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Gifted and talented

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

Gifted baby?

23 replies

JollyRanchess · 25/06/2021 16:34

My baby is just shy of 7 months old. Pretty normal in respect of physical milestones - rolled one way from 8 weeks, but otherwise basically on track. But I think he might be gifted in his language skills.

He can do several baby sign language words - ‘milk’, ‘cat’, ‘mum’, ‘dad’, ‘splash’ and ‘done’. He also has a few verbal words. He says ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ consistently (i.e. when he sees us, and he can point to a picture of me and say ‘mama’), and he says ‘ca’ for cat and ‘um um’ for food. These are the ones he uses consistently and obviously, there are a few others I think he uses but it’s less clear.

Is this a sign he’s bright? I don’t want to read too much into it because I know there is a massive span of normal for baby milestones! But his dad was a really gifted baby / child so I wonder if he is the same? And if so, should I be doing anything or just playing with him like I normally do?

OP posts:
WeeFae · 25/06/2021 16:35

My daughter was like this at the same age, she is a slightly above average bright 21 year old doing a degree, was never on any gifted list though!

JollyRanchess · 25/06/2021 21:28

Thank you - that’s helpful to know!

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Kanaloa · 25/06/2021 21:41

He’s just a normal baby. I don’t know what you’d be doing with him except talking to him and playing with him like normal. He sounds like a happy baby.

Mama1980 · 25/06/2021 21:45

My extremely gifted ds1 (think GCSE's at 11 etc. )didn't speak properly until he was 3 - language has such a wide spectrum it's hard to tell. So I wouldn't necessarily think so.
He sounds a lovely baby 😊 I would definitely just keep talking to him, and interacting as you have been.

LemonRoses · 25/06/2021 21:46

Perfectly ordinary.The difference is you are trying to teach him sign language, so ‘pushing’ him in one very specific area of development.

JollyRanchess · 25/06/2021 21:52

He is a lovely baby ☺️ (And a big cat fan)

OP posts:
Juststopasking · 25/06/2021 21:54

Er no. Sounds totally normal, there's a very wide spectrum of development in babies.

Rainbowqueeen · 25/06/2021 21:55

Sounds completely normal to me

CeeceeBloomingdale · 25/06/2021 21:59

One of mine was fully conversation by 18 months. She's doing well at school but nothing exceptional or gifted. My other was an early walker but slower with speech. Academically they are on a par.

Bumzoo · 25/06/2021 22:03

A 7 month old doing sign language sounds pretty cool to me.

DoucheCanoe · 25/06/2021 22:13

He sounds pretty bright to me :)

Just carry on with what you're doing as it's obviously working. Let him lead you, try not to "push" him to progress beyond - children who are ahead in some aspects can fall behind in others because it's easy to focus on what we see as their skills.

SittingHereShaking · 25/06/2021 22:18

My 10 year old was like that as a baby. He is now struggling a bit and is dyslexic.

My point is that I wish I hadn't been lulled into a false sense of security that he was 'gifted' as I missed the early signs of dyslexia.

I'm not saying that dyslexic people aren't clever, BTW. Just that my son needs more academic support that I'd expected.

JollyRanchess · 27/06/2021 16:27

Thanks everyone! Because of lockdown I haven’t met a lot of other babies, so it’s helpful to get a benchmark for what’s normal from other people.

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Branleuse · 27/06/2021 16:32

thats pretty good communication skills hes got for his age. Definitely nothing to worry about there!!

Gladiolys · 06/07/2021 20:46

I think that’s very impressive communication skills

Bellyups · 06/07/2021 20:52

He sounds like a bright, happy thing. I don’t know if he’s gifted or not, but he seem to love communicating. Love that he is signing Smile

Lipsandlashes · 06/07/2021 20:53

My mum swears I could say a version of “mum” to her at five months (it came out like “Uumma”) I was an extremely bright child, large vocabulary, avid reader, moved up a year in primary school etc. It all evened out when I went to secondary school and I was probably just above average. I’ve got a degree and an intellectual job but I’m not setting the world alight.

BendingSpoons · 24/07/2021 20:34

He has very advanced language skills at this point. I wouldn't expect that until closer to 12m but it's a broad spectrum. Just keep talking and signing with him and hopefully he will keep doing great!

3WildOnes · 24/07/2021 20:40

My babies have all been pretty slow with language development, not really taking until close to 2. I looked after one little girl who was talking in short sentences at 12 months. She is now a very bright teenager (all 8’s and 9’s in her GCSEs) but not a genius.

Imapotato · 13/08/2021 07:46

Both my dds were like this. They actually probably had more words, but I never taught them to sign, so no signing (apart from throwing their hands in the air and shouting “all gone”).

Anyway. They’re capable kids. Dd1 has just got mainly 8s in her GCSEs. But not geniuses. My friends boy didn’t talk until he was 3 and is now very bright. Early talking is nice, but it doesn’t really indicate being gifted. Just enjoy your little one and don’t worry about trying to spot signs of giftedness. If he’s truly gifted it’ll become obvious as he gets older.

Amba96 · 01/02/2022 03:30

I also agree

Kendrickspenguin · 01/02/2022 14:49

I have had a similar experience to a PP. My DS1 could sign songs and get his needs met at a similar age. He has a learning disability and has always struggled at school. Your baby sounds lovely, but I have no idea if his signing points towards higher learning potential.

TrendingNowt · 02/03/2022 08:41

Probably bright, my eldest is 8 now and exactly the same. You could have conversations with her at 12 months. She had a great level of understanding. She was crawling at 4 months, walking st 10.
She is bright, sociable, her teachers love her and she does well all-round. Quite sporty, musical, picks things up easily.
But not gifted, I would say she's bright though and fortunate to pick things up easily. But nowhere near genius level.

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