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Behaviour/development

is she like every other toddler?

31 replies

Evesmama · 16/03/2005 08:51

obviously being Eve's mum, i am very proud of her and think she's the first little girl to do everything, but i was wondering wether i am right or is this usual for children her age?

she can count to 13?
she takes dirty pots, dummies etc out to kitchen and puts in sink(have never asked her to do this, she just does it)

she turns tv and sky box off when we go out of her own accord

and her sentences are along the lines of..mammy, please..put.dora..plora on telly??is this a lot

however, she's only just gettin the jist of using a fork/spoon with her meals?

what does anyone think?

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dabihp · 16/03/2005 08:55

Ho old is she? i think we all think our children are geniuses. My dd could count to 10 at 18mnths. i was most impressed... everyone else thought i was barmy? (maybe cos their children couldnt do it, lol)

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Catbert · 16/03/2005 08:58

How old is she?

Sounds like a lovely little girl. Very bright

I would also add you obviously set a good example for her. Toddlers love doing what mummy does, esp. when they are praised for being so clever!

And IME toddlers all develop their language at their own pace - if yours is constructing sentences early (not sure how old she is) it will make those toddler years much easier, because she will be able to explain things to you better, about how she's feeling. And you will feel confident she understands you too!

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handlemecarefully · 16/03/2005 08:58

Well a toddler ranges from 13 months to 3 ish so its hard to say. How old is she exactly?

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Evesmama · 16/03/2005 09:03

sorry shes 20 months

she's been doing these things for a couple of months now and the counting to 13 came from counting the stairs as we walk up/down..she does it in different situations now too.

shes just come up to me and said" mammy..get..farm..out..please..mammy..set..up..farm..too"?

she also knows which our house is and runs up to it when we've come back from playgroup
(this is all prob normal, but i think she's really clever[proud mummy emocion]

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dabihp · 16/03/2005 09:08

MAy be controversial, but I think it is all about how you talk to and interact with your child.

Children absorb everything, so if you counted going up stairs she learned to. I had alphabet letters on fridge and told dd she could play with them when she learnt them all, so we learnt them all by 14 months!

But she is now 28mtnhs and we havent potty trained yet, because i havent oushed her to do it, whereas some kids her age, dont knwo numbers or letters but are out of nappies! so i guess its what you do with them....

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Evesmama · 16/03/2005 09:11

mm, you must be right..im supprised she doesnt know how to post on mumsnet yet then

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TracyK · 16/03/2005 09:15

How do you mean 'knew all the alphabet letters'? I've got them on the fridge too - but my 12mo ds just loves to scuff them off and kick them around the room. Does your dd recite them or just point to the right ones when asked?

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handlemecarefully · 16/03/2005 09:16

At just 20 months she sounds like quite a bright spark

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dabihp · 16/03/2005 09:17

tracey - she could say them when I pointed to them.
now at 28 mtnhs, although she cant 'read' she can recognise many words and reads every letter and number she sees....

I would also recommend watchign countdown with you little ones!

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Nemo1977 · 16/03/2005 09:24

I agree about it being about interaction, my Ds is 17mths and can say about 20-30 words but thats only recent. However the HV has said his physical development is on a par with a 3yr old...which surprised me.

He is also another tot who likes to take his things into the kitchen etc and can just seem to do things he hasnt been shown...so they are all different and think we are all proud mummies...lol

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Evesmama · 16/03/2005 09:30

well am very pleased with her and its seems they all do something that extra bit special dont they?

i always read books to dd and now when ever she picks any of her library of books from her toy box!, she 'reads' along with me, saying words she remembers and always says the middle and the last words of each ryhme/sentence eg:lucky the PUPPY loves to PLAY, she RUNS and JUMPS and SPLASHES all DAY", she just loves reading and singing, i think she must have a really good memory

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ghosty · 16/03/2005 09:36

She sounds like a bright little girl Evesmama!!

