You know your child's IQ score: Now what?
TUESDAY, AUGUST 05, 2014 10:22 AM

Information can be a powerful tool, especially when it comes to your child's IQ score. Parents generally handle the news of how intelligent their child is in one of two ways: either telling their child what his or her score was, or keeping the information secret. Of course, parents must then figure out what do after deciding whether to share the IQ score. If you've recently had your child's intelligence tested, you may be wondering how to proceed. Here are a few little hints that might help guide you:

To share or not to share?
When you test your child's IQ, the next step will be to decide whether or not you'll share the information. Do you want your child to know they have average intelligence, or maybe above-average smarts? To answer this question you must think of how the information will affect your child. Knowing their IQ can cause some children to excel while causing others to fail to meet their potential. In fact, many bright children feel pressured to live up to their IQ and ultimately fall short. 

"Some children are happy and proud, and some children are really affected by it," Joan Freeman, a child psychologist who has worked with gifted kids, told ABC News. "They begin to feel that that's all that people value them for. ... For some children, it's frightening to be gifted."

Whether or not you share your child's IQ score with them is up to you. Take into account your son or daughter's personality and consider how the information might impact their lives.

Proper placement
Knowing your child's level of intelligence can help you place them in the right educational programs. For instance, if your child is gifted, you might look for magnet schools that will challenge them every day. Having the score also allows you to make the case for why they should be allowed to attend such accelerated schools or programs. Once you know the score, plan how you want to proceed in terms of your child's academic future. 

Find support
Children with abnormal IQ scores (either very high or very low) face numerous academic challenges, which may make you feel unsure of what to do. Fortunately, you can locate other parents going through the same thing. Find online support groups of parents whose children have IQs similar to yours. You can discuss academic programs you've encountered, tips for helping your child in school and ways to stay connected to peers. No matter what your child's IQ score, other parents have shared your experience.