We were pretty clueless because we only knew our kid and had no real frame of reference. I remember one librarian and one babysitter telling us early on (around age 1) that DS's attention span and love of books were out there, but we hadn't thought much of it. Although I read to DS constantly and bought him things like alphabet puzzles, I fully expected him to learn to read in kindergarten along with the rest of the 5 and 6 year olds. When he spontaneously started reading at age 2, a matter of months after I'd weaned him, it was head-spinning. It didn't help that the very first thing he sounded out, at 2, from his highchair, was a newspaper headline. So, it was more of a "this shouldn't be happening" kind of feeling than a hunch. It's super cool though when your kids far surpass your expectations--even exceed what you thought was possible, right out of the gate. I found it quite humbling and definitely changed my parenting as a result, following his lead much more than I ever expected to. DS's ability to shock and awe also made it relatively easy to trust my gut. We never did pursue formal assessment.
