If you had a really early talker would you please talk to me, a few q's

[sedgieloo]

I am just wondering if you later found that it signified anything or did other toddlers simply catch up, and do you think I should encourage it further? I am 35 wks pregnant so if there are some books I could get for the next stage I would like to do that now. Or should I just leave her to it? I have not attempted to teach her to read, and have no idea how.

Background if interested, or if it helps to explain...

She was putting 2 words together at 10 months, then at 14 months I counted up 40 words then stopped as it was new words every day then from 15 months several new words a day. By 18 months 100's of words and more complex sentences. She knew her alphabet, could count to 12, multiple shapes, colours etc. That sounds like I was pushing her, but just the normal books and songs, she picked it all up fast. I noticed she is a good mimic, as are several in the family and put it down to that.

To be honest I didn't think much of it except it was highly amusing.

Then I was started to notice her grammar, for example at 20 months I recall she said: Daddy bumped his head, and in the same sentence, Mummy bumped her head.

Then at 22 months I overheard her having conversations with her toys and doing their voice, I'm a first time mum so I don't know but felt surprised. Here is an example at 22 months:

DD: 'Teddy what is the name of a baby pig called?'
DD in a squeaky voice: 'A piglet'
DD: 'Very good teddy'

We get quite a lot of this now, I hear her in the car or at bedtime chatting away doing both voices. That is a bit odd unusual I thought, but do not have much to compare it to.

I would now describe her as verging on precocious fully conversational?!? Yesterday she said 'mummy I want to play upstairs', 'OK but I want to finish my cup of tea'. Immediately, 'Are you nearly finished mummy?' she is 23 months.

DD was a very early talker. She's in year 1 now and is also a v advanced reader. Not sure what any of that points to, though other than the fact that she never, never shuts up

My youngest started talking before he could sit up - very spooky and like your daughter he could string words and speak in sentences at the same level as his brother who was 13 months older. Elder brother caught up but is still quiet, youngest is still loud but has an incredible vocabularly at age 11 - but then he reads a lot. His class mates call him the walking dictionary - he has also a couple of half written books around and generally loves the written word as well as the spoken. Other than read to him when he was little we haven't pushed him in any way. Age almost 3 he asked my other half who makes the rules - my Oh told him it was Judges just to shut him up - he decided he wanted to be a judge there and then! I would also say he was the biggest tantrum king out so the perceieved link between tantrums and an inability to communicate was not demonstrated in my house! he has recently grown out of them so we are enjoying a small break before the teenage years kick in. Good Luck with your lo.

So very interesting and helpful to get al the insight from you regarding your children and experience, thank you. I particularly liked the suggestions from steppemum exexpat Tingalingle UrbanSpaceMum and will take this on board.

Its got me thinking what is behind this accelerated speech, I think it is related to her ability to mimic, being very sociable, having a good memory, being inquisitive, imaginative and attention to detail, and that understanding might help me develop her natural strengths.

I know this wont stay 'cute' forever and will soon be quite normal, so for now I will enjoy it. I find it quite entertaining...Just now she said: 'mummy hold your cup by the handle, like this, like a lady' when she clocked me grabbing it construction worker style from the top taking a swig, cue peals of laughter from me. Its not like we talk that that ordinarily (I promise) I must of said something whilst doing a teddy bear tea party and she just remembered. Funny and grown up at 23 months, but in a years time I guess not so much.

My DD could more than hold a conversation at 2. She spoke very early and everyone couldn't get over how tiny she was and putting such complex sentences together. She is 3 now and can read and write a few words. I suppose she is a little advanced in that sense but is at nursery and refuses to even try to ride a bike, not even with stabilisers, all children have their strengths and weaknesses.

Your DD sounds lovely sedgieloo. There is actually quite a lot of research that links early speech, and rapid progression through the speech related milestones, with high IQ - I read research by Staines (1982) and Gross (1993) when I was at university. But my own anecdotal experience has been as I described earlier, so I really do think it's impossible to predict. The likelihood is that she will be bright, sociable and linguistic I suppose, but beyond that it's anyone's guess - just enjoy your chats, she sounds gorgeous.

My three boys have all been early talkers but later walkers. DS2 for example was talking in full sentences before he could walk (at 18 months) - it used to really surprise people when he crawled up to me then opened his mouth and spoke

They have all turned out to be brighter than average, DS1 ended up with the equivalent of 14 GCSEs a couple of years ago. DS3 is reading well ahead of the average at the beginning of year one.

So for me it's followed that being early talkers means they are brighter than average.

It will still be cute when she's 3!

My dd (now aged 7) was like this - she would tell stories in the car which were amazingly well put together.
She's still articulate, has a great vocabulary and is reading ahead of her age. Her real talent, though, turns out to be art, which she was absolutely useless at when she was younger - she was doing random scribbles when her little friends were drawing princesses in dresses with crowns.
I think the point I am making is that some talents develop early, others late, some things stall.

