Gifted kids (and adults) are well known for their intense interests. Their interests can be broad in scope and advanced for age. The three year-old that can tell you everything you want to know about the Civil War. The 15 year-old that built her own kiln. The 5 year-old that decided Impressionism is so “last year”. They now prefer Cubism.
Gifted people of all ages rarely have singular interests.
They also rarely stick to just one intense interest at a time.
Your gifted kid may also jump between intense affections. This will apply to almost any topic, sport, music, etc. They start a project and go all-in, accumulating things surrounding this interest, then abandon it in the middle to move on to another adventure. All of the stuff they acquired for the first intense interest are still in their bedroom, in your garage, or elsewhere in your home. They don’t need them anymore.
This is often a function of the characteristic ability of gifted people to connect disparate ideas and items together in novel ways. When combined with their strong drives for intensity and perfection, it can get truly crowded in their head as well as in their bedroom.
It doesn’t mean they are allowed to spread their things all over your home. Organizing and prioritizing their belongings is a skill that every gifted kid needs to learn. It will serve them well when they run out of RAM on their devices, when they run out of closet space, and when they run out of money to acquire more stuff.
Start now. Right now. Set reasonable limits on where and how much stuff they can accumulate, and how much effort they need to devote to maintaining their collections. Donating to worthy causes is a great way to manage cast off items from previous interests. So is gifting it to a sibling or to their school.
Need more information? I just wrote and handout pack for you! The Gifted Child Handout Pack has Arrived!
Read more about raising gifted children here: How To Help Your Gifted Child Handle Frustration
