The new millennium represents multiple tensions, contradictions, responsibilities, and possibilities for gifted youth, their families, and schools. Discourses of childhood, giftedness, educational success, and good parenting intersect in ways that highlight tensions for children, families, and teachers. In this presentation, we consider case studies of youth growing up in Australia at the start of the 21st century and identify common forces acting to influence development and learning, including technology, health, economics, and globalization. An analysis of these cases highlights possibilities for gifted children, families, and schools to move forward in ways that acknowledge changing social, economic, and political landscapes.