Super kids: Indigo kids debate

12/5/2006 5:55 AM
By: Ivanhoe Newswire

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Little Kai looks and talks like any other 3-year-old.

"I like to play chicken games and another game about tigers," he said. But his mother, Lon Bloomfield, says he has supernatural gifts ... and remembers past lives.

"Maybe about a year ago, he told me, 'Remember Mom, when I was your dad?'" Lon said.

Do you know a child like this?

Smart, intuitive, sensitive, strong-willed, and full of energy, they're often called "Indigo children" -- a popular label for kids who are especially gifted. Many psychologists and parents believe these children have psychic powers and are more evolved.

Shannon Parsons says her four kids are also Indigos. "They're always talking about when they were in heaven and what they knew and who they knew," she said.

Her 7-year-old son Chandler frequently talks to an imaginary friend he says he met in heaven ... "We talk about everything in the world," Chandler added, "[like] what he did on his vacation."

Parapsychologist Nancy Ann Tappe was the first to describe these children more than 20 years ago. She says they're called Indigo because of the dark blue aura that surrounds them. And she believes Indigos are more evolved than past generations.

"They're straight-talkers," Tappe, formerly of San Diego State University and currently represented by Spelling Publishers, explained. "They don't want to be talked down to. They'll catch you at three if you do."

She says you can recognize Indigo children by their large, clear eyes. Other Indigo traits:

Tappe continued, "These children demand to be individualistic. It's not a request." She says scientists know humans and animals can evolve over time, but Indigo children are evolving at an unusually fast pace -- what she calls "quantum evolution."

But psychologist Russell Barkley, Ph.D., of Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, says Indigo is just a cover-up for behavior problems like ADHD or bipolar disorder. He said, "It is possible that some parents who have children with psychiatric problems would like them to have a label that is more socially acceptable, more uplifting and positive."

Dr. Barkley says there's no scientific evidence to support Indigos. "These kinds of nonsensical and lunatic fringe ideas literally do prey on the desperation of other people," he said. "And in that sense, I find them morally reprehensible."

But many parents do believe their kids have special gifts. Integral Elementary School/Rainbow Kids Integral Preschool in La Jolla, California -- one of a few emerging schools designed specifically for Indigo children -- has more than 100 attendees.

"They need more stimulation because they're two steps ahead of where we are," Integral Co-Founder Carla Gerstein, said.

Shannon and Lon's children all attend the school. They say their children need to be treated differently.

"[Kai] does not do well if I order him around," Lon said.. "So, I've gotten in the habit of talking to him almost like an adult."

They say raising an Indigo is a challenge, but it's one they're prepared to take on -- even if others aren't convinced. "You can be a skeptic all you want, but they're here," Shannon added. "They're here. They're now, and it doesn't matter what you call them. They're different and everybody knows it!"

Special gifts or special problems? That's for you to decide.