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Your preschool or daycare should be able to give you a reference for a health professional that offers appropriate giftedness testing services. However, keep in mind that IQ or giftedness testing will probably not be covered by insurance unless a developmental delay is expected. If you cannot get a reference from your child’s daycare, you could ask your pediatrician. An IQ test can help you determine the appropriate educational needs of your toddler, as well as confirm your suspicions about their intelligence. IQ testing is less good at identifying creative and leadership abilities. Consider getting an IQ test if you need one for entry into a special program of education. However, if you don’t need one for educational purposes, you may want to just wait and see. In this decision, you should consider their age:  If your child is two or three years of age, you should hold off on IQ testing. There are many challenges with IQ testing with younger toddlers, so it may not be worth the trouble. If your child is over four years old, you may want to get their IQ tested for a specific education program. Be sure to consider your motive for wanting this test. For example, is it to benefit your child, satisfy your own curiosity, or due to a desire for a gifted child? If it is for the benefit of your child or out of curiosity, then these are appropriate reasons to test. If you are hoping that your child is gifted, then this might not be a good reason to test. You should take your child’s IQ score for what it is, rather than thinking that it equates to other virtues such as wisdom or good decision-making skills. If your child has a high IQ, you will need to nurture their decision-making skills and overall cognitive and emotional development. It is important to avoid pressuring them to succeed above and beyond their peers, which often backfires in unexpected ways such as excessive worrying, stress and poor life choices. Be sure to give your child access to tools to help them thrive and excel, but also allow them to be who they are going to be. It is okay to have some expectations, but your child’s mental and emotional health should be equally important. If your child has a high IQ, you may develop high expectations for their performance. If this is the case, you want to communicate your support for their success and development with praise, rather than only giving negative feedback when they fail to live up to expectations. If you find yourself giving your child a lot of negative feedback because of your high expectations of their performance, you may be putting too much pressure on them. Keep in mind that failure is an important part of your child’s growth and development. Multiple competing definitions of the term “giftedness” exist. Definitions may differ between countries and regions. So, you should look on your Department of Education website to find out what definition of “gifted” is used in your region. Based on this information, see if your child meets the definition and guidelines for giftedness at their school. You could phone your child’s school to find out how they understand the term. If your child is in a private school, you should give them a ring to find out how they understand giftedness.

Summary:
Ask for a reference from your child’s preschool or daycare. Obtain an IQ test. Remember that a high IQ does not equate to other virtues. Avoid putting too much pressure on your child. Find out if your toddler meets local giftedness qualifications.