I am a first time mom and not been around a lot of kids. My little guy is 2 (born in mid Nov 2005) and I've been doing a little research to figure out if he's advanced in his speech. He is using full sentences, even using articles like "the" and "a” He’s used words like "actually" and "probably" in the correct context. He sings songs by memory that are several versus deep. He still has some words he pronounces wrong "ficy" for "spicy" but even that is rare. I'm literally having full conversations with this kid and he seems to comprehend nearly everything I say. I'm just not finding a lot of information on it on line (more about deficiency versus them being advanced) and I don't think I'd really do anything if he was advanced (like testing or anything). I guess I just want to know if I'm one of those moms that thinks my kid's the bomb - or if he realistically is advanced for his age. And if I am "one of those moms" it's probably better I recognize it now so I can work to correct it. : )
A little additional info:
He does have 2 older brothers (from my dh previous marriage) but they are at the house only every other weekend. He's in daycare and has been for 9 months - but he was even early with vocabulary milestones before daycare. I stayed at home with him for the first 18 months. He did learn sign language early and used that until he could talk. I've read to him every day and when I was at home with him, it was before naps and bedtime.
Thanks in advance for any insight you may have.
My son is also like this. I've never thought he was advanced but I know he picks up big words and such from being babysat by my grandparents. My mom said when I was little I was exactly like that because I was the first grandchild and around adults a lot. It may be too early to tell. Some kids hit different milestones at different points.
We should all be advocates for our children's learning and proud of what they accomplish - gifted or not. I am blessed to have two very gifted, yet very different daughters. The youngest has ADHD. I knew early on that they were gifted - it helped to have a friend with a Master's Degree in Speech Pathology, who gave be a booklet on children'd milestones for vocabulary, sentence structure, etc. I guess THIS is the reason I still have it to share with other moms! You may want to check out www.cectag.org nationally or www.oagc.com in Ohio.
My girls are now 11 and 17 and I am still learning how to advocate for their future. I was fortunate to attend the OAGC conference in Columbus, OH in October 2007 and meet and listen to author Dr. Deborah L. Ruf. Dr. Ruf writes about the five levels of giftedness in her book "Losing Our MInds: Gifted Children Left Behind". Her website is www.educationaloptions.com
Although my children are older, the advocacy continues on their behalf: For my junior in high school, I am focusing on how advanced, honors, etc. may or may not impact college credits and how to keep her self-esteem high when her friends are taking 4 AP classes and she is only taking two :) For my 5th grader, I am attempting to educate the Intermediate school about the issues of the "twice exceptional child" - Gifted with a learning disability. We MOMs need to stick together and help each other any way we can with sharing information. You may also want to look into any local chapters for gifted children programming in yoru area.
K.,
You are only one of "those" Moms if you push him beyond his years and can't accept his "averageness" once he shows signs of being a typical kid and try to accelerate him back to his advaced state.
Giftedness is not detectable in a reliable way until 4th grade or so for all but a very, very small percentage of the population. Some kids develop fast, some slow, but what really matters is their capacity once they have completed the early years of elementary school and move into that "tween" time.
Enrich his enviornment and be aware that advanced speech and vocabulary is no gaurntee that he will not have any cognitive or developmental difficulties in school later. You just can't tell that yet. Enjoy him now!
M.
The important thing is that you dont push him past his abilities. It is proven that children whom are read to and played with and are talked to normally have had more pronounced vocabulary. It is important to remember he is still a child and not to expose him to things that are above his ability. If you try to advance him too much with things that could be detrimental as he gets older. And as far as being one of those moms ....... righ now dont worry about it! You are supposed to be like that. Enjoy him being little. And if he wants to do things in advance of his years encourage him but do not push. Keep doing what you are doing.
If it makes you feel any better .....I am one of those grandma's so be happy with how you are and continue to love and nurture the lil guy right now he needs that more than anything.
My grandson doesnt have the advanced vocabulary but he is more of a hands on figure it out child. His problem solving skills are advanced.
