because the older children she had connected with started school, Stephanie brought her in to see Dr Kimberley. While she was hesitant to find out whether Katara was gifted because she thought it might have been her own parental bias, she decided to go ahead with an IQ test.
Dr Kimberley recalls that their main concern was whether Katara would be able to sit through the Stanford Binet (Early SB5) test at the age of three. But she did and the test revealed that Katara was, in fact, gifted.
Although “gifted” is the term commonly used in IQ tests, Dr Kimberley clarifies that it’s rarely used in a clinical context. She explains that she prefers “high achiever” and focuses on finding ways to stimulate these children and extend their learning in the classroom.
Stephanie says this capacity to meet Katara’s learning needs was a major motivator when they were deciding on a school for her. Several schools weren’t open to Katara starting early and others refused because they lived out of catchment, but Stephanie ended up finding a school that was very interested in Katara. They observed her at day care and put a lot of effort into ensuring they could meet her needs. Katara ended up going to that school and Stephanie couldn’t be happier.
When Dr Kimberley asks Stephanie about some of the challenges they’ve faced, Stephanie explains that Katara has had to work on her expectations of being excellent at everything and on her social and emotional resilience because she isn’t as emotionally mature as her peers.
Dr Kimberley ends by asking Stephanie how she thinks being younger than her peers will affect Katara when she graduates high school. Stephanie explains that they've been working with Katara on the notions of patience and perseverance - that good things take time. Both Stephanie and Dr Kimberley agree that starting school early was the best decision for Katara.
What you will learn in this episode:
• What being a gifted child or high achiever means
• Which cognitive assessments (or IQ tests) can be used in young children
• The benefits of finding out whether your child is gifted
• How we can stimulate high achievers and extend their learning
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Dr Kimberley O’Brien talks to five-year-old Katara and her mother Stephanie about what life is like when you’re labelled a gifted child. Stephanie says they started noticing their child was switched on when she was just a few months old.
When Katara lost interest in day care when she was three because the older children she had connected with started school, Stephanie brought her in to see Dr Kimberley. While she was hesitant to find out whether Katara was gifted because she thought it might have been her own parental bias, she decided to go ahead with an IQ test.
Dr Kimberley recalls that their main concern was whether Katara would be able to sit through the Stanford Binet (Early SB5) test at the age of three. But she did and the test revealed that Katara was, in fact, gifted.
Although “gifted” is the term commonly used in IQ tests, Dr Kimberley clarifies that it’s rarely used in a clinical context. She explains that she prefers “high achiever” and focuses on finding ways to stimulate these children and extend their learning in the classroom.
Stephanie says this capacity to meet Katara’s learning needs was a major motivator when they were deciding on a school for her. Several schools weren’t open to Katara starting early and others refused because they lived out of catchment, but Stephanie ended up finding a school that was very interested in Katara. They observed her at day care and put a lot of effort into ensuring they could meet her needs. Katara ended up going to that school and Stephanie couldn’t be happier.
When Dr Kimberley asks Stephanie about some of the challenges they’ve faced, Stephanie explains that Katara has had to work on her expectations of being excellent at everything and on her social and emotional resilience because she isn’t as emotionally mature as her peers.
Dr Kimberley ends by asking Stephanie how she thinks being younger than her peers will affect Katara when she graduates high school. Stephanie explains that they've been working with Katara on the notions of patience and perseverance - that good things take time. Both Stephanie and Dr Kimberley agree that starting school early was the best decision for Katara.
What you will learn in this episode:
• What being a gifted child or high achiever means
• Which cognitive assessments (or IQ tests) can be used in young children
• The benefits of finding out whether your child is gifted
• How we can stimulate high achievers and extend their learning
Impressive - On-Air Consults I Parenting I Child Psychologist
15 minutes 16 seconds
3 years ago
017 - The Benefits Of Risk Taking
In this episode of the Impressive podcast, Dr Kimberley discusses why parents should encourage their children to take risks with Daisy Turnbull, author of 50 Risks to Take With Your Kids and 50 Questions to Ask Your Teens.
Dr Kimberley has always been a proponent of increasing children’s independence by encouraging them to do age-appropriate activities such as ordering at a cafe or riding their bikes to the shops on their own. She asks Daisy to clarify exactly what she means by risks and how parents can ensure their children stay safe while taking them.
Daisy explains that parenting has become much more protective in the last few decades to the detriment of some children who have become overly cautious. In other cases, children take dangerous risks because they haven’t been given enough autonomy at home and they start to push back.
To achieve the right balance, Daisy and Dr Kimberley agree that parents should build up their children’s self-confidence and self-esteem by allowing them to take measured risks. Daisy says children need to develop their own “risk profiles” and they can’t do that if their parents are always stopping them from doing anything risky. They become “all confidence and zero competence”.
The two experts concur that the notion of “stranger danger” is outdated and parents should teach their children to trust their instincts about people. Dr Kimberley believes that, coupled with open communication and modelling risk-taking, this approach will turn children into confident and competent risk-takers.
What you will learn in this episode:
• Why protective parenting isn’t in our children’s best interests
• The benefits of risk-taking for children
• How parents can encourage their children to take risks in a safe manner
• How parents can be risk-taking role models to their children
Impressive - On-Air Consults I Parenting I Child Psychologist
Dr Kimberley O’Brien talks to five-year-old Katara and her mother Stephanie about what life is like when you’re labelled a gifted child. Stephanie says they started noticing their child was switched on when she was just a few months old.
When Katara lost interest in day care when she was three because the older children she had connected with started school, Stephanie brought her in to see Dr Kimberley. While she was hesitant to find out whether Katara was gifted because she thought it might have been her own parental bias, she decided to go ahead with an IQ test.
Dr Kimberley recalls that their main concern was whether Katara would be able to sit through the Stanford Binet (Early SB5) test at the age of three. But she did and the test revealed that Katara was, in fact, gifted.
Although “gifted” is the term commonly used in IQ tests, Dr Kimberley clarifies that it’s rarely used in a clinical context. She explains that she prefers “high achiever” and focuses on finding ways to stimulate these children and extend their learning in the classroom.
Stephanie says this capacity to meet Katara’s learning needs was a major motivator when they were deciding on a school for her. Several schools weren’t open to Katara starting early and others refused because they lived out of catchment, but Stephanie ended up finding a school that was very interested in Katara. They observed her at day care and put a lot of effort into ensuring they could meet her needs. Katara ended up going to that school and Stephanie couldn’t be happier.
When Dr Kimberley asks Stephanie about some of the challenges they’ve faced, Stephanie explains that Katara has had to work on her expectations of being excellent at everything and on her social and emotional resilience because she isn’t as emotionally mature as her peers.
Dr Kimberley ends by asking Stephanie how she thinks being younger than her peers will affect Katara when she graduates high school. Stephanie explains that they've been working with Katara on the notions of patience and perseverance - that good things take time. Both Stephanie and Dr Kimberley agree that starting school early was the best decision for Katara.
What you will learn in this episode:
• What being a gifted child or high achiever means
• Which cognitive assessments (or IQ tests) can be used in young children
• The benefits of finding out whether your child is gifted
• How we can stimulate high achievers and extend their learning
