Frequently Asked Questions for Parents of Children Gifted in Drawing
Prepared by Jennifer Drake & Ellen Winner
October 2021
How can I nurture my child’s interests in drawing?
You can encourage your child’s art-making behavior by providing high-quality art supplies, taking your child to museums, and exposing your child to a range of styles in which artists have worked.
My child only wants to draw and doesn’t want to do anything else. Is that OK?
Children gifted in drawing will often draw constantly and almost compulsively. The desire to work so hard comes from within, and it almost always occurs when a child can achieve at high levels with relative ease. We have come to call this a “rage to master.”
My child used to draw all the time but now only draws occasionally. Should I encourage my child to draw?
Encouragement is fine, but it is important not to push your child and to let your child draw on his or her own time. Your child may come back to drawing or may get involved in other activities. Just because your child showed an early talent and passion for drawing does not mean your child must continue drawing.
Should I have my child tested?
If you mean tested for drawing giftedness, you may already know your child is gifted in drawing, and also there are no good tests for this. The best way to find out is to compare your child’s drawings to those of other children of the same age. If your child’s drawings are far more realistic than those of his/her peers, your child is gifted in drawing.
Should I tell my child he/she is gifted?
We see no need to do this. We don’t like labels. But there is nothing wrong with telling your child that he/she is terrific at drawing. We would just avoid the term “gifted.”
What kind of school should my child attend?
Most schools do not make the arts central to their curriculum. If your child is engaged and not bored in school, but there is not much art, don’t worry about it. Instead make sure that your child gets plenty of art in after school or Saturday museum programs, or at home.
My child is excels in the visual arts but has difficulty learning to read. Is that common?
It is not at all unusual for children gifted in the visual arts to have reading difficulties (there is a higher incidence of dyslexia among visual artists than in the population at large) and hence to have school difficulties.
If my child is gifted in drawing does that mean my child has a high IQ?
Not necessarily. The ability to draw calls on a different kind of intelligence from the kinds of skills measured by an IQ test (which assesses academic giftedness). Children gifted in drawing may also have a high IQ, but having a high IQ is not a necessary component of drawing giftedness.
If my child is gifted in drawing, what other abilities might my child have?
We have studied a range of visual skills in children gifted at drawing. These children tend to stand out in their visual memory, their ability to do mental rotation tasks, and their ability to find hidden shapes in complex figures. These children may also have higher non-verbal IQs.
If my child is gifted in drawing, is my child creative?
Creativity is a concept that is often misunderstood. Creativity is not unique to the arts but exists in all areas. One can be creative in math or not creative in math, and the same goes for drawing. Creativity really means doing something in a new way that "works."
Will my child become an artist?
Most gifted child artists do not become artists as adults; a few do. Children who are gifted in drawing at an early age may go into some visual field (e.g., design, computer graphics) or they may go into an entirely unrelated area. Children who draw in order to understand the natural world for example might be more interested in biology than art. But the important point is that it is impossible to predict what your child will become from what your child is gifted and interested in as a child.
Where can I find similar children?
We have created a password protested Facebook page where children and parents can communicate with other children who are exceptional in the ability to draw. For more information about joining, email Jen Drake at [email protected]
For more information:
Winner, E. (1996). Gifted children: Myths and realities. New York: Basic Books.
Drake, J. E., & Winner, E. (2012). Predicting artistic brilliance. Scientific American Mind, 23, 5, 42-48.
National Association for Gifted Children: http://www.nagc.org
You can encourage your child’s art-making behavior by providing high-quality art supplies, taking your child to museums, and exposing your child to a range of styles in which artists have worked.
My child only wants to draw and doesn’t want to do anything else. Is that OK?
Children gifted in drawing will often draw constantly and almost compulsively. The desire to work so hard comes from within, and it almost always occurs when a child can achieve at high levels with relative ease. We have come to call this a “rage to master.”
My child used to draw all the time but now only draws occasionally. Should I encourage my child to draw?
Encouragement is fine, but it is important not to push your child and to let your child draw on his or her own time. Your child may come back to drawing or may get involved in other activities. Just because your child showed an early talent and passion for drawing does not mean your child must continue drawing.
Should I have my child tested?
If you mean tested for drawing giftedness, you may already know your child is gifted in drawing, and also there are no good tests for this. The best way to find out is to compare your child’s drawings to those of other children of the same age. If your child’s drawings are far more realistic than those of his/her peers, your child is gifted in drawing.
Should I tell my child he/she is gifted?
We see no need to do this. We don’t like labels. But there is nothing wrong with telling your child that he/she is terrific at drawing. We would just avoid the term “gifted.”
What kind of school should my child attend?
Most schools do not make the arts central to their curriculum. If your child is engaged and not bored in school, but there is not much art, don’t worry about it. Instead make sure that your child gets plenty of art in after school or Saturday museum programs, or at home.
My child is excels in the visual arts but has difficulty learning to read. Is that common?
It is not at all unusual for children gifted in the visual arts to have reading difficulties (there is a higher incidence of dyslexia among visual artists than in the population at large) and hence to have school difficulties.
If my child is gifted in drawing does that mean my child has a high IQ?
Not necessarily. The ability to draw calls on a different kind of intelligence from the kinds of skills measured by an IQ test (which assesses academic giftedness). Children gifted in drawing may also have a high IQ, but having a high IQ is not a necessary component of drawing giftedness.
If my child is gifted in drawing, what other abilities might my child have?
We have studied a range of visual skills in children gifted at drawing. These children tend to stand out in their visual memory, their ability to do mental rotation tasks, and their ability to find hidden shapes in complex figures. These children may also have higher non-verbal IQs.
If my child is gifted in drawing, is my child creative?
Creativity is a concept that is often misunderstood. Creativity is not unique to the arts but exists in all areas. One can be creative in math or not creative in math, and the same goes for drawing. Creativity really means doing something in a new way that "works."
Will my child become an artist?
Most gifted child artists do not become artists as adults; a few do. Children who are gifted in drawing at an early age may go into some visual field (e.g., design, computer graphics) or they may go into an entirely unrelated area. Children who draw in order to understand the natural world for example might be more interested in biology than art. But the important point is that it is impossible to predict what your child will become from what your child is gifted and interested in as a child.
Where can I find similar children?
We have created a password protested Facebook page where children and parents can communicate with other children who are exceptional in the ability to draw. For more information about joining, email Jen Drake at [email protected]
For more information:
Winner, E. (1996). Gifted children: Myths and realities. New York: Basic Books.
Drake, J. E., & Winner, E. (2012). Predicting artistic brilliance. Scientific American Mind, 23, 5, 42-48.
National Association for Gifted Children: http://www.nagc.org