should i find an enriched early education programme for my son?

[boredbuthappy]

Hi, DS is approaching 18 months old and I've been told by people who've met him that he's extremely sharp for his age. He knows the entire alphabet, and point to all te letters when asked, can count to 6 (big whoop), and he we have lost track of how many words he knows, (2 months ago it was over 100, so no idea now how many he's got). He is talking in broken sentences, enjoys 'drawing', knows some colours, can sing scarily well (copies tunes he hears once or twice)...many other things that people have said are advanced for his age.

On the other hand he was a late walker, literally never even rolled over until he was 11 months old.

I think tat yes, he has picked up many things quite fast, but does that really mean that he needs extra stimulation? I don't want him to be bored, but I don't want to label him as some sort of genius and put him into a programme that might deprive him of normal everyday life and perfectly normal children and perfectly normal social situations.

Just wondering if people are just paying him lovely compliments for the heck of it, or if he needs a more focused approach to development. He's starting nursery in a couple of weeks.

Does he sound normal? Are your kids of similar age doing similar things?

If your DS is happy, active and learning all the things you mention - then it sounds to me as though you are already doing an excellent job of meeting his needs and stimulating him. I think that he will be getting loads of new experiences from nursery and that between them and you, he will get all the help and support he needs for the time being.
You can always review how it is going as he gets older.

Yes, he sounds like he's doing fine. You'll know if he's getting bored, I don't think he needs a more focused approach.

He sounds as though he is developing well and you're probably doing a lot to help him already. I think we sometimes underestimate just how much a young child can do and should do in typical development - which is understandable in some ways as it is an everyday miracle just how much the infant brain processes.

Thanks for your replies! I agree, let the kid be a kid. I'm not in much of a hurry to get him off to a good school, it's just what people have said to me adnd advised me that he should be going to a nursery/preschool that would support him (if he's a mastermind, I'm not convinced). I'm quite happy with the way things are at the moment!

He sounds extremely bright to me. If you give him the opportunity to pick things up he will. If he's going to be a genius that will happen anyway unless you lock him away from the world. IMO he's still got loads to learn by conventional means before you can worry about boring him.

Also, he may well teach himself to read before he's 3. Don't try to suppress this because people say he should learn phonics when everyone else does! A bright child will often learn to read properly early purely by word recognition, with their own brain working out what the rules are.

I think children are just interested in different things at different times. I don't think children who are more 'academically advanced' need extra input - they just need the adults around them to talk to them, answer their questions (when they get to that stage) and take an interest in their interests.

He sounds quite a bit like my DS, who at 18 months knew all the basic colours, letters of the alphabet and their sounds and had 500+ words at 19 months. He's 2.8 y.o. now and still loves letters, numbers, language and finding out about things. I reckon he might be reading by the time he's 3.

I enjoy it all, but I don't think he's 'special' in that respect - it's just what he's into. OTOH he can't balance or jump like most other children his age, and isn't interested in running around or playing with other children like many of his peers are - his interests are different.

He doesn't go to nursery and we've never done anything special to 'stimulate' him, other than chat about what he's interested in and talk about the world. It's fascinating to watch them develop without any planned input. :)

I reckon at this young age, having lots of one to one (or two to one) parent time is what stimulates them most, rather than a nursery program.

I think loads of talking, songs, explaining how things work even if it seems like the concepts are way too advanced. Also lots of trips to the park to "learn" about leaves, seasons, how flowers and bees work. Adding and subtracting in normal life, counting how many trucks, seeing which things are the same, different and similar, all those kinds of things make for a child who is interested in the world and they will soak up so much information.

Everything can be a "learning" experience - trips to the shops can be about counting things into bags, or seeing how many letter As you see out and about. Cooking can be about textures, weighing, mixing (science!). Planting seeds etc.

If he likes music, then some cheap instruments and your ipod and have a dance round the living room, doesn't need to be awful children's songs.

My DS also is a bit of a sponge for knowledge and I sometimes worry that I'm not doing enough to stimulate him, but there's so much to learn and so many fun ways to do it.

I think we all worry that we don't do enough with our DC. I spend most of my time struggling to keep on top of the basics around the house and have very little time to play with DS or do activities that would 'stretch' him. :( But he is galloping ahead in his understanding of the world.

Everyday things are great. DS learnt half of his phonics from reading road signs when out on errands (another quarter was from signs in shops), and he learnt his numbers by counting fence posts and bollards.

There is nothing an"early education programme" could do that you can't, except relieve you of money better spent on trips to th zoo, rides on busses and trains and books. And musical instruments. Get him a good quality in tune xylophone that makes a noise you canbeqr to listen to, and show him how to read music.

Maybe encourage the sports and music side at the moment while he's young, and the social skills side of things? That's what I'd focus on atm and then the more academic side later$ of course, let him follow his interests too, but imo early childhood is better spent on those things

Social and play skills are the most important thing to cultivate in children who are developing in a precocious way at this young age.