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Gifted and talented

Talk to other parents about parenting a gifted child on this forum.

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Original poster

Is our 4 year old son gifted?

39 replies

Riddler266 · 08/08/2012 12:10

He seems very bright as we've been told by several people he's probably gifted and talented, but I don't have any experience in this area. A few of the things he does.......

Reading - Oxford Reading Tree Stage 9/10.
Read and teaches himself Science from a DK Science Dictionary

Science - Loves learning about blood and the imune system
Knows over 200 human bones, by their medical name (eg Femur, not thigh bone)

Maths - Knows 1s 2s and 3s times tables, part of 4s also.

Follows instruction very well (he's been attending Hocky training and the coach thought he was 6 or 7 because of this) and has a long attention span - for example, he watched a whole episode (1 hour) of the Human Body the other day, then went to tell Mummy all about how macrophages protect the lungs - he was very detailed and exactly right in his explanation.

OP posts:

Lougle · 08/08/2012 12:22

What do you think, Riddler?

Original poster

Riddler266 · 08/08/2012 12:50

How do you mean?

OP posts:

seeker · 08/08/2012 12:55

He sounds very bright indeed. Had you thought about what you're going to do with the information?

ThePathanKhansWitch · 08/08/2012 12:56

Yes I would say so. My 4yo can write her name (it's a 4 letter pallindrome, how hard can it be?). Do a 20 piece jigzaw puzzle with help. Dress herself and sort herself out in the toilet.

Your son sounds extremely clever.

ThePathanKhansWitch · 08/08/2012 12:57

Oh and she calls her ankle her elbow.

Labootin · 08/08/2012 12:58

IMO he sounds like a typical four year old.
Please don't worry OP.

LeeCoakley · 08/08/2012 13:00

He sounds lovely and with a thirst for learning. He has a good memory and is a good listener. He will do well!

ThePathanKhansWitch · 08/08/2012 13:00

Arf Labootin.

Original poster

Riddler266 · 08/08/2012 13:00

Seeker, it's just to get my head round things really - and I suppose I'll see how he's getting on and if he continues to do well, then we've been advised to get him to sit the entrance exam for a private school which offers scholarships at year 3.

Some of the time I think he's gifted, others I wonder if it's just becuase I've spent so much time reading and encouraging him to "Level Up" (his words) with his reading books.

OP posts:

EdithWeston · 08/08/2012 13:01

Presumably he's about to start reception?

As ORT would be a really unusual choice for home reading, I'm assuming he's at nursery - have the staff there commented?

Original poster

Riddler266 · 08/08/2012 13:05

I bought a boxed set of ORT Read at Home books, knowing this is the reading scheme our local schools use.

He is starting reception in Spet, and prior to that went to playschool 1/2 the week and Pre-School the other 1/2 - yet neither did any reading - the best we got from them was how he did little lessons for the younger boys about dinosaur names etc he's read in their books. I sort of got the feeling they were commenting to meet the needs of their assessments, rather than going beyond that in anyway.

OP posts:

Nuttyprofessor · 08/08/2012 17:32

He sounds exactly like my DS when he was 4. I never felt the need to ask anyone if he was gifted.

ColouringIn · 08/08/2012 17:38

I don't often post on these G&T threads but yes he does sound bright and clearly has a love of learning.

I can also see why you want to clarify this with others. My son is autistic with learning difficulties which were apparent to me but not always to others straight away. I needed clarification and cannot see why parents with children at the other end of the spectrum might need to ask as well.

One or two have made sneering type comments. Don't!

If a child does not fit the norm it's natural to wonder why and ask questions.

Original poster

Riddler266 · 09/08/2012 07:11

Thanks ColouringIn!! Yes, I noticed the comments too, I wasn't expecting that on this forum - I though perhaps this of all places, would be a safe place to discuss it. And yes of course I think he is - but I don't want to come on here sounding boastful. Sometimes it's hard not to when you are so proud of your DS, but at the same time, I thought here might be a good forum to try to determine, is he gifted or am I just being overly proud of his achievements.

OP posts:

titchy · 09/08/2012 17:06

He's clearly very bright, but it doesn't sound as if he is truly gifted - which is good. Can he get himself dressed after pe and wipe his own bum though - they're the crucial skills needed for reception! Oh and getting on with his peers.