I disagree about the interaction thing personally ....
My DS was like little Eve ... very advanced in language etc by the age of two.
DD (13 months) however, who has the same parents and therefore the same interaction (DS is at school now so I have lots of time with her), is not nearly as advanced as DS was at the same age .... I have done nothing different, in fact I spend more time interacting with her to encourage her to do more stuff but she will only do things at her own speed, which is fine in my book.

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ghosty · 16/03/2005 09:37

Of course, interaction is important but I don't think it is ALL to do with it ....

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beatie · 16/03/2005 10:04

Whenever I compare my toddler with my friends toddlers, they seem to fall into two camps. The ones who developed langauge quickest were slower to master motor skills and vice versa. Mostly they all catch up to the same level in the end.

My daughter has gone for motor skills first and language devlopment second. I think I'd rather she was like eve and have it the other way round must make for less tantrums and a less exhausted mummy.

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piffle · 16/03/2005 10:07

disagree a little actually, with my son we counted everything and he was adding and great with numbers very early
dd has been counted too more probably as I have been with her more, but at 28 mths she can only say two.
It depends on the child but obviously giving them the opportunity means they have more chance to develop.
That said dd is one mean footballer
dd also cleas up, closes all drawers in bedroom before leaving, turns off tv/radio and also puts away washing and her plates from dishwashers as well as hlping to load it, getting her own plate and breakfast choice out.
If she could reach her door handle and open the fridge I could probably leave her to it
LOL
Your little lass does sound bright as button though Evesmama!

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Jimjams · 16/03/2005 10:22

disagree as well. DS1 knew all his letters and numbers by some ridiculously early age. Before the age of 2 knew the symbols for divided by and times and equals. Counted to 17 - or however many stairs we had (in fact wouldn't come down the stairs unless we counted them). But couldn't say yes or no (still can't aged almost 6). Is severely autistic - has had more interaction directed at him than than you could imagine.

DS2 was late to talk, but when he did talk seemed to know his letters and numbers as well (not encouraged my me- too many shades of autism for me- although now he's 3 and I know he's find I am encouraging it more). Despite being late to talk I have been told his vocabularly is mature for his age. But what I like watching him do more than anything is play with his toys. DS1 can't play with toys and I take a real pleasure in leaving ds2 alone and listening to him making up little stories with his toys.

Ds1 gets far far more interaction thrown at him. DS2 just does things and learns by copying (as most children do). It makes life much much easier for him. In terms of absolute intelligence I suspect they are very similar. However ds1 will never live independently and ds2 will be able to do whatever he wants. It's an extreme example but I don't think its about interaction at all- unless you have a child who is so starved of interaction they are deprived.

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Evesmama · 16/03/2005 10:37

thanks ghosty, piffle and beatie

she is very good at motor skills too, just prefers to use her finger to eat instead of fiddling with a fork!, however she was having ravioli on toast yesterday and i made such a big fuss when she stabbed the fork in it, she ate the full lot with it
she also loves singing away to her favourite 'toons', but sings a bit like me and makes some of the words up

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helsi · 16/03/2005 10:37

Sounds very bright. I think my dd is bright. She came up to me the other day and asked me for her "stethoscope" (from her doctors play set). How many 2 yr olds know what one of those is?

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Donbean · 16/03/2005 10:43

My ds at 20 months is getting on ok i think.
Similar to Eve he tells me what he wants,however more often than not its just me and dh who understand what it is he is asking for or telling us. Most of his words are clear as a bell, some not. He counts the stairs as we have done this since he was tiny.
I dont tend to spend any time wondering about how similar in development he is with other kids of his age as i just take each thing as it comes TBH.
More important to me is that he is thriving, happy and absorbing his surroundings.
We are very lucky in that have many friends with children of ds's age and i know that they are all on a par developmentally wise and achieve milestones within a week or so of each other. This if any thing has been an excellent gauge and reassuring to those mums who have been worried.
I am just so proud of every little thing that he does and every single day its some thing new!

