Thank you Germany: Part 062: Gifted children are also well supported here

Another advantage of Germany is the wide range of funding opportunities offered by its educational institutions. Gifted students also receive excellent support here. There are many programmes that cater precisely to their needs right from school. From the Mercator programme to scholarships and children's universities, the special talents and interests of these children are specifically catered for. If you have a gifted child, you can offer them good entertainment that also utilises their special abilities. At the same time, care is taken to ensure that the children do not become lonely, but make friends with other children in a sociable atmosphere. The Children's University gives them the opportunity to be introduced to university research at an early age. Children also like to take advantage of this opportunity.

Gifted children in particular often have a wide range of interests and a particular degree of curiosity. Qualified teachers tap into this curiosity and specifically encourage the child's talents. In some places, highly gifted children even have the opportunity to study for university entrance qualifications at an early age. This enables them to complete a degree more quickly later on and set off on their own research projects. In the natural sciences in particular, there are many programmes that familiarise gifted children with complex subjects at such an early age. For many parents, these programmes are a great relief.

Not every gifted child comes from a home that can answer all of their questions and support them in every way. The good support structures ensure that the children are not disadvantaged and are not underchallenged. A permanent lack of challenge could otherwise lead to the children switching off mentally and moving on to other subjects. The child's performance at school then declines. To prevent this from happening, the programmes provide children with targeted support according to their abilities. Germany also offers the option of skipping school classes. This also increases the requirements. Many gifted children take advantage of this opportunity. However, care must be taken to ensure that the child's circle of friends does not shrink.

With targeted support programmes, gifted children can in turn make social contacts with other gifted children their own age and are also supported in making contacts in their school class. In this way, the children benefit from the programmes in several ways. In any case, we should be grateful to Germany for offering these very special opportunities. In this way, it makes life easier for gifted children as well as their families. Targeted support for gifted children also ensures that talents are recognised at an early stage and supported in a targeted manner. Only then can children develop these talents to the highest level and achieve peak performance in their field at a later stage.

Regardless of whether it is science, artistic creation, musical production or another field - highly gifted students in Germany receive very targeted support. They are also provided with coaches, teachers and mentors. This opportunity also takes into account the special social situation of these children. In many other countries around the world, highly gifted children are not able to develop as well as in Germany.