Signs of giftedness at 2y5?

[Juniper4004]

Not that it makes any difference in the grand scheme of things, but is my DD unusual in her abilities?

She is 2y5 and said her first word at 8 months. She now has (probably) over 1000 words. I tried counting for a bit but she surpassed 400 by 22 months and at that point I stopped! Nowadays, she speaks in full sentences and uses different verb endings accurately.

She is also able to count items up to 20, knows at least 12 colours, most of her shapes and can predict the next shape in a 2 term sequence.

She can sight read about 20 words and knows all of the letter names and some of the phonemes.

Her memory is also good and she remembers things that happened weeks ago- including a house that had scaffolding up, where each cat we see lives etc.

She seems very bright to me but I don't know many 2 year olds to know if she is unusual. I'm not hot housing her but she does seem very keen to learn so I'm going with her interests.

Thanks.

My ds is a month older than your dd but what you describe is him down to a t. We've always thought he was very bright, said first word at 6 months, I kept a book of all his words but like you gave up when he got to over 500 before he was 2. I don't think of him as gifted, just advanced for his age, he's been speaking in full sentences for ages too and has the most amazing memory. We're just going with it, if nothing else it makes life much more interesting, and communicating with a toddler that bit easier! Your dd sounds lovely.

I struggle with the concept of very early development as a sign of being gifted. It's a brain development race - some children will develop their language skills much earlier than other children, but it's only that, language. I truly believe that most children have a very good memory, but because some can communicate better at an early age we notice it more. Being advanced in language skills does not automatically mean that a child is gifted.

Ds didn't speak before he was 3, and then he was only saying three words. But it was not stopping him from learning and observing. He was 4 when he started speaking in short sentences and is now G&T in maths (year 4, 8 years old) and top of the class (well above the other children) in writing and reading, as well as science.

Don't get me wrong, your child might be Gifted. But please be aware that your dd might just be advanced.

Sight reading and proper and consistent counting to 20 before 2 1/2 sounds pretty good to me. I would try and steer away from counting and reading, and find what she is interested in eg space etc

I've worked with this age group and that is definitely well above average.

My ds was counting backwards from 1000 when he was 2.

I dont think theres a connection between language development and giftedness? Not sure tbh. Shes certainly advanced linguistically for her age but is this an area of interest for you too (just wondered about the phonemes reference)? How are her other skills eg gross and fine motor skills, social skills? My middle child was like your dd and is still talented in languages/english. My eldest didnt talk at all til he was 2.5. They are both g/t (not genius level just your normal type top of school thing)

It sounds advanced in language and memory but I'm just wondering how she is with everything else? I walked at 9 months but my language was limited until 2.5 apparently. Sometimes a child is advanced in one way but not in others as they're all so different! However I would still say that's pretty impressive!

Does it matter? Just let her be a child, don't label her.
If she's 'gifted' now she'll still be gifted at 5 when she goes to school.

Only thing I remember was that he never had baby talk stage. He spoke properly like adult from start. I don't think it as particularly early. And I can't remember how many words he was able to read by 2.(I wasn't counting.)

To answer a few questions in one:

No, it doesn't matter, but I'm a teacher. Hence my knowledge of phonics and my desire to assess and level. After doing it for years and years, it's hard to stop; it sort of becomes automatic. Poor kid can't read a book without being quizzed about her comprehension. It's hard to turn off.

Her language skills are advanced but I think her maths is stronger. I don't know reception level maths all that well, but I think she ticks some of those boxes. She can add together two numbers below 10 and understands sequencing. But it's not my area, really. I'm KS2.

I don't have a desire to push her excessively as a) most state schools aim for the middle ground b) she's so bloody strong willed that she wouldn't, and won't, co-operate unless it's on her own terms.

Hahaha i thought you would be a teacher!
Right then, ignore all the giftedness stuff, your main mission from now on is to stop her going into teaching! Stop making teaching look fun. Let her go feral. Absolutely no reward for showing interest in books, learning or phonics. Is she practical? Perhaps junior plumbing?

Can she dress herself?
In relation to the EYFS does she hit all the appropriate areas as it could be she's advanced in the areas you mention but emotionally very young and average in other areas.

I don't know if anyone saw the Child Genius programme last year. Children under 12 I think being tested on maths, English and science. One of the mothers of one of the children was an MN. There were some nasty comments from some posters about her daughter, and I posted to support her because she was most certainly not pushing her daughter, unlike most of the parents. She PMed me to say thank you and I asked if she'd mind telling me when she first noticed her daughter was very bright. She read at 2 years, and told the nursery teacher at 2 years that the picture being shown was a crescent moon. She could apparently work out the number of things just by looking at them, so looking at a pile of papers she could say how many there were - approximately but very close.

She had the highest IQ of all the children. Some of the kids I could have cried - they were SO pushed by parents, particularly fathers. God only knows what emotional damage this caused in these children, and swotting at home or hours on end.

Your dd certainly sounds G & T to me OP and the other little boy.

A crescent moon is not v impressive. A gibbous moon ... . (Well okay it just means they read the kid too much pratchett)

Sounds similar to my DD, first word at 6 months and language has been pretty much fluent for a while, she's 2.6. Nursery has said she's advanced for her age and we can well believe it. Her memory is also very good, she remembers the name of anyone she's ever met ever. She can recognise familiar words and has grasped quite sophisticated concepts. She's very independent at getting dressed, brushing her teeth, washing her hair, tidying up etc.
Her toilet training isn't that advance though, she's still getting to grips with it whereas others are well past that stage.
I think language is her skill strength and this obviously helps her development in other areas. Enjoy having a bright and engaged child and just see what happens in time. I don't push anything with my DD, I just enjoy her personality and go with it.
One thing I have to remind myself of though, is because she's so articulate, not to expect too much from her.

Interesting, Nana. DD often looks at things and says (correctly) that there are 3/ 4/ 5 things there. I'm not aware of her doing it with higher numbers. She needs to count if there are more than 5.

She can dress herself but mainly refuses to. I suspect because I'd like her to. She's incredibly stubborn!

It is really hard to source a good plumber around here, so maybe that is the solution. Better money in it than teaching.

I've always been very anti pushing small children. I disagree with homework in the primary years, I bloody hate Kumon and Bonds and I'd much rather do the Scanvi approach, however DD wants to learn so I'm not going to stop her, and if I have the skills to facilitate then I will.

I think she sounds quite bright.
The maths thing is hard to assess because early engagement doesn't always translate into a good understanding of mathematics later on.
TBH I wouldn't worry about a G&T label. Schools in my area don't do it and no-one is worse off for it. (Obviously it translates at Uni entry....)