Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Q for other parents of early readers

Like others, I try to be self-deprecating. "Oh, I wish I could take credit for it."

Funny DS4 story...sitting in the waiting room at the vet with Dad while I was with the cat in the examination room. He picks up a book from the book basket...Cockatiels. He opens it randomly, and happens to land on the "reproduction" page. Then, as DH tells it: "Proceeds to read it, loudly and clearly, with perfect pronunciation and fluency." At that point the staff member behind the desk remembers the "toy basket" for well-behaved children to pick from on their way out. She quickly hands it to DS and encourages him to pick one!

love it

oh the joys of early readers....I think there was only one place my dd (now 9 but at the time 2 or under) I was actually embarrassed when she would read and that was when we were grocery shopping. She would be sitting in the cart calling out the items she would like mommy to buy for her in much detail (almost like a commercial) and of course it was all junk food. So if you didn't realize she was reading the boxes an on looker would think we were junk food junkies feeding our babies this stuff,lol

Skylarsmommy...

Your grocery store story reminded me of the time my then 3 year old DS informed me that "all shoplifters will be prosecuted", (per the sign he just read). He kept repeating it LOUDLY as I shopped, as if I actually had been stealing.

Oh yes, DS read everything that was in front of him from the time he was 2! I just nodded and said "uh huh" and "that's right" a lot, and when people commented, I would say "oh yeah, he's a nut" or something along those lines. When the kid is reading the U-Haul contract to the rental agent (at 2 1/2), or all the signs in the gas station, or the posters in the doctor's office, it's really pretty obvious that he's reading -- so "did he just READ that?" is a nonsensical question.

With DS being 2E, we've always had something he WASN'T doing to fall back on if there was a need to be self- or kid-deprecating about it -- "Yeah, but he still can't tie his shoes" or (still at 9) "Yeah, but he can't ride a bicycle yet". That lets "those" moms keep their snootiness. Their kids are perfectly happy to point out those areas of interest, anyway.

Those are awesome! Glad to know that my DS isn't the only one to give his pedi a heart attack! At four he got mad at his pedi for putting the stethoscope up to his back, telling the Dr. "My heart isn't back there. It's right here in my left chest. It says 'boom boom' and squeezes blood all over my body." Dr. explained that he was trying to listen to his lungs and DS looked at him quizzically and said, "Oh, my lungs go all the way back there too..."

By his five year check up he would only answer the doctor's question if the doctor answered one of his "Which organ filters toxins out of the blood in your body and produces bile?" "What valve protects your esophagus from the gastric acid in your stomach? "What is the wave-like motion in your esophagus called?" I think the poor doc was exhausted by the time he was done

As far as the original question- I usually just answer honestly. If they ask if he is "actually reading that"? I tell them yes, he is. If they ask any further I try to keep it short and say something along the lines of "He's always loved words and started reading early." I try not to be apologetic for it or to make it a huge deal as I don't want DS to think it is either. He started reading a month or so before turning three and that year his favorite pastime at his big brother's wrestling tournaments was to go around reading all of the fliers for the various wrestling camps posted everywhere.

He will figure it out and that's when it gets interesting. I think DS was 4 to 4.5 when he really became aware - at one point he asked why people keep asking his age - the he's how old comments. DS mostly ignored the comments but you could tell when he had a gut response to the individual, some he would ignore, some he would engage andseeme he would get snarky, which was rare. He can be a bit of a performer when the mood strikes but I think the issues he had with the prek kids made him very leery of responding to these kinds of comments. Now at 6 we get the - what did he just say looks - but people interrupt less and ask the questions less. I think it's the combination of the babyness and the intelligence that gets people nosy.

The nicest one we had which mde DS feel great, he was reading the most recent chapter book in a series on the train, can't remember which one but clearly meant for someone much older, and there were much older kids across the train nudging and taking to their mom till finally she leaned over and asked what the title was and if it was a new one because her kids didn't recognize it and they wanted to read it. It was very inclusive rather than always being different. DS really enjoyed that.

DeHe

LOL.

DD7 started collecting every free flier, brochure, and business card she saw at around that age. She still does it. Momma cleans out the collection from time to time, and DD never takes it well.

She particularly likes to get applications, so she can fill them in.

She had a phase around 4-5 where she kept handing us scribbled pieces of paper and declaring, "You HAVE to sign this. This is a contract." When she was 5 we were sitting at a car dealer in the "we're going to eavesdrop on you while I pretend I'm talking to the manager" phase of the deal. With some time to kill, I pulled off a credit app and told DD, "You know what this is? This is a contract."

Her eyes lit up, and we helped her fill it out. She worked at Walmart as a cashier, and lived in a box, for which she paid $6k a month in rent.

Yes, I love it when things like that happen. It makes me feel like people are seeing children for who they really are, regardless of age or what they are "supposed" to be like.

Early reading on the most part caused embarrassment in our family. My 4 year old came with me to OB visits and read the IUD literature in the room. Imagine trying to explain IUDs to four year old as the Dr comes in. My second son (at almost three) wanted to know what "all nude, all of the time" and "gentleman's club" meant. Another wonderful discussion that I would have rather put off but one that proved he knew how to read and wasn't just guessing based on previous readings or context clues.

I think I have mentioned this story here before, but when DD went on her first plane flight after learning to read she read all the signage on the plane in loud tones of disbelief. I'm sure that was comforting to any fearful flyers nearby. ("Seat cushion can be used as a FLOTATION DEVICE????!")