My son is almost 2 years old. He has been in a daycare for almost a year now. His memory skills are amazing to me. When I ask him to put up a toy or book or something he has pulled out, he remembers exactly where it came from and puts it back. We have recently started a new routine before bed. He watches 10 minutes of a movie. Yes, it's the same movie every night and the same 10 minutes. On the second night, and every night since then, he recalls everything that will appear BEFORE it appears. I am very stunned by this. Should I talk to his doctor about some kind of testing? Is this normal for a 2 year old? I know his memory is better than mine, but should he really be able to remember what's next with only having seen it (recently) 24 hours before? Am I giving him too much credit? Or should I inquire? The director at the daycare (who has been there over 20 years) says I should talk to his doctor. But I thought I'd get other mom's advice... see maybe if other 2 year olds do the same?!!?
It stuns me, too, because I see the other kids in his class everyday. Even the older 2 year olds don't follow directions and recall things so well...
Sounds like he may have a photographic memory. Ask his pediatrician about IQ testing - what harm could it do?
My 15 month old is really ahead also. He talks in sentences and remembers everything. If he sees it once, he knows how to use it, what it does, and its response. Our pediatrician always tells me start saving now for a great college! I don't think I would want my son tested this early. I am planning to wait until he starts school and have him put in the advanced classes. I just don't think I wan him "labeled" yet.
well, clearly he is a visual learner. have fun with it, there will be interesting challenges as well.
My son is 8yrs. and he has always been to smart for his own good. They tested them this year and on reading the high score to make was 77 but he got 134. You can have him tested and there's nothing wrong with that at all, just remember that he is a child and have fun with him. He will be fast picking up school work and that will be a belissing. God luck sounds like you have a great son.
When my son was 2 we went to the Memphis TN zoo, which was about 100 miles from where we lived. We went again 6 mths later and I couldn't remember how to get there but my son showed me the way. He could put together lego sets made for 12 year olds when he was 2. He is by no means a genius now but does make a's and b's. He is 14 now. My 5 year old was also really smart about things when she was 2. Especially movies and books so to me its normal : )
I have a 19 month old. She is my 3rd girl. All 3 of them did the same thing as your son. I have hear that girls are more advanced than boys on a maturaty level. Some parents hold their sons back in kdg. for this reason.
My to oldest daughter (13 yrs old)is an a-b student on average. If she applied herself more and was more organized she would turn in papers on time and be a staight student. She usually gets the work done in time but forgets to turn it in due to her aweful organization skills.(Her dad is the same way and he was in the gifted classes all through school.) When we concidered testing her for the advanced or gifted classes we discovered that now days they just give those kids more work to do. So, do to a child being a little smarter than the average kid they put them in a class, give them almost twice the work, and make it tougher on them to make the grades. This is how it is in public school. When they were younger they went to a private school and tey were in a group in the class room and that group was allowed to work on an advanced leval meaning, they were ahead of the rest of the class in all their subjects and towards the end of the year they were given supplimental reading books and begain learning material for the next grade along with reviewing what they had learned for that year. Neither of my girls were ever bord in class and they were able to stay on their level without being slowed down by the rest of the students or the teachers.
Both of them now go to public schools because we can't afford to send them to private school if I'm not working. Right now I'm going to school and stay at home with the baby. When they went to private school I worked ther to be able to afford it and thats how I know the difference between public and private schools.(Not all private schools do this so if you concider private schooling ask to see the material and ask how the class operates for this type of situation. If they say there are advanced classes ask the same. The A Beka program is the best- my opinion-do to home schooling until I had to have sugery and working at their private school as a teachers aide.
There is also pre-school material available with A Beka program ages 3 and 4. I'm not sure if it is availabe for age younger than that but they also have sunday school mareial and programs availabe.
Lynnsey, my second daughter, age 9 1/2, is a straight a student. She gets so bord in class now that the teacher allows her to help the other students or lets her do her homework. She keeps her busy and allows her to advance at her own leval. She reads at night before she goes to bed. She has read the 1st book of of the Bible, Genisis, now twice. She also picks up books that her sister brings home to read. Her sister is in the 8th grade and she is in the 4th. That says alot about how they shouldn't be held back from learning.
They both love school and having more friends than just church friends. They willprobably never be home schooled again. But if things go wrong as they sometimes will I will pull them out in a heartbeat and do what ever I have to do to keep them focussed and challenged so they Know what it means to press on and not get stagnant in learning or in life.
Good luck with everything. The sooner they start learning the easier it is for them in school. They will never struggle with learning and will achieve alot more than grades. They will be leaders on the average and be respected by thier piers. They will be the ones to set the bars high for the others around them. On the average they will make better choices about the friends they choose to have.
It's been proven that the earlier they begain to learn the more advatages they have over the other students.
I would do everything I could to encourage aquisition of knowledge -without being pushy. Expose your child, gently, to a variety of things every day...No one can process information unless there is something already in your brain to compare the new info to... So expose him to foreign languages, sign language, colors, numbers, abstract concepts...
But don't expect him to spew any of it back...
Our minds are like any kind of container - you can't get anything out of it unless something is put in...
Mensa (an international social organization for people who test in the top 2% of intelligence tests) accepts members as young as 2 - however it has been my experience since there are so few members under 18 that there is little programming or support for them...
I would check with your child's teacher and if there's a school counselor, him or her as well, to see if they can suggest something to support your child's growing knowledge base. dont' be surprised if they have no clue.
research on line...you are your child's best and first teacher!!
good luck...
M. (married mom of two, too smart kids...)
My daughter also had/has an exceptional memory. I began noticing it a little before she was 2 when I would notice her singing or humming along with songs that came on the radio or reminding me of things I would forget to do. I brought this up to her MD and he said that no one(at least no one in the New Orleans area) will do testing on a 2 year old for being gifted but he recommended that I use her memory and intelligence to my advantage and teach her as much as she's willing to sit through and learn. Today I was able to bring her to the school board office to have her screened for the gifted program and she did wonderfully....
I guess what I'm trying to say is that there probably isn't much testing you can do for your son just yet but keep excercising that brain and once he turns 3 you can start looking for testing programs in your area or that would be a good time to talk to his doctor to learn more about your options. So far, it seems like you're doing a great job, mom! Good luck!
