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    Joined: Sep 2008
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    Hi,

    My 30 month old son who was a very late talker (25 months) has always shown an aptitude for letters. He knew the alphabet before he spoke. He now counts to 30 and can do simple addition, up to 2+3 = 5. He can also recognize some simple words. He has also always seemed very egineering oriented, he knows about 10+ parts of many trucks/planes and tells me how they all work together. My question is if this is normal development for his age or if this is something he has a special aptitude for and I should focus on in his development.

    Thanks!

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    Originally Posted by MarinMommy1
    My question is if this is normal development for his age
    Hi MM,
    No this isn't normal, dear. Do you have any other 2 year olds around for comparison? Have you talked to your pediatrician? I'm guessing that you have read some kind of 'what to expect if your child is on the usual developmental path' type books. You might need to throw those away. Do ask family members on both yourside and his dad's side about any similar stories. A gold mine there.

    It sounds like your DS is well on his way to taking his own path of development. Some of us like the book: Losing our minds, Gifted Children left behind,by Deb Ruf as one version of what the various paths of development look like, if you need some companionship along the way.

    My DS12 did know his letters around that age, and it took me by suprise that the didn't move into reading particularly early. I was worried that there was such a big delay in his reading stages, and everyone else was worried that I expected anything in the reading department from a 4 year old. I love that I can come here and read that yes, plenty of gifted kids are reading at age 3, and plenty of gifted kids aren't. Yippee!

    Smiles,
    Grinity

    As for what to do, you want to warmly and gently encourage your child to develop in all ways. You have the same job as any other parent - to try to raise a human of good character, who has strengthened his strengths and learned to overcome challenges. Observe, think and try to bring reasonable chunks of the world to him. He'll do most of the 'doing.'
    ((wink))


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    I think the big trick with a GT kid is to follow where they lead you. If he's into trucks and engineering, then go where trucks are. Build stuff with him. Give him lots of construction-type toys. Read books about trucks and engineering. Don't push him, but give him opportunities to pursue his interests. If he puts down the trucks and falls in love with something else, pursue that.

    It's pretty much what any parent would do, but more intense. smile

    Don't do flashcards and such unless flashcards happen to delight your child. As Grinity wisely notes, your job is to raise a complete human being, not a little knowledge machine. At this stage, just giving your child opportunities to explore and playing with your child--albeit opportunities and play that might look different from the opportunities and play that other parents do with their kids--is the big thing.

    It all boils down to one word, really: follow! (And hold on tight!) smile


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    When giftedness shows up in toddlerhood... I think sometimes it's almost easier to NOT have other kids around of the same age to compare too.... cause then you're not reminded all the time that somethings different and you just to what fits. You go with the flow.... you follow their lead. That's what got me through our first 2 1/2 years pretty well... It only got tricky when DD really wanted pre-school and everyone said she was too young. We found a great place that accepts her for her though and took her into an older class early. She loves accademics so this is great.

    As for giftedness in enginering and math pre-school may or may not be a good fit but the key is being repeated... just follow their lead and stimulate as much as you can without overwhelming. It can be a fine line I guess but just watch his signals and let him explore!

    Look at me! The Newby sounding like a pro like you guys! ha ha ha it's just cause I'm repeating what I was told a few months ago when I came on here going "Is my reading 2 year old normal?" lol...

    Just remember... if you care enough to come on here and get advice and resources... than you obviously care enough to give him your best and let him become who he was meant to be and it'll turn out just fine.

    This has been a great place for support! So keep it up!

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    Marinmommy1 - reading your post made this particular toy pop into my head. Don't know if you're anywhere near an ikea, but this is just a great first building kit; some pieces are pretty small if a child is still mouthing things, so some parts might need to be held back. It's pretty affordable and mostly very easy to work with so motor skills don't have to be super high. It comes with instructions for building a helicopter and a motorcycle and a couple other things.
    My 2.5 year old loves this kit; she says she is 'working'. (She is not building recognizable things independently at this stage but enjoys doing so with me or putting parts together to see what happens on her own). There might be other similar toys out there...

    http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00060763



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