Gifted toddler - help!

[chlo1989]

LO is just 22 months and has been exhibiting signs of being "advanced", if that's the right word, since she was around 15/16 months when she started to count to 10. She has a vocabulary of 500+ words, speaks in full sentences & knows her ABC's. Recites books, sings full songs. Recognises all numbers written down from 1 - 10, then several between 10 - 20, then 30, 40, 50 etc all up to 100. She even counts in 10's - 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 etc all the way up to 100. This evening, she counted to 25 as she was popping bubbles (counting how many she had popped) and out of pure interest, I continued to count to see if she followed. I counted to 29 and then stopped. She said "THIRTY!". I was so shocked! I then, again out of interest, counted even further - I counted from 31 - 39 and then stopped. She then said "FORTY!". I then did the same again, and sure enough she said "FIFTY!". I then did it again - she did not know 60 (I wasn't expecting her to!). She knows her ABC's in full and knows a fair amount of letters written down, and even recognises her own name written down, too. She knows shapes including diamond and hexagon and knows all the basic colours.

I really do not want to be those pushy parents, please don't get me wrong. I just want to help her to reach her best potential without being pushy and doing it in a fun way with lots of interactions etc and I really haven't got a clue how to go about doing it. I have contacted our Health Visitor, who said that they couldn't help. I'm just at a loss as to what we can do. I have been scouring the internet but I can't see anything. I've been looking for age-appropriate toys etc to help too, but nothing looks challenging enough for her.

I really don't want to brag, please don't take this post the wrong way, I just really want a push in the right direction as to how I can help my little girlie! She LOVES learning and loves the praise she gets when she does something too (even telling herself "well done" when she does something, haha!).

Thank you in advance to anybody who may be able to help :)

My little girl is academically ahead of the game but struggles socially so I’m focusing on that. Maybe see what music, art, or social skills she would like to focus on? An she take turns at activities and sit and engage, follow instructions etc?

Just let her enjoy life. Read lots of stories. Go on adventures. Ensure she is a rounded human being. There's no need to hot house.

(From a "gifted" mum of a "gifted" child)!

You don't need to do anything at that age. Just continue letting her play and explore the world and don't hang labels on her like gifted. How are her social skills and physical development. They're equally important as being able to count and knowing letters.

Just read her lots and lots of stories!

Let her play. Take her out to activities and parks, make friends, do anything that she shows an interest in. Do not bother with pushing her. She will in all likelihood start school with good academic abilities but it’s not something most schools will push either. My dd was much the same, and hated school until about year 5 as she was so bored. There is so much focus on phonics and learning to read at the start that kids who already can have nothing at all left. It’s sad but true, from my experience. The only options were yet more worksheets as there is no incentive at all for a primary school to push a child outside the ks1 & 2 requirements. Secondary school has been a revelation for dd as she is now streamed for many subjects and she’s flying, as are many of her friends who didn’t have an early start on academics. Don’t get sucked into thinking you have to do anything, let her just be.

What they all said.

Plus take her to interesting places. From
beaches and nature to art galleries and railway museums and different parts of town, and use different transport methods and help her learn how to use the map etc. Just introduce her to as much of the world as you can.

If she loves learning, she will learn. No need for you to do anything except show her the world around her.

Agree with others that social skills, emotional regulation, independence etc are all much more important as she gets older.

She certainly sounds advanced for her age but I think children can often level out once they're at school. Read lots with her and explore the world, enjoy things without thinking too much about whether she's gifted and what you can do to help her.

Also talk to her about news, things like space exploration and natural disasters - just to open her eyes to the possibilities. Even looking at cranes and building sites from the top deck of a bus can inspire her, without hot housing and focussing too much on anything academic.

She is almost two, she doesn’t need any special input at this age, she just needs to enjoy the world. She is clearly advanced, so only needs to be allowed to explore things . It is easy for clever small children to start to feel that all their worth depends on academic achievement , so I feel that letting them have fun is the best thing.

Reading and writing books and flash cards but as others have said I don't think you really need to be doing anything other than the usual things before starting school like writing their name and the alphabet maybe basic addition and Subtraction

Now is the time for emotional intelligence, not academic. Its great to give a head start by putting some basics into place, but she needs to learn social skills, how to learn through play, develop imagination etc. Don't put too much pressure on.

Talk, play, follow her interests, keep it fun. Read! Don't force anything and try not to cling too tightly to labels like 'gifted'.

A rubix cube?

Clever girl!

Kids learn through play at her age so just make sure she’s getting plenty of opportunities for imaginative play, small world games, number games, word games etc.

Everything everyone else said. If she is gifted, you won't be able to stop her learning! And also, get her a difficult hobby that she really needs to work at as soon as she's old enough. It can be tennis or violin or anything really but it needs to be something where she has to put in hard work to be successful. Musical instruments are ideal for this and also a mental workout. It's very important for children who find schoolwork easy to learn how to make a sustained effort at something that occasionally feels thankless.

I’ve got an 11 year old who was off the scale pre-school - reading in two languages, incredibly gifted in both English and Maths. He’s now P7 and is still very clever however in his friendship group he is not considered outstanding. I suspect that he has an eidetic memory but it allows him to cruise without pushing himself particularly which is very frustrating for me but I’m hoping at some point he will realise the gift he’s been given! I’d suggest just reading lots of books together and supporting without being pushy. The social side of things is far more important at that age :)

You’ll have such a lovely time exploring together. Take her to museums and show her things and to the library regularly so she chooses books, and trace the words with your finger as you read. She might also love Ant and Bee books as they make it easy to start recognising words

She is clearly advanced. It might
be normal for her, in which case just carry on as normal.

Do be aware though that hyperlexia is often a sign that a child has autism - not all kids with hyperlexia are autistic, but many are. If you have any other concerns ask your GP for a referral. Otherwise just carry on as previously.

my DS is almost 22m and doesn't even know one number lol. he says one word or two together but not sentences. but we just do lots of open ended play and toys, independent play, reading books, walking and playing outside.

Board games! For very basic ones we like First Orchard and others by Haba (they're often in German but you can find English instructions online and language doesn't matter for actually playing them). When she's a bit bigger, I'm thinking of ones like the junior versions of Ticket to Ride or Carcassonne Or simple card games like Sleeping Queens.

She sounds fabulous!

I would keep doing what you’re doing as she’s clearly excelling.

I don’t think you need to do anything, whatever you’re doing currently seems to be working just offer her lots of different play opportunities, introduce new things, carry on talking to her, read stories etc. Is she at nursery?

Hyperlexia and hypernumeracy can be linked to autism- not at all saying shes is on spectrum but something to watch out for. Hows her emotional regulation and social skills? Understanding?
Don't need to do anything at that age, often they even out by reception. Just keep reading and check understanding with questions.

Lots of learning through play. Open ended toys. Look up heuristic play/ curiosity approach/ Montessori. Let them play and socialise. They're only little once. Also fine and gross motor activities.