Is this unusual? Memory of a 2.5 yr old....

[TheMNPeacekeepingForce]

Ok this is going to sound boastful but I am really curious (and what would the point be of boasting anonymously anyway!)

Ds amazed me tonight - he has a boxed set of Thomas the Tank engine books with maybe 30 different characters having a book each. Each one has a picture of that character on the front.

Ds (2.5) went through the box taking them out and named 23 of them and this would probably be fairly impressive if we looked at them a lot but we rarely look at them and haven't together for ages - he does look at them alone occasionally (maybe once a week) but we only normally actually read two of them to him (bulgy and cranky!). He doesn't watch Thomas cartoons or whatever on TV so it's not from that (too into Postman pat to consider anything else!!)

I think maybe 6 months ago we pointed at all of them and I told him the names of them all on maybe 4 or 5 occasions as he seemed to like hearing them. But that was ages ago.

Presumably he must have learned them at the time and then when he has occasionally looked through the books been thinking their names to himself?
At the time he couldn't really talk much so perhaps could say 3 or 4 of them.

Is that kind of memorising unusual?

He does other memory related stuff that impresses me sometimes but nothing like this before!

Please don't have a go at me for posting this - I really am curious - am I being a naive parent to a PFB or is this quite unusual?

(yes I've wrapped all the presents and obviously have nothing better to do than ask irritating questions on MN!!)

[NAB3hundredbaubles]

My son is 2 and a half as well and remembered something from last Xmas!!

[Quattrocento]

Tis classic PFB syndrome - truly - but it's not obnoxious - it's sweet

Have a lovely Christmas xx

[Washersaurus]

I think it is fairly normal - although obviously very impressive!

My 2yr old DS1 made some bread with DH ONCE, and can tell/show me (a fews months on) the ingredients he used and how to make it, including the use of the Magimix.

[wessexgirl]

Dd2 is exactly the same age as your ds, and surprised me the other day by requesting that I sing a number of Christmas carols that she had only heard me sing once before (the previous day).

"Sing the ding dong bell one", "sing Rudolph the red nose rain dog , "sing the merry Christmas song" etc. I was quite impressed!

I think their memories are supposed to be very good at this age - they process everything on a much stronger level than when they are older, because they are constantly trying to fit new things into their existing ideas about the world. Or so I think I read once (I could just be making this stuff up).

[Quattrocento]

Oh btw DS has this for Christmas when he was 2 and a half - a big box with lotsa little Thomasy books? With a lid? Which had aroumd 32 little see-through bits that you can see the books through?

If it's the same thing, I think he could name them all. Dunno for sure though (a) because I wasn't really listening and (b) because I couldn't reliably have known if he got it wrong

[TheMNPeacekeepingForce]

Phew - I had visions of him turning into one of those card-memorising poker player shark types when he is older!

I was so being a PFB mother wasn't i!! Ha ha!

Yes Q - the book set is pretty similar although ours doesn't have the see-through thing.

I wish my memory was a fraction as good as all these two year olds.....it used to be great but is so cr*p since having ds.

Wessex - am impressed by your daughters speech - ds couldn't say stuff like that and would say just something like 'sing reindeer'. Reindog - v. cute .

Ds finds the concept of Boxing Day hilarious and seems to think it is something to do with the recycling box which he loves putting things in - their minds are so funny at this age!

[charmkin]

na
my ds does that sort of thing
my dd did it too
whent they have to learn spellings or times tables it all miraculously vanishes...

is amazing what small people do when they haven't got to worry about things like shopping and cleaning!

[BitTiredNow]

ds1 was pretty phenomenal at that age, but as another poster has said, it has faded as he has got older.

[TheMNPeacekeepingForce]

Found something out accidentally this evening when he was looking at one - and then realised it was the case for nearly all of them - he still knew the names of the books even if the picture of each train etc was covered and only the title visible so he must have recognised the word shapes rather than the trains themselves....interesting (well to me as mum to a PFB it is !!

[PanicPressiePants]

I bought 2.5ds a dinosaur torch for christmas ages ago (sept/oct), and he was with me and saw it briefly.

Anyway, I hid it away and then wrapped it up when he wasn't around.

So Christmas day came, and he picked it up still wrapped and said dinosaur light mummy before going on to open it.

DP and I were absolutely godsmacked!

[BlueberryPancake]

Same here with DS1. He knows all the tomas book caracters, which are at his grandma's and we only go there once a month for a few hours. Today I wanted to make him eat his dinner and I made a train sound (as you do) and he said 'mummy make chocho Henry' god I was puzzled didn't have a clue who Henry was! But DH knew... Anyway, he's 2.2 and absolutly adores trains. Hope it's just a phase! It is fascinating how they learn, isn't it?

[binklebells]

Think their memories are generally suprisingly good at that age but as they get older and have to compute more stuff it does generally fade a bit.

I found that with dd I was amazed by her abilities at two but now at five I get frustrated that she cant remember simple stuff that she knew at 2 !

[TheMNPeacekeepingForce]

Binkle I can definitely personally vouch for the fading memory with age thing - mine used to be very very good and is now cr*p - especially since having ds.

I was impressed particularly today that ds could recognise the shape of the words rather than the trains themselves.

What is it about Thomas the Tank Engine hey! These boys just love it!

[Minkus]

Even if it is PFB related, one of the joys of having your first child for me is marvelling at how amazing they are, how much a blank-ish little personality can develop and learn thousands and thousands of new things in just a couple of years. This christmas break I have spent lots more time than I normally do with ds (just 3) and am amazed every day by what he can do- don't think this is necessarily a pfb thing like I said just wonderment at how amazing humans are.

[FluffyMummy123]

Message withdrawn

[roisin]

DS1 (10) has a phenomenal short-term memory - I find it a bit freaky tbh.

For instance if we go and see a new film at the cinema and chat about it afterwards, he can remember whole swathes of dialogue word-for-word. I really dislike it, as I think it's one of his traits that makes him seem less/more-than-normal at times: it makes me shudder.

[TheMNPeacekeepingForce]

Did he hear them on your iPod iCod (ok I'm not funny but couldn't resist that)

[MeMySonAndI]

Wait until he can tell you the names of the engines when you mention the numbers.

We also met a child who could say the names just by looking at tiny details in the wheels.

[MargoWishesYouAHappyNooNooYear]

They're little sponges at this age. My dd knows quite a few books word for word.

It's amazing isn't it?

[MeMySonAndI]

BTW Ds was able to recognise all the letters in the alphabet at that age. It hasn't help him to read earlier than his peers though!

[purpleduck]

ds used to point the way to town when he was 2, when we lived in Germany for a few months

However, memorising that many does sound clever

[Staceym11PipersPiping]

dd remembers songs, word for word, books word for word, and has started learning spanish (thanks dora the explorer )

they are like sponges, but where dd wants to know everything and absorbs information (shes 3.2 btw) ds whos 14 months keeps quiet (can only say about 4 words) and watches everything. at his tender age he can move my dining chairs enough to climb on them then onto the dining table. he can almost scale a stairgate, he can reach things on tables i wouldnt have thought possible from his height and yet he hasnt learnt to walk!

kids amaze you in many ways! and they are all different. ds amazes me in ways dd never did (she wont even climb on my dining table now, shes too chikcen shit scared!!)