The paper considers pressures on bright children and the relationship of such pressures to underachievement. It gives specific suggestions on the prevention of underachievement to both parents and teachers. Pressures often felt by gifted children include pressures to be brilliant, to be creative, to do something spectacular, to find oneself, to be popular, to be good, to be the best sibling. Noted is a relationship between underachievement and a lack of personal locus of control in which students do not internalize the relationship between effort and outcome. A quadrant diagram illustrates relationships between effort and outcomes resulting in either achievement or underachievement. Six recommendations for parents include consistency in setting effort and outcome goals for children, modeling effort and satisfaction of accomplishment, and emphasis on the positive. Seven recommendations for teachers include challenging gifted children in basic skill areas, teaching divergent thinking processes, and maintaining a positive classroom environment. (DB)