Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Sometimes I doubt as DD seems like a normal 2 year

Her academics are clearly quite advanced but it is so hard to believe when she usually behaves like a two year old:

I have hard time reasoning to get her to sit in her carseat.
She can throw a huge tantrum when a friend has a sticker and she does not.
She is scared of the train at the park.
She loves her baby dolls.
She is suddenly really into princesses.
She loves Barney, Elmo, Mickey and friends.
She wants to do everything herself.
She does not like public bathrooms as she says they stink.
She was a disaster waiting to happen in Metropolitan museum.
She is asking to go to a toystore every day.
She likes to wear pink.
She thinks dinosaurs are scary.
She starts crying when we need to take books back to library
and she still follows me to bathroom...

Sounds like my DD except for the dinos, dd loves them. I thin this is what they mean by asyncronus development. DD is academically on a 1st grade level, but dang it is she still doesn't act like a 2 year old. GAAH, the switching back and forth between relating to her drives me nuts.

She can be incridibly insightful, but can throw a fit because we don't let have her way. Her sense of humor is dry and adult like, but she has meltdowns when she doesn't get what she wants.

Most of what you describe is personality and pushing for independence. Though, I have to admit that my DD is a well behaved child and accepts the major ones such as having to stay in the car seat. She might accept it more because we always treated her like an older child and explained why things are important. I will never forget her scaring me to death before she was two, by trying to run in a parking lot. I started to freak out and apologized, explaining why she needed to stay with me and hold my hand. (size and people in cars not being able to see her) She got it and from that point on has never tried to dart out but waits for me and takes my hand.

The only time we really had struggles was when I wasn't paying attention to her need for more independence. Once I picked up on it and allowed her that, she was a content toddler. She loves to help cook in the kitchen and as long as she follows the rules, she is allowed to cook everything with me. She loves to crack eggs by herself and cook on the stove.

BTW ... love the MET comment. Did you see the article about a klutzy woman who fell into a Picasso and ripped the canvas? Can't help but tease my friend who lives up in NY that the woman has to be her. She is always falling up the stairs. We have taken DD to the MET twice and always take the stroller in to the city. She loves riding in it and only when we are in NY. Other than that the stroller is stuck somewhere in the garage. We did get in trouble when we were on the rooftop viewing the "Maelstrom" by Roxy Paine since she thought it was a wonderful piece to straddle. Oops! Of course, I don't look great for taking a picture of her doing it, instead of correcting her to stay off of it. Bad me! But over all I would say she is pretty well behaved when we are out and about.

As for the wearing pink and liking toddler characters ... yep, mine too. I sometimes wonder if it has more to do with communicating with her friends but I doubt it. These things just appeal to them and nothing wrong with it. My DD is what I consider a girly girl to the disappointment of my DH. She confirmed this trait at age 6 months when he got her out of the car one evening and a bug flew by her head. She squealed and swinged her little arms around asking what's that? My DH rolled his eyes and knew he was in for a girly girl experience. And so far she has confirmed that, but she might be changing her ways some. She loves sports and shocks us with her ability to hit baseballs with a bat. She also has an arm on her and can really throw a ball a distance. She is also big on the monkey bars and insists on hanging from them for long period of times. So who knows ... we might have a little tom boy after all ... one who of course, dresses in pink! When does the pink phase go away anyway? Hopefully sooner than later!

Gifted kids are still kids, you know? My kiddo is a wild little monkey, but it doesn't mean she's not gifted. (As I was writing that sentence, she ran into the room, roared at me, turned the light on, and ran out, still roaring.)

DD is easily scared at things, she can watch them from books but does not want to go near any toy Dinosaurs



Yes independence is the biggest struggle we have, she is actually happy in the car seat once we get her strapped in, she would like to drive the car or at least sit at front. Most of the other daily things we can get done with her help. DD also loves to crack eggs.



I did not see that about the woman. That is horrible, luckily DD did not get any permanent damage done. We went there as usually DD behaves fine and I thought it would be fun. She was cranky and full of energy after sitting in her stroller half the day so the MET was just a bad idea. She does not like strollers either.



Yes DH is not thrilled with all that princess talk. I don't know where did she gets the pink obsession definitely not from me, I also do not carry a purse but she does. My niece's pink phase is slowly disappearing, she is 6.

I don't see it impossible to be a girly girl and tom boy at the same time



I know, it just seems other toddlers here seem to be so mature. She is not when I look at her she seems so normal for her age.

Oh, really? I never noticed that. At any rate, we are still thoroughly in the temperamental, picky, stubborn, sensitive, tantrum-throwing, crazy-dancing, totally immature camp. I actually don't really know what normal 3-year-olds are like, so it's possible that despite all of this she is mature for her age. Ha.

no5no5 .. love your description of your DD. We always have some kind of wild animal in our house. I love their imaginations.

And Oli, another sign of our kiddos being toddlers. My DD is definitely a drama queen. She decided she did not want to eat dinner tonight and made claims that it burned her eyes. On and on she went. Finally I said: Repeat after me. My name is Katelyn and I'm a drama queen. That made for some entertainment.

Oli your DD sounds adorable!

Sharing is the current worst battle for DS2.7 as it's so public... for example at the library they let the kids play with the puppets/props after story time and DS tries to get them all and then guards his pile and runs crying from the room if anyone takes one. The other day absolutely lost it in a dinosaur museum when he wasn't allowed to touch the large moving models (that were behind fences).

Hates carseats, sticks everything in mouth, dependent on pacifier to get to sleep, sometimes cries at the idea of a diaper change but refuses to even consider potty or toilet, will only wear one pair of shoes.

The flip side of losing it over nothing is that DS can go from totally sad to beamingly happy at the suggestion by me of a box of raisins, a game of ring around the rosy, etc.

Don't forget to take photos of a few tantrums, those are some of my best loved photos.

Polly

Are you sure that's 2y/o behaviour, because if it is I'm in serious trouble!!!

DS16 has for as long as I can remember has only owned 2 pairs (his choice, not mine haha) of shoes at any given time and since one of these is soccer boots, he fits your description exactly!LOL.

I just discovered this article, and I thought of you. If I read it correctly, it indicates that gifted kids typically mature later than ND kids in some areas, including social control.