Is my child unusually clever?

[Cursingtheboobytum]

Hi,

Just wondering whether my 18 month old is just a bit smart or unusually clever. Purely out of interest at this stage.

So here goes

She's 18 months old and has a large and wide vocabulary (haven't counted but pretty sure we're talking in the hundreds here). For example, she knows all her animals, wild and domestic and what sounds they make. Can recognise a lot of objects and name them from puzzles to jugs, toothbrushes, cars, sofa, bowl, spoon, fork, door window etc.... Speaks three word sentences in two languages and knows when to use each language. Knows up and down, in and out, on and under, in front and behind. Knows her colours and can count to 5 in two languages. Can understand complex instructions (e.g. can be given an instruction with more than one step in it). Does things like using her place mat to 'fish' for things out of her reach on the table, has tried to take apart her bike with an alan key and will use chairs and steps to reach door handles etc..... Seems to be playing at pretending things sometimes, like being asleep ir eating with her play food.

What are your thoughts? Do I have a kid who's a bit smart or is she unusually clever? I don't really have any other child to compare her too.

I have my reasons for asking so don't flame me. And I'm definitely NOT a pushy parent.

Thanks for reading

It's hard to say and this early age because there is so much variation. But she sounds as if she is on the normal scale to me but perhaps near the upper end.

It sounds normal, actually. Even if kids are a little advanced at this age, it tends to level out at around 2 or 3 and doesn't necessarily mean clever. It doesn't mean she won't be either, of course, but this in itself isn't an indicator of future intelligence levels.

She sounds advanced in her language, but that doesn't necessarily translate to extremely clever. And even if she is, then starting school at 6 shouldn't be a problem (in fact may well be better as once they start they move quite quickly, whereas a class starting at 4 tends to take things very slowly and a bright chiod could get bored).

I think her language skills are advanced for an 18month old, but that isn't always a good indicator of overall academic ability. Although I am sure in some cases it is.
DS1 had language skills as you describe at 18months - my sister is a speech and language therapist and assessed him at way above average. He taught himself to read before he went to school as he was obsessed by words. However starting school was the worst time of his life. We found out later that was because he has Aspergers syndrome and fitting into school was horrendous (NB not saying because your DD has good language skills that it follows she has AS)

DS2 had NO language until he was 2.5, he almost certainly also has autism. However academically he is storming ahead of DS1 and is on the gifted and talented list.

DS3 had fairly good early language skills, not as good as your DDs, and his nursery often tell me they think he is bright. He doesn't have autism.

Cursing we're much further down the line than you with bilingual DC at an international school in a country where formal education only starts at 6. Our DC are now 13 and 9 - one at secondary level, one at primary.

Starting school at 6 is just wonderful, as long as there is adequate/appropriate and affordable pre-school education. DD2 went to a Montessori nursery for instance, which was big into teaching independence and honing motor skills. A brilliant preparation for 'big school'. Montessori also offers lots of scope for brighter children to schedule their own learning at their own pace (individual number games etc) and has mixed age-groups. I think very able children can sometimes feel socially excluded and 'different' in a group setting, so it's important to make sure they're among a peer group and can learn good social skills.

Is there any option in your country for kids to skip a grade if they're doing academically well? Although that has problems in its own right, because your DC would then probably be emotionally immature by comparison with his classmates. But sometimes it can stop frustration and boredom growing in an underchallenged child.

And to answer your question: have you got a Little Man Tate there? As the others have said, perhaps, who knows. Kids develop at different rates, sometimes they go through a mental development spurt just like a growth spurt, and then slow down and learn less for a few months. Please don't put him under any pressure, though. As long as you offer him opportunities for learning (reading books together, going on trips and pointing out the names of things, teaching fine motor skills - anything that gets those synapses connecting) he'll progress at a good pace.

Try the Piaget test...if she has a sibling. Ask her: Do you have a brother/sister? Then: Does your brother/sister have a brother or sister? If she answers : that's me, then she is really advanced.
Do enjoy your little girl...remember, in 18 years time, you'll wish she wasn't so clever, when the university bills kick in! (Only kidding, this bit.)

I think 'cleverness' and doing well in life (and doing well in school) has to do with a variety of things, rather than just with 'natural intelligence'. Mainly it has to do with the ability to think and to concentrate and to persist, which are all much wider and much more emotionally determined qualities than just IQ.

I don't even believe 'natural intelligence' means all that much, given that children develop at all sorts of different paces, it's so individual. Unless you're talking of a child that has some kind of behaviour that stands out & worries their environment, otherwise all children have their own strengths & weaknesses & their own pace of development & that's completely normal. So in that sense your daughter sounds lovely and normal & someone who for the moment loves language, so enjoy all that :)

And by the way, I think starting school at age 6 is a great benefit, you're lucky to have that option! We start school FAR too early in the UK...

What is 'clever'? I don't mean to sound contrived but my niece has fantastic language skills and seems very advanced in this respect. She is not yet 3 but you can have a proper conversation with her. Yet she didn't walk until 17 mo. My DS has maybe 10 words at 15 mo, but walked at 13 mo and seems to have a particular interest in working out how small objects work. My niece could end up a professor or English at Cambridge Uni and my DS could be a professor in engineering at Oxford. Who is cleverer?

Enjoy your DD she sounds delightful and i'm sure you are very proud of her. She does sound bright

Your dd sounds much like mine. She's just 17 months but at 14 months I counted 30 words and stopped counting as it was new words every day after that. She was putting two words together at 11 months and 3 words at 16 months. It hasn't really occurred to me that she is particularly clever, just really good with language and very very sociable. When I compare her with other toddlers this is quite apparent but I fully expect them to all be at the same stage in a year so with language etc. That said, this and other behavior suggests she is quite bright, but not genius or anything. I think it is great with the language though, and I can't help it I'm terrible smug about it, take all the credit and have decided she takes after me I do feel a bit proud

Interestingly we do not have a telly either, although I'd not made a link with that before, she is a first child and gets constant 1:1 even on the days I work. We are however a very verbose lot in our family!

I think she sounds good with words, definitely. But like everyone else says it is too early to tell and she may just end up very talkative! Also she may just be an early developer languagewise and her peers could catch up with her. My Mum tells me I was a very early talker, saying phrases and many many words at 18 months. I definitely didn't end up a genius was (and am still) very talkative. My own DD (11 months) can say about four words :) I would stop thinking is she clever or not and just enjoy her the way she is.