Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Brain growth spurt while on vacation

DD3.8 and I just came back from a 3- week long vacation abroad. We were with my family the whole time. DD was surrounded by grandpa, grandma, uncle, aunts, great grandma, great grandpa, everyone doting on her. She had a blast and had some amazing developments in this short period. Just to name a few, she has started to read (yay!) not books but loves to play and create word bingos, started doing multiplication in her head with ease with any number upto 10, adding 3 digit numbers in her head, mastered simple operations with negative numbers, expanded her palette with regards to what type of food she eats, started learning how to bike, was the kindest, most loving and considerate child( she told me that i should share her with others since she was only going to be with them for 3 weeks and i had a whole lifetime to spend with her) and then some other minor stuff. The best part is all this happened naturally with no one asking her or teaching her anything. It was as if she had found a nurturing environment where her brain naturally started performing at its peak. Do you have any personal opinions/studies that illustrate the impact of extended family vs. nuclear family on a gifted child's development? Back in the US, we do not have any family and very few friends.

That is so lovely! My kids have all noticeably had developmental spurts like that. Your other post has not appeared though.

That's a wonderful story.

We are in exactly the same situation as you.


Our children have never been outside the US and have never met any of their extended family (except some on Skype).

We're hoping to eventually make a journey like yours, and I find your post very inspiring.

Welcome back! You were missed.

What a happy development. I'm so glad your DD connected so well with your family. Hope things are looking up generally with that "win" behind you. Part of it may have been reduced stress in her environment allowed her brain to focus on mapping new information.

MumofThree, dd has had many brain growth spurts in the past but none so dramatic in a shot period. Before going for the visit, I worried a lot about how she would adjust, especially since she does not talk in my native language. However, for a month before our visit, she would ask me the native word for several common English words. She actually spoke in the language to my great grandma. Granted, she spoke like a 18mo with short phrases but still, I was so happy that she not only adjusted well, she blossomed.

22b, I hope your family is able to make a trip to visit your family abroad in near future. It is so great for the kids. My dd keenly observed the difference in lifestyles and questioned a lot of stuff that people living in the us take for granted. For one thing, she learnt a lot about eating locally and living sustainably, which we kind of do here but it is just so much easier and the way of life back home.

Aquinas, you are so kind! Yes, the reduced stress definitely helped me relax and maybe a relaxed mom had a positive effect on her brain development. The three weeks gave me a lot of time for introspection and I came back a calmer, happier person. So all in all, it was a great trip!