My child with my first husband went to a daycare/preschool after she turned one. She started reading at age 4, did well in elementary school, but grades dropped in middle school after she became a cheerleader. I think she might be moderately gifted.

My child with my second husband was very different. He had weaker muscles but he seemed more alert and slept less than my daughter did as a baby. My son was in daycare half days for about a month--until I could find a way to quit my job and still pay the bills. I didn't think he was getting enough attention and I found out that he would not leave the room he was in at the daycare until he could walk and since he had weak muscles I knew it would probably take longer for him to walk than it did for the average baby. He couldn't walk until he was 18 1/2 months old and he never really crawled.

He loved to look at books so I read to him and I carried him around a lot so he could see things better and I talked to him a lot and played with him. I don't know if that had anything to do with him reading at 2 1/2 or not. I don't think my geology professor sister-in-law's kids learned to read on their own like this and my sister-in-law is married to a another former professor. I think her kids went to daycare while she worked. They are very bright kids and they are athletic. I just don't think they were the type to sit around reading.

I think it is nature and nurture. I don't think my son would seem as gifted if he had stayed at the daycare center.