BeckyBendyLegs · 09/08/2012 19:44

I think it is lovely that he's so interested in learning and the world. I don't understand why people make sneering comments, it's not very friendly. I suggest you just go with the flow and encourage him in whatever direction he wants to go. My DS1 was / is similar but not quite on this level. He loves maths and numbers and also words. He takes after his dad though, not me!

sadie3 · 13/08/2012 20:07

My DD could read fluently at 4, knew all her times tables off by heart, could do column addition and subtraction into the hundreds, she sat her SATS in year 1 and achieved level 3 everyone told me she was gifted, now she?s older she is the same as the other girls in her set. Some children just learn faster when theyre young it does not mean that they are gifted.

anitasmall · 17/08/2012 09:05

My daughter is 5 years old (12/Aug) and will start year 1 in September. She can read, knows 2,5,10 timetables, 3 digit numbers, decimals, understands %. She is into planets (not bones), like every child is into something. She is bilingual and can sign (Makaton). She can clap rhythms (pause, 1/8, 1/4...), but not ready to play any music instrument yet.

She is not Gifted and Talented, because in her class there are 2 other children that are also academically advanced (they could read before starting reception) and for G&T you have to be 1:100.

She likes to practice a lot because the highest achiever in her class is in star position and she thinks he won't marry her if she won't be good enough...

Lougle · 17/08/2012 12:45

Anitasmall, my daughter is 5 years old (12/Aug) and will start year 1 in September. She can read a little but by no means independently, can count, and can sing simple tunes. She scored 104/177 on the Foundation Stage Profile, so I suspect your daughter is slightly ahead of the norm

Quip · 18/08/2012 21:24

And my DS is also 4 and will start y1 in sept. On purple band reading (no idea what ORT that is) and can do all times tables, and tell you more maths facts than you ever wanted to hear. (e.g. "Mummy, 37.5 is half of 75 isn't it. And 18.75 is half of 37.5. And 8 times 18.75 is 150. And 16 times 18.75 is 300 which is a nice number apart from the 3. And 1/3 of 18.75 is 6.25 so 16 times 6.25 is 100."). He can write all his letters (although he doesn't form them all correctly) and will, under duress, use his writing skills to produce some work.

He's otherwise normal. He's considered in the top group for reading but not unusually so (other than doing well for a summer born) and slightly below average for writing (but not unusual for a summer born). He's considered unusually ahead for maths. So not too dissimilar from the OP's child if you swap maths knowledge for biology!

anitasmall · 19/08/2012 13:34

Quip, I think understanding fractions and decimals is much harder than to be interested in bones or stars. I would say even speaking any additional language is higher achievement than to be good at science (biology). To be able to speak a foreign language properly takes more than 8 years...

Riddler266, these examples doesn't mean that your child is not G&T, just that other children are G&T at sg else. Try to concentrate on other fields (like Latin languages that can help even if he won't become a surgeon.)

Anybody with G&T child from Hertfordshire, Hemel Hempstead area?

redwhiteandblueeyedsusan · 26/08/2012 23:47

depends whether he is 4 nearly 5 or just turned 4.

my four year old was reading white band books...(nearly 5) (yellow band at just turned 4)

my just turned 4 (4.2) has just learnt to count to 39 (unashamedly proud mummy) can add one and one and do one more to 7 and knows most of his letters.. his drawings are squiggles never mind writing and he is not reading/blending together sounds hearing first letters for i spy etc. he is gifted and talented at tantrums and mischief. people say he is very bright... if he is it is not the usual sort of bright and is highly likely to be euphemism for talented at getting into mischief.

GoodHeavensNo · 27/08/2012 00:28

Well I've got to say he sounds like a genius compared to my 5 year old

duchesse · 27/08/2012 00:41

DS was like this at age 4.

However, he totally underperformed all the way through school right from the start (teachers all thought he had a bit missing tbh some even intimated that there was something wrong), got fairly dismal A levels, got into a decent university nonetheless and is showing signs of picking up academically.

I am not sure what to say or advise. It's very tricky to know what to do. In retrospect I think I'd normalise his life as much as possible- by which I mean don't treat him differently even if he is very much brighter than his peers. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Devora · 27/08/2012 01:14

Well, he's a genius compared to my kids

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