DS1 didn't talk as early but he is probably cleverer based on school performance so far.

DS2 (2) is the same as her. His speciality is telling rude jokes (long shaggy dog story types) which he has learnt from his older brothers and sisters. Today he was regaling the other mums at the school gate with a joke of which the punchline was 'poo'.

I like early talkers, they're fun. The main thing to remember with children who are advanced in something is not to put them into a separate 'gifted' box as that puts pressure on them which can be counterproductive and harmful if the child then slows down to the same pace as her peers. You can just respond to her in whatever way feels right to you. You could teach her to read if you wanted (get a box of phonics cards, they come with instructions), or introduce her to another language, or read her nice poems. Or nothing at all. Whatever you do is fine as long as it's done at her own pace as a fun activity.

DS1 was an early talker, proper sentences by 18months - he could describe how the digestive system worked, naming all the enzymes etc. Was fascinated by words and taught himself to read before he was 3. He is very clever, BUT he is autistic and struggles terribly in a school environment.
DS2 was fairly well mute until he was nearly 3, he is also autistic, but has been placed on the G&T lists at school in maths and literacy. To be fair that still surprises me, but he has always had a knack at maths at just knowing the answers to sums.
DS3 was somewhere in the middle. Unlike the other 2 he happily chats to people other than me and his nursery etc tell me he is bright. Compared to DS1 I don't think he is, but unlike DS1 he can communicate well to other people and chatters a lot in an imaginative way.

Dd1 was pretty average milestone-wise.
Ds1 was a very early talker (like the op's dd in development and asking 'why' questions and responding to the answer in context before two.)
We were told dd2 was unlikely to be verbal - she became verbal at around 4, but required communication support for yr r.

Dd2 has an iq at least twenty points higher than ds, although ds's is in turn well into the 'gifted' category.

Dd1 of the average speech development sits half way between them.

Does it mean anything? Not intelligence-wise, no. It means she is an early talker.

Fwiw, dd2 could read before she could talk - we just didn't know.

My DS was a pretty early talker - lots of words before 1 - he is 6 now - still talks a lot and has a very wide vocab - but wasn't an early reader and is doing fine at school but not as far as I can see above his peer group

Oh very interesting! I guess there is no rule. I did not think she was gifted, just as you say madwoman an early talker. Although some of the things she is now saying/doing is making me think she is pretty sparky, especially the imaginative play, problem solving and how fast she grasps things, so it got me to wondering and hence my post

Thanks for the points you make adeucalione I had a quick look for some research/consensus of professional opinion but didn't get too far.

She is a lot of fun, as well as all of this she is a very happy little thing and full of joie de vivre and being able to converse with her like this so young is lovely for me as a mum as well as entertaining. It gives me lots of anecdotes to note down and share with her later and I am enjoying her so much. The thing is if she is G&T (is this Gifted and Talented I have never heard this expression, but really fancy a G&T but 35 wks pregnant dagnammit) then I want to support/encourage her in the right way.

The only experience I have really is with my much younger brother who was a very early talker, mum can't remember specifics except that she was astounded at the sentences that came; 'I was so shocked, he was so young, it came from nowhere it was like Balaams ass' she says! Anyway he is really bright and none of us knew, he took an entrance exam at 12 or something and they got the highest score they had ever had. We really had no idea. We then noticed he could turn his hand to anything with little tutoring or effort. As it turned out he became quite lazy because he found he could still get b's without making any effort or doing any homework! I wonder if things might have been different if he had had a bit more encouragement/attention. You know how it is, I am a first time mum and want to get it right...

DD also talked early - and now 2.11 she can spell 5 or 6 words (Dog, cat, mummy etc) with our fridge magnets- BUT she is still in nappies, a very picky eater and pretty uncoordinated 9can't manage cutlery yet, won't try riding bikes / scooters etc). So advanced in some ways - well behind in others!

Ime the others mostly catch up.
Dd1 was an early talker but a v late walker (18 months). Her little friends altogether looked really strange around that age because the other 5 were running around and dd just sat on her bum and talked non stop.
Now they are 3 they are more similar but there is a marked difference in speech between dd and most of the others. She is extremely articulate and other parents have commented for a long while that it's like taking to an adult. She does not stumble over words and rarely has to search for a word. She uses multi syllable adjectives and v long sentences. I am v pleased she has a good command of conjunctions because I'm hoping it means she won't have the local habit of missing them out
I think it's undoubtedly a sign of brightness but I did try hard when she was learning, used a rear facing pram and was lucky enough to be at home with her for almost 2 years. Dd2 will not get this .

My dd was a freakishly early talker- she could talk clearly long before she could walk, in q ridiculously posh accent. She was interviewed on local television about the new swimming pool at 16 months. We were always being stopped in shops so people could talk to her (we live in a small town so not much happens!) it was huge fun, I have to say!

