We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Health

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What Is a Child Prodigy?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 9,236
Share

A child prodigy is a person below the age of 18 who possesses one or more skills or talents that far exceed those in the normal range of children of the same age. Often there may be a notable pattern to the way children of this type acquire special talents. Another area of interest within this topic is the positive and negative parenting of prodigies, and the degree to which these kids are mentally well and socially connected to peers. Additionally, special gifts of children with normal intelligence may be compared to savants and to the phenomenon of autistic splinter skills.

It’s easiest to attach the label of child prodigy to younger children because, as children age, many of them evolve talents or special skills. There may be thousands of older teens that can do very advanced math or offer beautiful solo violin performances. Identifying younger children with special talents is less difficult because few of their peers will be equally adept.

Some features of the child prodigy may be generally noted. These children are likely to learn things in their area/s of advanced skill with very little formal instruction. They also quickly advance, progressing from simple to more difficult operations in short periods of time. Some prodigies have multiple areas of strength. For example, a student could be so scholastically strong that he or she is suited for the academic rigors of college by age 10 or 11, but other prodigies may only have one particular skill or gift.

There are both good stories and bad ones about the demands of parents on the child prodigy. The worst involve parents using the child for personal gain, such as occurred with Mozart and Beethoven. Pushing a child to be a prodigy is also considered unwise.

It is, perhaps, in Hollywood that pushy or self-interested parenting effects have been so devastating for many talented child prodigy actors. Judy Garland, for example, left the set of The Wizard of Oz addicted to stimulants and tranquilizers given to her by her mother, as advised by studio executives. She was never able to escape substance addiction and her life was cut short by it.

The many parents who find ways for children to explore their gifts and passions without placing them in high pressure or child-unfriendly environments provide a needed contrast to such difficult parenting stories. Children with families like this may do better emotionally because their lives are similar to those of other children, and they are more likely to regularly interact with peers. Nevertheless, there is also a powerful argument that creativity is genetically tied to conditions like bipolar disorder. Therefore, a conscientiously parented child prodigy may still be susceptible to mood disorders, and parents should be aware of this risk.

When autistic children have special talents they may instead be called savants or are said to possess splinter skills. Some of these skills like advanced calculations are quite amazing: more so because the children who possess them can be severely impaired in other ways. Like the prodigy child, the autistic savant doesn’t necessary learn the skill, but develops it very rapidly. There are few universally accepted explanations for how or why these skills or talents develop in any child.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
By Lostnfound — On Aug 14, 2014

@Grivusangel -- Gosh, how sad. I knew Judy Garland had problems, though. I think Liza Minnelli inherited a few of them, too.

I wouldn't want to have a true prodigy as a child. I can't imagine the tremendous pressure parents are under to help the child achieve his or her potential, plus still allowing the kid to be a kid, and have kid fun, playmates his own age, etc. That has to be an awesome responsibility and I don't know that I'd be up for it.

I was a gifted student, and probably something of a word prodigy, but my parents insisted I have a very normal childhood. I didn't go to a special school or anything like that. I had to do my homework like everyone else. Plus, I struggled in math.

By Grivusangel — On Aug 13, 2014

One small clarification: Judy Garland was addicted to stimulants masquerading as weight-loss drugs. The studio execs thought she was pudgy. One story says that, during the filming of "Oz," Louie B. Mayer, chief at MGM Studios, which produced the movie, ordered that Garland only be served salad and chicken soup in the commissary, no matter what she ordered. It wouldn't surprise me.

This is a tale played out over and over with precocious child actors, usually resulting in tragedy. The stories are legion. Paul Peterson, who starred in the "Donna Reed Show," went wild and has battled addiction. He started a support network to help former child stars. He has reached out to numerous actors over the years to offer them help.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a WiseGeek contributor, Tricia...
Learn more
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-a-child-prodigy.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.