I wonder if kids like this reinforced the concept of reincarnation in antiquity? I wonder if cultures that believe in reincarnation would be more accepting of knowledge by rediscovery instead of learning? Or condemn them based on past experience with people who knew those particular things?
Just wondering.
Funny you should say that. My son now 4.5 used to talk about having lived before with great detail, down to imaginary siblings and things he said happened in select years, I.e. 1986 or 1812. Very strange to us but he has a rich imagination. We have no idea where he encountered the concept but he is emphatic that he has lived before and learned many skills in school in these past lives. Sigh. Some kids have imaginary friends... Mine has whole detailed past lives...
This is also the kid who was taking his hat off on day 1 in the hospital, repeatedly, even though the nurses kept putting it back on and who was walking around effortlessly, laughing at his 6 month well child visit as the nurses came by to stare at him.
This was me as a kid! My Mom told me that when I was 2-3 I would spend hours talking about living as a woman in the early 1800's in NYC. She said I would go into great detail about what I wore, my other mother, and what life was like. Apparently I had astonishing accuracy in what I described.
Everyone in my immediate family has bought a one way ticket to life's final destination so I can't call my Mom up and ask her about it. I often wish she was still here so I could compare my son's development to my own. My IQ was tested at 8 and I came back normal gifted (139) and there was never any discussion of grade acceleration or gifted programs back then. I wasn't even placed into the honors track until years later after my mother threw a gigantic mom fit at the school.
I was a lot like my son though in my demonstration of knowledge because if I didn't want to show my skills I would refuse. The only reason I was ever tested was because the school had me in the lowest reading group and wanted to hold me back! I found some other tests from that that same time showing I was reading at an 11th grade level. I remember resolutely staying silent when called upon to read simply because I didn't want to read out loud.
If my son is anything like me it's really going to be loads of fun in elementary school.
