Learning Milestones - the Alphabet

Somewhere around 2, DD started recognizing letters. But I'd also gotten her a little kid's laptop thing that she played with on her own. And the letters from the fridge that sang when she put them in the sunshine bit. If you read him stories, or sing songs, or he's exposed to older kids, or watches any educational TV, there are plenty of places he could have picked it up. I'd consider this a good start and see where he goes from here. Maybe be more deliberate and see if he knows more than he's let you know so far.

Usually between 2 and 3 most kids will pick it up...some not til much later.Some kids are just better at memorization, and others focus on other things. Sounds like he's off to a great start...but I wouldn't say it's out of the ordinary.

Does he watch Sesame Street or play any letters Apps? Had to learn it from somewhere lol.

I'm sure it's been pounded into our heads that there is no set age when kids are "supposed" to be doing anything, but yay for your son discovering his interest in letters! :)

My daughter started pointing out letters at 18months, but we had been talking about them for a while. She loved to see her name at that point as well (we had to label everything with her name for daycare).

I'm sure there are lots of things he knows that you haven't discovered yet! Finding out what your kids have learned is half the fun...especially with they surprise you with something unexpected. Congrats, and happy discovering!

I do believe that most kids know more than they are able to communicate at this young age. Many kids have a "word explosion" somewhere around 2 yo. So that fits with what you are seeing in your son. All 4 of my kids were obsessed with letters at the same age and they all recognized all the letters (my oldest also knew the sounds) between 2 and 2.5. Your son sounds very observant, they can pick up so much even without our help. My oldest (10yo) has always been a very motivated self-learner, I honestly can't take credit for his ever growing wealth of knowledge, maybe yours will be the same way.

My boys were very verbal (slower on physical milestones), and were early readers, too. I just went with it, and let them pick it up as we went along. I always read to them a bunch (I'm an English teacher), and they are both big readers now at 8 and 15 years old. Your son sounds like he's having a great time learning about the world around him! Keep doing what your doing, and you will both enjoy. One thing I noticed with my boys is that they seemed to learn in spurts. They learned a ton for awhile, and then they seemed to slow down for a bit, especially if they were focusing on something else (like potty training or learning to walk - something physical).

As for what he's "supposed to do," there isn't a right or wrong answer. Each child is different. Have fun with your little guy!

Kids learn different things at different times. At four, my son could tell you all about how pumps and fountains worked (because he was interested) but could recognize very few letters (because he wasn't interested).

Enjoy this time, know that some of this information may come and go from his memory, and let him have fun with learning in ways that work for him.

Angela G TX also gave great advice. My only thing to add is just keep it fun!

Does he watch any TV shows that are learning geared? It is amazing where kids pick things up, and yes, I found my son knew a WHOLE lot more than he could communicate too, he did not start communicating clearly until closer to 3 with help from EI.

My son was the first in his class to recognize all letters including both forms and is learning to recognize the "fancy" aka cursive forms as well, he is 6 now. It's cute too because he is learning to write and tries to make the "fancy" a, the same one this font uses.

So, I think it is pretty age appropriate to begin knowing the letters - he's figuring it out from somewhere.

Kids pick up a lot of knowledge (good and bad) while we aren't looking. Their development is rarely according to accepted timetables. Not talking much means he has likely pick up on a lot he hasn't told you about.

My youngest was this way. When she started kindergarten this year, we told the teacher she could read. The teacher nodded like "yeah sure, I've heard that before" . At her 9 week parent-teacher conference, the teacher blurted out "Did you know she can read, I mean really read?" She was so quiet it took the teacher 8 weeks to figure out what I had told her was true. She was spending playtime teaching the other 5 yr olds to read

Some smart kids -- especially smart boys -- are just like this. Their verbal ability outpaces their interpersonal ability, so they pick up textual things before they're ready to try out complex speech. My own son was slow to speak but quick to learn to read. He continues to be academically advanced but socially not so much, like many gifted kids.