Children accel in certain areas and not in others so go with what he is good at. And like the other mom said expand on things like her example of the apple and taking it more in depth.
Good luck!
It's great to be proud of your son whether he is average or advanced so really you don't need to even read anyone's responces! He will pick up on you being proud of him which will make him be proud of himself which then will make him want to keep acelerating (sp). I think what you feel about your son is great! I would say your son is slightly advanced for his age ...but not to the point of skipping grades just yet!
I have an in home daycare which I currently watch two 3 year olds and two 2 year olds. Of the four kids 2 of them are really advanced, and the other two are average. My point is that at this age there are many different spectrums. I can also say that my youngest girl here (only 2) is just as advanced as one of the 3 year olds which is also ahead for her age. My point in saying that is that she did baby sign. Now I'm going to sound like an advocate for baby sign but I LOVE IT! I really do think it accelerates kids learning and gets them started early. I'm pregnant now and plan to use it with my baby!
Anyway, keep up the good work and definitely keep being a proud mom!!!
You have every right to brag about your child, so even if you are "one of those moms", be one! It's good for your son's self esteem, and also good for you to feel that pride for him! Having said that, I'm totally not trying to burst your bubble, but it's just too young to make a determination like that. The first 5 years are all about the same milestones, and the order and speed at which they are met doesn't necessarily mean that a child is advanced. For instance, my daughter was talking like your son at that age. She started having tea parties with herself and us at 9 months! I mean, it was unreal, seeing this little tiny thing serving us tea and pretending to drink and eat! Now she's in kindergarten, and at the top of her class, but there are 3 other kids that are ranked right up there with her. I don't mean to say "ranked", the reason I say her and 3 others is because those kids are currently being tested for an ALPHA program for gifted children, which I opted out of for my daughter (they actually change schools completely! Too scary for a little kindergartner!) Anyway, my son didn't really speak much until after he turned three though, and you should see him! He's a spelling wiz and reads books now, and he just turned 4! He knows most states/capitals too. It's unreal! I have people all the time ask me how old he is because while we're out he reads whatever he sees. So, enjoy that early development, but give him another couple of years. You may have to do what I did with my son if you find that he's learning really quickly. I started giving mine other things to learn so that he doesn't get too far ahead, that's where the states/capitals came from. I bought him a puzzle that has them on there. It really isn't helping too much at the moment though, he's just decided to start teaching himself math!
First off you should be one of those moms, so don't worry about fixing t hat, it's grat to think your child is wonderful and accomplished it will give him the confiedence to succed later on. but anyways my children are and have alwasy been very articulate, it's even shown up in my second graders writing, him using words that most of his classmates don't know the meanings of and not only using them but spelling them correctly, and while because of this my children communicate very well, read well and do wonderfully in english class, they have never been called advanced not in the general sence. So give it time ya never know but there is nothing wrong with the fact taht the english language is his strong point, it will get him far in life and you are right to be overly proud it's your job.
Your child may well be advanced. However, the source of the advancement may not be evident until 4th grade or so. His advancement may be because of his unusually high intellect. It may also be from learning what he has been exposed to. Maybe he will be a kid that learns quickly and easily remembering well. That is a good thing to pray for. Continue to teach him what you can at home. Focus on depth and not new ie. he may know that apples are red, and start with "A", teach him that it is also a fruit and that it grows on trees in Washington state and that Johnny Appleseed planted many apple trees in the midwest.
you know, this is the same thing i had when i had my daughter. She's about 3 1/2 now, and she's very smart. When she first came home, i read to her every day (even when she was a newborn) and we still have reading time every day now with our 9 month old daughter also. I NEVER used baby talk on her, and any one that interracted with her was told not to also. I also used flash cards, and started teaching her numbers when she was about 13 months old. I did everything you did and are still doing, and my daughter was alot like that at your son's age. She's been evaluated by First Steps because I wanted to check on her development and make sure she was on track, and they told me that she was not only fine, that she was actually very very smart for her age. At 3 years old she tested at 5-6 year old levels. Whatever you are doing, keep doing it because it sounds to me like you are raising a very smart little boy.
