“My Preschooler is an Honor Student at________”

"It's difficult to give a one-size-fits-all description, but certain characteristics emerge more frequently in young children who are later identified as gifted," said Kim Har, director of Childhood Education at the Aristotle Circle in New York, an organization that provides testing and school admissions support for students. "Gifted preschoolers often show strong creative or lateral thinking, which means that they problem-solve in novel ways. They are curious by nature and ask questions to understand things beyond the scope of the information they're given."

Gifted children generally reach developmental milestones at an accelerated pace, but Har is quick to mention that this is not always the case, citing the well-known fact that Albert Einstein didn't begin speaking until age 4.

Standardized IQ tests, like the Stanford-Binet test, are one way parents can determine whether their preschooler is gifted. Alternately, the Internet offers a bounty of charts that compare traits displayed by gifted versus bright children. Some of the differences are subtle: A bright child enjoys school, while a gifted child enjoys learning. Others are more obvious: A bright child listens attentively, while a gifted child has strong opinions and feelings. A bright child is at the top of his peer group, while a gifted child is beyond the group.

As for whether children are born gifted or become so from their environment, Har said that giftedness tends to run in families, but early exposure to learning experiences makes a difference for toddlers of all intelligence levels. "Create a language-rich environment with a lot of exchange," Har said. "Talk to your kids, read to them, ask open-ended questions that encourage them to understand why and how things happen. They'll start to build early reasoning skills."