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I have the opposite side of the story.

Whenever DS18mo goes out, we give him a bottle with water because his sippy cup doesn�t fit a regular cupholder. Every once in a while, people ask us why DS is still using a bottle and not a sippy cup. I just smile and change topic.

It�s funny how people have todo list for a child as well.

I agree with this one and I think you mean the link I posted while ago. You can probably find it from my old posts But I think it is fairly common for a 2 year old know their alphabets as there are so many toys & books with them. I also tend to socialize with parents having similar professional background which forms a bias towards what seems normal or not.

At least for us DD learning to route count, alphabets, numbers, shapes etc so young was the first time we as her parents realized that maybe she might be more advanced than we thought. These kind of things are easily recognized. You need to see and interact with lot of kids to be able to know if your child's humor or play is normal age level or not. Much easier for parents to notice that their 18mo old knows alphabets and counts than that the child has a higher level imaginary play than other 18mo olds. Only thing I still notice from the level of play is that some other 2-3 year olds seem so "babyish" compared to DD. She is turing 3 and we are used to her academic skills so I'm not sure how gifted DD is as it is much harder to make comparisons after you are way past the alphabet stage (and as I read post here I'm thinking that reading is normal for this age group too).

I am like most people here. I have a 23 month-old who has been able to identify his capital letters and numbers 0-9 since before 12 months of age. I have had close friends look at me like I'm doing the child a disservice by providing his with the tools to teach himself things like this and it still makes me angry! All I did was buy the foam alphabet mat for him to play on to get him off the hardwood floor and I'm being looked at as some kind of overbearing, 'teacher' parent! So many of the toys and games that are available for kids under 18 months (and over that age, too, of course) have the numbers and letters there and if my son picks up on it immediately, how is that my 'fault'??
He is a little on the shy side and hates loud noises and crowds and that, together with the fact that he's a quick learner, makes it seem like I'm sheltering him so we can stay at home and I can teach him. It's crazy! It also frustrates me that that same friend can so happily tell me that her child can swim on her own, but if I mention that my son can spell his name, I'm looked at like I'm forcing him to learn it! Urghhh! Sorry for the venting, but that frustrates me to no end!
I can see why people think parents who have kids like this might think that we're forcing them to learn and I know how easy it can be to compare kids, but come on! I feel like my child has accomplished so much and there are so few people that I can share it with.

There's nothing wrong with being a teacher-parent, as long as it's done well. Of course it's not your fault if your son is quick at learning new things!

Maybe because half of the daytime cartoons are educational and teach letters and numbers. �Before it was just sesame street and the electric company and you had to go out of your way for educational programming. �Now if you just leave the cartoons on all day they'll teach them letters, shapes, sequencing, and reading, and introduce Spanish and Chinese. �LoL. �It is kind of amazing to see a kid learning things you're not teaching them. �Maybe they are impressed. �And if the kid gets on the computer, forget it. �
Oh and I'm so guilty I do just tell stories about my kid all the time. �But I spend all day here and my whole life revolves around him at this time so that's all the stories I have to tell at the moment. �Yeah, I don't get out much. �And never without the kid. �Thankfully my friends and family understands and are interested.