AIBU to wonder if my 27 month old is ahead?

[Byron1990]

And if so should I be doing more to support him?
My first child was very behind in every area for years and is now about where he should be. I don’t know if it’s just the contrast or if my 27 month old is very ahead and worried I’m not doing enough to stretch and support him.

He speaks in full sentences with advanced vocabulary but also humour, tonight he said to his dad, ‘what are you wearing daddy, you look diculous (ridiculous)’ he was wearing pjs. He retells stories but put him and his brother in the place of the characters and makes them do funny things. He uses me/my/you/his/I correctly.

he can also catch a tennis ball with two hands and hit one with a racket. He builds houses and castles out of magnatiles and puts animals and figures in them. He can count objects up to 11 and also recognise groups of things by number up to three by looking at them not counting.

Does this sound like he’s far ahead and should I be doing something specific at home/out of home?

My oldest was like this. Potty trained himself in 1 day morning and nights before he turned 2. Used complex vocabulary and choices with his lexicography that made doctors stare. But then he lived with 4 adults and never went to nursery so he just emulated the grown ups. It wouldn’t have occurred to him to use baby speech.
It’s just different children and their developmental skills: nothing to get in a flap avoid my son is now 11 and still streets ahead.

My DD was advanced for her age and I used to be so proud 😅 she's 11 now and was diagnosed with autism a year or so ago

I couldn’t get past calling his dad ridiculous in his PJs 🤣🤣

He sounds brilliant!

and yes, for a child a little over 2yo he is ahead of the normal development curve. What’s hard to know at this age is if he’s academically able or a quick learner. Some continue a steep upward trajectory in development and some peta out and their peers catch up.

I think getting him in to tennis whilst his brother plays is a good idea.

also just continue to talk to him at the level he can amaze to extend his vocab.

wouldn’t do anything much more specific because if he’s academically able he’ll pick it up from his environment and there’s lots of stuff they all learn when they start school - even if they know it!

edited - typos 🤦🏼‍♀️

OP these threads never go well. Don’t try and hot house your child with extra stuff. Just enjoy them. Marvel at them. Let them astound you, and find ways to encourage their curiosity. You’ll find out if they are bright when they are older.

He sounds bright but not unusually so. My DDs would have been similar at the same age

My daughter could speak in full sentences when she was 18 months, just because I was always talking to her. I never thought of it as "ahead" not sure what you could do to support him, he's not a genius.

@itsgettingweird he makes us laugh a lot 😂 he’s very cheeky and fun. Thanks for all the thoughts, will get him into tennis lessons and continue as we are elsewhere

Sounds like a normal 2 year old to me

Thanks so much for the thoughts and experiences of your own toddlers. For what it’s worth I don’t think he’s a genius but I do think after having a child who was significantly delayed on all areas he feels like a wonder. If you have never had the worry and fear about your child and their development and they have always been doing these things perhaps it is nothing to you but it it astounding to me which is why I wanted to check if it was normal.

I'd say he's at the top end of the normal range i.e he's speaking better than lots of two year olds, but not to a level that's unheard of/needs intervention.

In terms of what you can do for him, monitor what he's interested in/What's he's working on and find ways to extend his play. For example if he's interested in balls and catching/throwing etc. do this with him. Get him to stand further away each time he makes a successful catch, get him to throw a ball at something (knocking down skittles), get him to throw a ball through a hoop/into a box etc. Just look for ways to support his interests, scaffold him to reach the next level.

@NuffSaidSam these are all brilliant ideas thank you!
I am slightly amused by all the replies from people with equally chatty children saying it’s just because I talked to them all the time like I didn’t talk to my non verbal first born all the time and just decided I’d try it out second time 😂

After reading this thread I am mildly concerned my children might be idiots.

i would say that’s advanced, yes. But you don’t need to do anything you’re not doing already. Lots of chatting. Lots of reading to him. I hate the idea of “stretching” children-they can end up out of shape!

@BellsAllTheTime I dread to think what I would have thought if I’d seen this thread when my first was 27 months and five of his ten words were animal sounds 🙈

He is ahead, for some reason some people don't like to admit that about other people's children.
I don't think you need to worry about stretching him though, just play with him. If you enjoy planning activities a quick Google search will give ideas. I'd look at activities for 3-4 rather than 2 because his development does sound like it's more in that range.

The thing that stands out for me is hitting a ball with a racquet. The majority of children struggle with this in Reception and Year 1 unless they have had tennis/cricket/similar lessons.

Catching the ball two handed is great but not outside the realm of normal.

Speech at this age is so dramatically divergent in ability between children. It sounds like you have had the two ends of the spectrum of it with your two children! We were at a second birthday party the other week. The birthday boy was grunting in monosyllables and another child from his NCT group was narrating the entire event.

Ahhh he sounds lovely OP! But don’t worry, he’s still so little. Let him carry on what he loves doing (making you both laugh!) and I’d wait until he has been in school for a year or two if you want to explore this further.

Sounds like he is doing really well and definitely beyond average for his age. But probably not gifted.

Ha! One of my children is all grown up now, the other is not much older than your DS.

The all grown up one is all set to do very well in exams this summer.

I think your DS sounds advanced. Mainly because I've known children to often be particularly masterful at one standout aspect, but not usually multiple. My older DC was particularly good at language - like your DS - freakishly early talking in sentences, phonics and reading really clicked. It tracked all the way through school. But fine motor skills were always hard, maths never really clicked in the same way.

My friend's DC rode a bike really really early, but struggled with reading.

My younger DC was much later with talking, but is extremely good at drawing and writing, very precise with fine motor skills. Much less physically confident and capable than DC1 was.

I think your DC sounds ahead in lots of aspects, which is more unusual than having one standout area.

I also think people forget exactly what age children do things. I definitely have with my older child.

I think often we just need to get out of children's way for them to succeed. It sounds like your DS has been doing just fine with whatever you've been doing up until now, so I wouldn't actively change anything, just grow what you're doing reactively alongside him.

I would be teaching him to hold pencils and colour. Or stubby crayons. I’d read poetry and more complex stories. Sitting to complete a task is a big challenge for lots of boys. I’d get him to dress and undress himself. Get him to follow more complex instructions and play simple counting games. All fun bases things. Get him going with fine motor skills and get him to nursery to expand imaginative play.

I have no idea - my kids are in their 20s now. Both seemed bright enough at that age. I did nothing special. Read to them both every night. Encouraged their curiosity. Now they are grown and my son is engaging, charming but not at all academic. My daughter is not as charming but very academic (all A* student). Both are interesting to talk to and have great personalities.
If one was a genius I still wouldn’t have done anything different.

He's 2 not 27 months wtf

That sounds fine. Honestly, never gave any of this any consideration. If he’s walking and talking and exploring the world and playing and starting to interact with other children and eating proper food and moving in the direction of being toilet trained, that’s where he should be at this age.

My dd is 26 months and speaks in full sentences with correct pronouns and tenses and humour… but I do personally think she’s pretty bright in that area! She can count to 12 and knows how old she is. She can’t catch a ball - we’re working on it and it’s hilarious seeing her try, she loves it. She’s never been at all advanced physically tbh, communication has always been her strong suit.

I also wondered if I ought to do more to support / push her, but tbh just reading a lot and talking and pointing things out and giving lots of information is enough… he’ll learn what he wants from that as he wants to! He sounds lovely 🥰

Sounds like he's slightly behind where he should be to me. I'm sure he'll catch up though