Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Introduction

Hello all,

New member (and new parent!) here. Just would like to introduce myself.

We have an 18 month old daughter that we feel like is not getting enough stimulation/education staying at home with my wife and I. Looking for ways to help engage my child and help them along their journey we call life.

We are located in the SF Bay Area (Peninsula) and there are very little daycares/preschools that accept her age. Any suggestions from members here who may have sent their children to certain schools which they enjoyed?

We try and go on Google to check milestones and help our daughter towards them, but in reality, she mostly does all of them herself and so we feel a little behind. Neither my wife and I are educators and this is our first child; maybe we didn't read enough books?

We have tried joining local groups (MENSA) and looking for help, but all to dead ends. They actually advised I post something on this forum and reach out for help. All advice is appreciated.

Thank you for reading.

Welcome DWL! And congratulations on your (fairly) new little person!

Perhaps you could tell us a little (within your comfort zone) about your DD's current interests and activities.

Our family's experiences with children this age was that simply having a wide range of experiences in everyday life was valuable. We went outside, walked around neighborhoods, stopped to look at and explore whatever was in the environment, visited the zoo, science/art/history museums just to look and experience (not even necessarily to impart specific knowledge), met people in most walks of life, traveled according to our budget and time constraints, did household chores (cooked, cleaned, did laundry, yardwork, repaired things), cared for plants, animals and siblings, played in the dirt/sand/water, watched clouds, etc.

It's good that your DD is on track or even ahead on milestones, but do keep in mind that the range of typical development is quite wide, so even if at some point she seems "behind" in some domain, it's probably not a concern. Toddlers often progress in fits and starts, with periods of apparent quiescence followed by sudden leaps forward. Development is a natural process for little people, and requires negligible curation by adults around them, as long as they have the essentials (basic physical needs, security, the presence of loving caregivers). If you spend enough time simply being with, observing, and responding to your child, you will learn what piques her curiosity, and will then be able to follow her lead, and feed her interests.

If she is happy, healthy, growing and loved, then you are already doing enough. Enjoy!

Welcome, DWL!


Here is a brief roundup of links describing common behavior characteristics and early milestones which may indicate giftedness in infants, toddlers, preschoolers, young children. (This list may be especially useful before IQ test scores tend to stabilize, around 8 years old.)

1- Characteristics of intellectually advanced young people,
...https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/characteristics-of-intellectually-advanced-young-people/

2- Parenting Gifted Preschoolers (Milestones - typical development compared with 30% advanced)
...https://www.davidsongifted.org/gifted-blog/parenting-gifted-preschoolers/

3- NAGC's list borrowed from the book A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children
((The first item on the NAGC list of Common Characteristics of Gifted Individuals is: Unusual alertness, even in infancy)).

4- Characteristics and Behaviors of the Gifted

5- Characteristics checklist for gifted children

6-Tips for Parents: Helping Parents Understand Their Profoundly Gifted Children,
...https://www.davidsongifted.org/gift...rstand-their-profoundly-gifted-children/

7- Profiles of the gifted and talented which lists 6 different types, categorized by personality/temperament and achievement

8- Bertie Kingore, Ph.D.: High Achieving, Gifted Learner, Creative Thinker? (hat tip to sanne)

9- A common trait in gifted children, often listed amongst identifying characteristics, is alternately described as: "advanced moral reasoning", "well developed sense of justice", "moral sensitivity", "advanced ability to think about such abstract ideas as justice and fairness", "empathy", "compassion". Links to lists of gifted characteristics include several articles on the Davidson Database here and here, SENG (Silverman), SENG (Lovecky).

10- Different from birth, behaviours of young gifted children, "Strengths or admired traits vs Possible Problems" (archived, Canada) This list compares/contrasts positive and negative views of different traits and characteristics typical of gifted children. Think: Synonyms - Antonyms.

11- thread about Early Milestones - what do they mean?

12- SENG video: The Misdiagnosis of Gifted Children

13- book: Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults

14- old post with link to article comparing gifted characteristics and ASD characteristics

15- post with checklist comparing gifted and ASD traits (hat tip to BananaGirl)

16- post with link to Gifted Resource Center of New England (GRCNE) article comparing gifted and ASD traits (hat tip to Nolepharm).

Note:
When a website or webpage is NOT FOUND or has been changed and no longer contains the described content, check the WayBack Machine (internet archive) for a backup copy.
- Link: https://archive.org/web/
- Example in this 2018 post, which describes use of the WayBack Machine.

Back to thoughts in reply to your original post...
When thinking about the types of stimulation which may be most beneficial for an 18-month-old, consider that reading with your child, talking about the book, pointing to the pictures on the pages, asking the child to locate items from the story and point to them, talk with your child about how the pictures show specific things the words describe, etc.

The patterns of daily interaction with your child set the stage for future development. Having conversations about things occurring in daily life will help a child develop vocabulary, and learn patterns of conversation, including asking questions, listening for answers, sharing observations, agreeing and even disagreeing agreeably.

You may want to begin making lists of your child's interests, books you read with your child, books your child may help you choose at the library (often based on the illustrations at this age). Eventually this may change into making lists of books your child has read on their own.