In specific answer to your question, he's not "supposed" to do this at 2. It's unusual, though not unheard-of, and a sign of a gifted child. Most likely, though, he won't reveal other gifts until he personally is ready. Isn't parenthood just such a fun game of hurry-up-and-wait? (sigh, sorta)

Thats awesome! He sounds ahead of the curve on this one. My son is 4yrs 3mos. At his preschool the 3/4 year old group (Kinder in 2014) is working on letter recognition, and the 4/5 year old group (Kinder in 2013) are working on letter sounds. My son could recite the ABCs and count to 10 at age 2.5 or so, but he didn't really know what any of it meant. I can tell now that at age 4 he is starting to actually understand what it all means.

My older son was doing that at a year, but my younger son was closer to four. We always went to story time at the library, we had lots of books we read at home, such as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Dr. Seuss's ABC's, and I put Sesame Street on in the mornings. If he is at daycare and speech therapy it is likely they are reading books that have the alphabet, even if they are not "teaching" it.

As we all know there is no 'supposed to be doing this' when it comes to kids as they are all different and they all accomplish milestones at their own pace.

Now with that being said, I think yes he is supposed to be doing this. All 3 of my kids (2 boys and 1 girl) knew and could recite their ABC's at 2y/o and could pick out all the letters in their first and last name. My daughter could do her full name: 1st, middle & last + her nickname and the letters in her 2 brother's 1st names as well as 'Mom & Dad' and the letters in our dog's name....but only b/c she was very interested and asked us to show her what they were.

It is GREAT that your son is doing this and picking up on the letters all on his own! This means he is interested, which is awesome! Aren't kids this age amazing? They truly are little sponges that can't help but learn things...even without assistance from us!

~I would bet money that he knows A LOT more than you think he does and once he starts becoming more verbal you are going to be blown away about what comes out of his mouth!!

Yes, he's right on track! Our little guy is 2.5 and can recognize/name all upper case and most lower case letter. We didn't quiz him with flash cards, either. He just picked it up!!

yes-even much younger-like 15 months

I think that's great--if he's picking that up fast, of course encourage it. Put words together with him. Some kids pick things up faster than other. good for him! there's a lot of things going through his head and he's not talkin'. Just encourage him, as I'm sure you are! Might grow up to be a great reader!

Welcome to the wonderful world of the gifted, and it will only get more amazing and crazier, F. B.. (Love your screen name.) Anyhow, our house is bilingual too. (English/Chinese) The only difference is that we capitalized on English and figured he'd pick up the Chinese later. Well, DH and MIL waited too long to try to teach him Chinese. (I told them to start at 4 yro and they waited until 10!) He can't speak much Chinese at all, but his English vocab is amazing so being bilingual doesn't mean a kid will have touble with learning in school like some teachers think. Anyhow; my DS was like that yours too with learning new things. The only difference is that he was used as a peer tutor/example to help children with speach problems. My DS came home one day and verbally spelled his name when he was almost 2 yro. When I asked him how he knew, he told me he read it off his cubby at daycare. By 2 1/2 he was already printing his name forwards and in mirror writing. (He told me he was bored writing it the normal way and wanted to be different.) Your son is probably picking things up through observation. Knowing the sounds of the letters could be coming from anything like knowing the names of the children in his class and seeing their names, then associating the sounds of their names and the letters in the names. If you or a daycare teacher reads a story and he follows along, that could be another way he could be picking it up. In the grocery store, you probably say the name of the item and he can see the label. ("Billy, do you think we should pick up some animal crackers today?") You might want to capitolize on his strength and encourage him or have fun with it with him. Get the book, "Hi Pizza Man" by Virginia Walter. This book is great, because it's simple and repetitive making it easy to pick the words up. I know he'll love the book like my son did. He just couldn't get enough of it. Then read it out loud, but point to the words as you read. Sooner or later, he will start reading to you and let him do it. Other good books are:
1. Round is a Mooncake
2. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See
3. Going to Sleep on the Farm by Lewison