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lisalisa · 16/03/2005 15:15

Message withdrawn

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silvera · 17/03/2005 11:44

Interaction is a HUGE factor, without stimulation a child has no basis to develop, although some respond more readily than others. Even though parents are naturally proud of their children, there is no doubt that if you think your child is doing exeptionally well...then you are right, after all no-one knows a child better than her parents. A child that can hold up 3 fingers and know it is 3, and why it is 3, is at a later developmental stage than a child that can count parrot fashion to 1000. You are certainly right to be proud of Eve, and of yourself!

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Evesmama · 17/03/2005 13:34

thanks Silvera

the one thing ive noticed shes not as advanced in(maybe thats the wrong word?), she 'susses' people out first..she wont run into a room and start playing with others, she watches, plays on her own, then gradually moves in.
today however, we went to playgroup and theres a little girl almost 2 years older than Eve, but they both seem to have taken a shine to eachother and after 1/2 hour of really clinging to me..off she went with Hannah and that was it!...chasing eachother, cuddling eachother, bouncing manically on the soft play running around giggling, she was like a different child and i was so touched to see her with her new little friend
so have had to quietly ask her mum if she can come to Eve's main birthday party(am also having a little one at playgroup), so they can both have fun, i think it'll make Eve's day to see her there

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CountessDracula · 17/03/2005 13:46

My dd was similar at that age, was talking in whole sentences.

Her counting came from the stairs too, she could do up to 10 and then back down again!

I do remember when she was about 21 months we were in france, came round a corner and she said " Mummy, Daddy, look at that enourmous tree" which made us LOL.

However she was fairly tentative physically, I think they tend to be very verbal or very physical

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mummylonglegs · 17/03/2005 13:55

My little one's had a big focus on language too. She's 2.5 now and I can't quite remember what she was doing at 20 months (mummy amnesia!) but I remember her counting to 10 quite early on. Funnily enough even though she can say quite long and complex sentences with reasonably good grammer, she's not at all interested in reading letters or numbers yet. She is interested in words in books and is always asking me what a particular word says. She's got good fine motor skills but is quite small and light and has taken an age to master steps and any complex kind of climbing although she walked relatively early at 11 months.

All in all I don't think many children are 'geniuses', I think they all have strengths and weaknesses and it's easy to overlook one thing when looking for another. There's quite a lot of both pride and anxiety among parents in relation to children's language skills but I've noticed that a little boy she plays with who talks a fraction as well as dd does actually has a better understanding of things like facial expressions and emotions in books. I mentioned this to his mum who worries about his talking and she hadn't noticed it. It's a shame really.

I don't know what I think about influence from parents on a child's 'talents.' Dp and I read a lot and have encouraged a love of books in dd which is reflected in her love of books. But then again I love singing and at all the toddler groups etc. I join in loads and dd's NEVER does, she's too shy. So my influence seems to have had an effect when it's in an area she has a natural propensity towards and not when she doesn't. If that makes sense?

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Hulababy · 18/03/2005 08:21

My DD's language has always been her "thing", more so then anything else. She too was talking n sentences by 18 months, and was clear enough for other people to understand her very early on. At nearly 3yo it is still something people comment on - her language and understanding. She also learnt to count by climbing stairs - last winter, when she was 19/20 months our lift was out of order so we did a lot of stair counting and it caught on.

However, I think babies and children are all so different, and they do tend to focus on a few things they enjoy.catch on to quickly.

DD hates jigsaws and will just not attempt them at all. Not interested int he slightest, so even a simple 6 piece jigsaw is something she says she can't do. Nursery claim she can. I have no personal evidence. It is obviously not her thing, whereas language, letters, etc. is.

I just let DD enjoy doing the stuff she enjoys, and I don't worry about the stuff she doesn't do - not yet anyway, she isn't quite 3 yet. Time for worry about things like this later.

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