Is my 1yr old a genius?

[Thatsmoneyhoney]

Hi all.

I was just wondering if my son is gifted or if I am just extremely biased 🤣 of course everyone thinks their child is amazing!
But...
Please can you let me know your opinions if you think my son is very smart for his age.
He has just turned 22 months so almost 2.
He knows most shapes and colours. All the letters in the alphabet. Even ones at random. He won't just sing the alphabet. He is able to say each letter in the words when we read books or out on walks he'll stop and look at road signs and pick out all the letters.
He can also count to 20. For instance if he has some blueberries. He'll move them and count 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 all the way up to 20. And he also recognises numbers. So if a road sign says 30mph.. he'll shout THREE ZERO!!
He also recognises his name in letters and will shout out his name if he sees it on his lunch box or something.
Is my boy a genius??

I have 3 children but my first was a verynkate talker. He didn't talk until 3 and our 2nd child has a disability so I don't know if my 3rd son is just average for his age....

DS was similar and is bright but not exceptional (now a student). My niece seemed really bright at a very young age and has turned out to be pretty good at English but her maths and science are only Mumsnet average.

How did he get up there?

He's bright but probably not genius level. My child was similar to yours, particular on the number recognition. At 18 months we needed to stop at every door to look at the numbers as we walked home, at 2 he could add and subtract. Now at 11 he is very very good at maths, but one of the top 2-3 in the class, not miles ahead of everyone. He is weaker at writing and reading.

One of my children was like this, and is autistic. So there is that! Not that it means your child is autistic, of course.

My son could read at 2 and he wasn't taught. Hyperlexia.
The brain is amazing!

My son was exactly the same at that age, almost a year ahead according to the Health visitor at 20 months and I wondered if he was a genius but I found everyone caught up with him. His birthday is end of august so when he started school just turned 4 he fitted in fine with children up to a year older. As he progressed through school he was bright especially at maths and sciences but not exceptional. He's 28 now, in a good job but definitely no Einstein

What does it matter if he is healthy and happy. Gifted usually applies to an area like , music, sport, art etc.
Is he sociable, has some self control and lots of self help skills? This is simply far more important. Just enjoy him.

Came here for the comments. Wasn’t disappointed.

More ASD than genius I reckon…although most geniuses likes were ASD so 🤷‍♀️
he is what he is though, so love and support him the same as other kids no matter what

I didn’t mean that to come across so harshly… just that being able to count early etc isn’t always a ‘good thing’. I’ll shut up now

I am pretty sure my son knew all the main colours by this age and used to say if they were light or dark blue for example. He knew his letters he had foam ones in the bath and used to ask what each was and could recognise them, he mostly could count to 20 but sometimes got the teens mixed up, he was counting to well over 100 by the time he was 3 and could read words that are recogniable when spelt out phonetically, knows all his phonics. My family seem to think my son is bright but I have nothing to compare him to so take their word for it. I shall wait and see how his sister does learning these things as she grows, only 5 months at present. He was also very very talkative early and uses alot of words for his age.

My child was like that by 6 months..

He's in prison now.

My daughter was the same at this age. She's 4 now. Just be aware that this intense interest in numbers and letters can suggest autism spectrum. That's not necessarily a bad thing. My dd is still very bright (not a genius I wouldn't say). At her preschool graduation, her award was for 'using a high level of language to ask questions at group time'.

But because she is likely ND she probably won't thrive unless a few adjustments are made for her. So it's important to look at the whole child.

He sounds like he's doing well - happy, interested in the world around him, and with a loving family.

One thing to watch out for is that bright, curious kids pick up a lot of what you say... More than you think. The other day my DC told her teacher about how my court case was adjourned. 🤦🏻‍♀️ It wasn't actually my case, just one I was following, but that led to an interesting chat...

Yep he is a genius.

My eldest was like this. She is reception and a higher reading level than the rest of the class and they’ve said she would be comfortable doing the year above work easily.

That is normal at 2.5! For all my kids anyway.

Totally. I've never thought my kid was a genius but she is doing quite well so I don't know if that's something that correlates with being brighter sooner or if it's completely unrelated.

bright and observant. Yes. Genius - stretch at 1. Just enjoy your boy for being who he is. If you consider a typical ‘genius’ they’re usually neurodivergent.
some children start school reading Harry Potter (hyperlexic) then parents can’t understand why they fall behind because they think their ‘genius’ is too good for phonics but then has gaps.
don’t wish or push for anything, encourage and enjoy.

Me neither. What’s the point of the post?

He sounds clever but I think all children excel in different areas around that age. My daughter was the same and also could hold a full conversation by 16 months. She’s 5 now and plays piano at a grade 5 standard, she reads sheet music, she knows so many random facts that I don’t even know, she questions things most children wouldn’t even think of, her drawings are more similar to those of a 10 year old, but she’s slightly behind with her phonics and reading in school.

all children excel in different areas.

"the orange traffic light means go slower but mommy goes faster."

Kids are the best at dropping us in it aren’t they? 🤣

Me too! 😂😂

My son knew all shapes, colours, could count at 20 months, you could have a conversation with him at 14 months and could properly talk by the time he turned 2. Totally different to his older brother who only speak 10 words on his 2nd Birthday. I have heard of children who can read books at 2 so I guess all kids are different . Obviously your boy is bright 😊

Yes I would say he seems to be ahead for his age - of course some children just are more advanced at certain things and it doesn’t necessarily translate to being gifted at academics. However, having said that your son sounds very similar to my two at the same age. Son1 was more of a talker with it and before he was 2 was talking in complete and complex sentences. Whereas son2 had a huge vocabulary but was more average in terms of 3 or 4 words sentences. However son2 could not just recognise letters and numbers but spell very simple phonetic words and do very simple mathematics. It was purely because Son1 was then in reception and was learning to read and do maths. Both of my boys are very academically advanced still now (at 12 & 10) and one goes to a very selective private secondary school on a full scholarship, predicted 9s in 16 subjects for GCSEs, and the younger one will join him at that school in a few years assuming he does as well
as predicted in the entrance exams. My niece however was a prolific talker and incredibly good at her alphabet etc aged 2, but is more average now in terms of academics. So it’s not a given that advanced toddlers will be academically gifted children but it can be a good indicator.