ON READING Dr Lee Siew Peng's letter ("Gifted children, a mother's heartache"; Wednesday), I would add: Be prepared also for lots of tears if your child is not too gifted.

Both the not-so-gifted and the gifted experience "asynchronous development" that confines them to "lonely and bored" lives for opposite reasons.

Both cause headache and heartache to their parents. The former are often despised as being inferior and the latter ostracised as being freaky.

We must lend a helping hand to both groups. Even the not-so-gifted can have astonishing achievements in life if properly trained, and even the most gifted can have their talents snuffed out if not provided for.

A one-type-fits-all educational system is unrealistic, wasteful and cruel.

No child should achieve less than what he is capable of, and neither should he be forced to perform tasks that are beyond his capacity.

Each child should have his own summit to aim for. The altitude each can reach depends on his aptitude, attitude and environment.

Here lies the unadmirably heavy responsibility of not only parents but also teachers.

Ee Teck Ee