ABSTRACT
The key roles that parents play in their child's academic and social/emotional development are widely recognized. One key difference between parents of children identified as gifted and parents of children with other exceptionalities lies in the nature of the stigma that may be associated with the label of gifted. Parenting styles can be classified in broad terms into three categories namely: authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive, based on differences in parents' levels of discipline, nurturance, and control and on their communication style. Many parents of gifted children wholeheartedly approve of gifted programming in a broad or general sense, but at the same time they may be intensely critical of some elements of the specific gifted services provided in their child's school. The responsibility for educating one's child is perhaps the most important job a parent has, and the key role of parents in the development of their children's abilities has been highlighted in many seminal studies.