She wasn't a particularly early reader, although she always loved books qnd being read to. She's 16 now, and clever (just starting on 4 a levels including philosphy so she can talk lots!) but by no means super bright or gifted or anything,

But I think the talking was just like a party trick. I suspect that other children are doing it to- but dd enunciated very clearly so people could understqnd her. She never had any trouble with any of the sounds- never had a lisp or said w for r or t for c or anything.

I would enjoy it- it's loads of fun. But don't think it means anything!

I was able to have a full conversation before my 2nd birthday - I was perhaps slightly ahead of my peers at first and middle school, went to a grammar school but didn't particularly excel or appear outstanding compared to anyone else. I wouldn't consider myself of above average intelligence now, either, to be honest.

My daughter was much the same - fully conversational by the age of 2. She's now at nursery and apart from being able to count slightly higher than most children her age is very much on level with her peers.

My son never uttered a word until after his second birthday, just made noises. He's now 5 and you can't shut him up, also on level with his peers, with the exception of being very talented artistically.

They're all so different and I've found generally, they all tend to catch up with each other as they get older. Your daughter sounds lovely, and it's great you're taking an interest in what she can do :)

Just to add, she might well be gifted as well as an early talker, but the one doesn't necessarily lead to the other in either direction.

She sounds great. (am dying at Seeker's dd being interviewed about the pool at 16mos! ) dd1 had unsettlingly early dentition, and would grin at people as small babies do. She attracted a lot of attention... Mostly double takes of disbelief followed by a comment at how freaky she was. Since having dd2, I've caught myself reacting similarly to really really tiny babies walking. It's like my expectations have been recalibrated. I must look a loon.

My ds1 was just like the op's daughter when he was tiny. But now that he is seventeen all he can say is "Yeah", "Later" and, most impressively, "getsmDrPepperswhenyurratsupermarkt."

If you have an early talker please read "george Speaks" by Dick King- Smith, you will absolutely love it. I think the lovely Mr King- Smith must have known one of your babies .

(George talk to his sister and the grown ups don't believe her so she becomes a conduit for him to survive babyhood- get the food he wants etc etc)

Doubt that it does all even out in the end. There's Oxbridge, and there's the Polyversity of Western Europe, and then there's the paintspraying room. I could be wrong, but I would guess that more early talkers go to Oxbridge.

I guess the "not specially bright, but starting 4 A-levels" comment is important, just how unusual is this early talking, what does it signify. I checked off my DD's vocab at 2 years with a university project, and she did score highly, however what was interesting was that they basically denied that early talkers existed and claimed that all children say their first word at around 12 months. Anything earlier than that was imagined by the parents and the child didn't mean to say it. I thought it was slightly sad, it's as though the formal science of speech is missing out on a huge chunk of interesting stuff. Oops that sounds a bit audacious but anyway.

Ds was an early talker. He never really had one word conversations, they were 6 or 7. His vocab has always been very advanced, and sometimes caused him problems at school to be honest. 'What kind of child uses the term 'grapple hook?' said the headteacher, who though that he had said 'fuck'. He also doesn't stop talking or asking questions. He's been reading since he was 3, this was also like his talking skills as he went from learning how to read two words to reading a whole bloody book within the space of ten minutes. He's above average intelligence now, but has no idea where his shoes are (even if they are next to his feet) and his social skills are a worry.

lol - the thing I used to get form my son's teachers were that he had a huge vocabulary, could spell the words, knew what they meant and could use them in context but had no idea how they were pronounced in a lot of cases as he had never actually heard them spoken! Interestingly UrbanSpaceMum one of his earliest words - well before 1 year was "yellow" it was a little party trick in that we could point to something and ask him what colour it was and out he'd trot with "yellow" Obviously we had to pick something yellow as he would never have actually known his colours (i think!). He would also make an elephant noise if you asked what does the elephant say. I know that he was around the 8/9 month age at that time just based on where we were living. He also said "Baby sleep" when we went to see my sisters new born for the first time - they are only 10 months apart. I have video of him at just over the year saying "take it off" as he is struggling to get his jacket off. I know at 11 he is clever but as we've never really pushed it, I don't really know how clever. His reading age was 12 and a half at just under 10. But then No1 son who barely uttered a word until he was at least 18 months and didn't really link words til over 2, was the same in terms of reading, his reading age at just under 11 was 13 and a half. He is still quiet.

At 8 months Ds used to point to things on the floor and shout 'dirty'.

lol - at 11ish months I caught mine licking water from a puddle and he said "beenin tat" (being cat)

Nice!

My brother was a very early talker, very precocious. I was a reasonably early talker, acc. to my mum, but nothing compared to him.

By the time we got to GCSEs and A levels I performed way better than him

Doesn't signify a glowing future - bright without a doubt, but others will catch up and perhaps overtake. Not wishing to burst your bubble - just enjoy her she sounds lovely!