To think my friend's toddler is a genius

[flowerpowerr]

I went to visit a friend yesterday. I was shocked and impressed to hear her 26 month old DD already counting to 20 and identifying different colours! Is that normal at such an early age or is the child a genius? My friend and her DH are both bright.

My daughter was the next big thing with what she was learning academically...and then she shat on the carpet...so make of that what you will 🤦🏻‍♀️😂 at aged 2 she was progressing, until she turned 3 😂

At 3, shitting in the carpet is unacceptable but at age 2 it’s passable according to our nursery

'Asking for a friend'

Yah....right.

Anyway, op, you've had a rough time here, the child in question sounds bright and if you want to think they are a genius then why not.
We're all proud of our kids in some way.

There's a MASSIVE difference between a 24 month old and a 35 month old despite them both being 2. The exact age of the child has huge relevance in this thread.

normal people still manage to make a distinction between a just turned 2, 2 and 1/2, nearly 3 years old... no need for this ridiculous use of months.

A genius would have given the age in weeks anyway, so buh!

All kids are different and develop different skills at different ages. Mostly they are within the realms of normal. My son could recite numbers to 20 at 2 but had no understanding of how numbers work. By 3 and half he could add and subtract numbers under 10 using objects and fully understood how it worked. The same child couldn't read untill he almost 7 and failed his phonics test. At age 11 is in the top set for English. Toddlers are all different, how they are at 2 or even 7 has little to no bearing on how they turn out at 11.

normal people still manage to make a distinction between a just turned 2, 2 and 1/2, nearly 3 years old... no need for this ridiculous use of months

What would normal people do for 28 months or 32 months?

I know a child that learnt to read when they were 2 (literally 2 years and 2 months). Parents taught him the alphabet which he absorbed like a sponge and he was off. They literally didn't have to do anymore (no phonics, no nothing). He didn't understand the words he was reading, but he could read three or four syllable words by 2.5years old. He has continued to be a bright spark, but that reading age was unbelievable.

Ds1 at 2 and 1/2 could dribble a football at his feet right up and down a pitch. At 6 he did 500 keep upys.

Yes there are different types of geniuses. In our society we are obsessed with the academic side but what about the kids that are unbelievable at sport, drama, music?

While my DD was years ahead academically, could read/tell the time etc before starting school, my DS was years behind but he was fabulous at art and drawing, still is.

This is why I think it's so important to have competitive sports days, to give the non-academic DC a chance to shine.

Everyone is good at something, it's just finding that something.

I think its impressive my DD is 18 months and I read the letters/numbers out to her, trying to get her to repeat it. And she looks at me like I'm a fucking idiot, so I would be over the moon If she starts doing that in 6 months time.

normal people still manage to make a distinction between a just turned 2, 2 and 1/2, nearly 3 years old... no need for this ridiculous use of months

ODFOD
a child that age can change massively in a couple of weeks - a month can make a big difference to what a child is able to do or not do! Why on earth would you even complain about something as little as someone expressing their child’s age in months on a thread about childhood milestones??

She's just copying a pattern with the numbers, like singing a song. Colours, pretty normal to know a few by that age.

Agree with furnturebackgammon. It's important to have competitive sport for children, esp in school. I got fed up to tne back teeth of the softly softly approach of primary school, it's actually damaging to those children who enjoy competing and need to excel in that area.

Lots of braggers here.... Most kids can't do that until school. You will always get parents who have time and energy to heavily invest in their pre schoolers education and/or are pushy parents. It happens when it happens! All evens out in the end. God those toddler groups had some hideous competitive people in them..... Many of which were in therapy behind closed doors!!

my DD is 18 months and I read the letters/numbers out to her, trying to get her to repeat it. And she looks at me like I'm a fucking idiot,

She’s kind of right though! What would she be expected to do with this knowledge? She’ll soon be wanting to know the words she wants to know, pointing at things saying, ‘wassat?’ every five minutes.

ethelfleda
I am not complaining, I am laughing at people who do that!

and as I said, if it matters so much, why don't you use weeks instead of months
You can tell what kind of parent they are when someone starts talking in months after the 1st year - and on thread about a "genius", it proves the point exactly.

He didn't understand the words he was reading

so he wasn't reading.. that's the whole point, and a concept some parent don't get when they brag about their reception child reading Harry Potter.

and as I said, if it matters so much, why don't you use weeks instead of months

If I told you my son was 98 weeks old, how long would it take you to figure it out? If I say he is 22 months - it doesn’t take you long to figure it out. As it happens, 90% of the time I say ‘nearly two’

You can tell what kind of parent they are when someone starts talking in months after the 1st year - and on thread about a "genius", it proves the point exactly

What kind of parent is that?
Jeez - even clothes sizes are still in months until they’re over 2 (or is it nearly three?)

A month makes a big difference in terms of development. For example, a month ago, my son couldn’t count objects. Now he can.

A month makes a big difference in terms of development. For example, a month ago, my son couldn’t count objects. Now he can.

makes 0 difference.

Another child of identical age could count a month ago, another one can't today but will next month. Still all perfectly average!

Yabu. The kid sounds average. Maybe your own kids are a bit behind?

Another child of identical age could count a month ago, another one can't today but will next month. Still all perfectly average!

Well done for spectacularly missing my point

I was trying to explain why people would express an AGE in terms of months and used this as an example... a month makes a big difference in development for all children for everything - regardless of what they are doing at what age.

Dd1 knew her alphabet and recognized all the letters, and could play the ‘find something beginning with’ game at 18 mos. It was a weird party trick.
Ds1 could do addition subtraction and basic multiplication way before he was 3 (he’d say to me ‘mummy, did you know 3 lots of 7 is 21?’ Why, yes ds1. Now shut up and go to sleep. Dd2 could read chapter books at 2. She was assessed as having a comprehension age of 15 when she was 5.
Have any of those random true facts made any difference to their school days? Nah.
Dd1 is in her third year at uni - the thing that has helped her most is her work ethic, she has discipline and is organized. Ds1 is on a gap year and spends most of his time playing magic. He works as a lifeguard and might go to uni next year. His genius level inherent understanding of numbers is completed countered by the fact he didn’t do any homework until his last year of school. Dd2’s life has been mostly directed by her cerebral palsy.
Kids are weird. They are just sponges. People have always assumed I hothoused them, when literally nothing could be further from the truth. the oldest two were easily academically outstripped by others in their peer group. Maybe I SHOULD have hothoused them lol.

normal people still manage to make a distinction between a just turned 2, 2 and 1/2, nearly 3 years old... no need for this ridiculous use of months

Yep.

I'm 538 months old.

FGS - even my sons prescription had his age on in months! How is it difficult for people to understand using months instead of years when they’re still so young??

And another thing I would like to add - my DS is average, yes. I even said so further up this thread. He walked late but is talking early - I don’t think he is a genius but I AM really bloody proud of him all the same. I think it’s far nicer that people show pride in their children’s achievements than put their kids down. Why is it so bad for parents to be proud of their offspring?

I'm 538 months old.

I imagine my friend's DS will grow up like this!
His XW referred to DS in weeks until his first birthday ("he got his first tooth at 17 weeks" etc), and then in months until he went to school. At 49months old.
She also believes he is 'exceptionally gifted'...I'm sure these two facts are connected!
Say it in months, and it sounds more impressive?