Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums question about almost 2 year old...

hi everyone! this is my first message on this board...although i have been lurking for a while!

our daughter will be 2 at the end of october and i have been curious about her milestones for a while now. I am nto sure if it is a case of mommy and dady thinking we have a smart cookie or if she is a bit advanced. The main reason I am wanting to know if because I am finding her bored a lot. It is getting harder and harder to keep her entertained and so I am wondering if she is a bit advanced are there any tricks, and if she is not advanced maybe it is just time to gut out the playroom and fill it up with some different toys etc!

So any observations would be really appreciated!

Here is our daughter, in terms of milestones, in a nutshell:

-I can not remember amny milestones from the first year...wow that was a hazy period of life! She walked just before she turned one, rolled over/lifetd head/smiled etc all on time, but not overly early I don't think.

-she read her first words at 21 months, and now knows around 100 words by site.

-she has known all of her colours for a long time now

-she knows her left and right

-she new to letters and sounds they make when she was about a year and a half?

-she knows her upper and lower case letters

-she can count objects up to about 10

-she knows big-little, same-different, close-far etc

-she has been builing tall towers out of blocks (well out of anythign really!) for a long time now...since about 10 or 12 months?

-she knows all of her body parts (and can read them!)

-has a huge vocabulary and speaks in sentences most of the time

-is starting to understand time. she gets that if the small hand is pointing at the 3 then it is 3:00, but we haven't done minutes yet (not sure how to teach that since she can't count by 5's?)

-she has a great imagination and I often find her feeding her babies, talking to her stuffed animals, or prentending to be a cat!

-she has a great memory and remembers events from months ago. she brings up funny stories or good memories as if they were yesterday.

-she has a great sense of humour! she tells little jokes and does things just to make us laugh!

-she does not sleep well. she has slept through the night maybe half a dozen times, and that is being generous. she could also go the whole day without a nap, but I still put her down for one and it does make the day and night go a bit smoother.

I am not sure what else to mention. I knwo it sounds like I am bragging and I do brag about my daughter...but only to family hahaha! Right now I am just trying to be honest and looking for some advice. Does she sound on track with the norm, or a bit advanced?

Thanks so much!

Here's a checklist that you may find helpful:

http://www.educationaloptions.com/levels_giftedness.htm

Are you looking for ideas of how to keep her busy?

Thank you for the link...I will read through it. yes I guess I am looking for ideas to keep her entertained and stimulated.

I can tell you what I did with my kids--

I read to them a lot, we played games together, did art like painting and playdoh. We went to the park to ride tricycles and blow bubbles. Being part of a playgroup was good at that age because it gave me some adult interaction while the kids ran around and tired themselves out.

When they were a little older it got easier, they were able to entertain themselves more. Building toys are great (like Lego Duplo, etc.) and things like LeapPad are good for when you need to cook dinner or take a shower

I hope this is helpful--I know exactly what you mean "One is enough", especially at that age. I didn't get brave enough to try for a second child until my DD was 3. So take heart, she won't be this exhausting forever.

She sure is gifted, knowing 100 sight words isn't exactly your ND almost 2 year old Enjoy the ride. Let her show you what she wants to do. Forget all the toy age limits or what other people think is appropriate at this age and do what feels right.

She may be ready for a simple reading or other educational computer games (I personally prefer Reader Rabbit or try starfall.com). You may need to help her navigate the computer but she can give you all the answers.

Read to her about whatever she likes, take her to Zoo, museums, music classes, ...My older one liked PreK workbooks such as recognizing same and different pictures and such.

My DS7 would sneak on to my laptop at around that age and go to sesamestreet.org. he loved it! it has a lot of fun games. He liked this site too pbskids.org/lions/

We built forts in the living room out of stuff in the house. He loved the leap pad, slept with it. My niece at that age, loved the magnadoodle, shes gifted in art.

I would cook things that required stirring.... he would get to break the eggs and stir! I would talk about what each ingrident was doing in the thing as it cooked, ie baking soda make it raise, eggs add flavor and makes it stick together.

I did pretty much what you do with reg. developing kids just with more words and explaination.

(I'm in the one is enough club too!)

Try not to think about it too much. The pressure and worries of "knowing" can make you batty. Start saving your money. Gt kids aren't cheap :-) Start learning all you can about education options... your school's rating now means nothing all that matters is the type of gt services they provide. I'm going to go out on a limb but unless you've been beating flashcards into your kids head - you are going to need a self contained gt classroom if at all possible... and you have plenty of time to figure it out.

Otherwise for now, try to not think too much about it. Keep doing whatever it is you've been doing. As said, ignore all non-safety related age requirements for games and toys. Go places, explore, answer all questions with crazy detail until they tune you out, and have fun.

Although from experience try to remember this year... your child may talk and often act older but she is still 2ish... so when she acts her age or less - while it may catch you off guard not be to hard on her. We struggled with this because with the conversations you have with a child it was sometime hard to remember when they made a nutball move - they are actually toddlers.

Good luck. I pray your school district may have superior gt. Oh yeah, like others I'm ignoring the "is she" - if she has reading skills.... You'll look back some day like many here who wondered and do them same as we have 'duh' how did we debate it.

Good luck, welcome.

thank you for the replies! it is really nice to be able to talk openly and not be mistaken for a bragging mom! You have all had some really good advice and I appreciate that you have all gone through this!

I suppose the main reason I asked if she appears to be gifted is because we taught her a lot of what she knows. My husband and I are both teachers and we tend to teach a lot while we play. So as for her reading, I am not sure if she just picked that up from us pointing while we were reading, or if it was us pointing out the same words and telling her what they mean and showing her what they look like. The letters and numbers she picked up on her own...I gues from some of her educational toys and things.

I guess one of my fears is expecting too much from her...and at the same time not expecting enough. I have to find a healthy medium that is just right for her.

Thanks again...I love reading all about you and your children! What a great forum!

No offense, I'm sure you are both wonderful teachers. If nature hadn't made her predisposed to learning fast - the nuture of exposure would fall of deaf ears. As long as the balance is there of learning through fun vs teaching/worksheeting/flash carding a toddler.

Welcome!!!

Your toddler sounds incredibly bright. She has a readiness for many advanced skills for her age. To keep the boredom to a minimum, I would focus on her interests, imaginative play and "field trips". Our favorites were library, zoo, children's museum, concerts and art museums. There were days that even the grocery store was a better option for her than home. I was a SAHM at the time, so we also belonged to a play group which was a welcomed break from daily routine.

I personally didn't focus on "what can I teach her today" with DD, since she was in the driver's seat. With her being our first born, I thought all toddlers did these advanced things. Also remember, that GT kids development may be quite uneven and they also develop in spurts. They may go through a phase where they want to read for hours, and other times they want nothing to do with it. Go with the flow and don't worry that they will forget a skill.

Enjoy this phase, it goes by too fast. Pretty soon it's all about finding the right school, testing their level of giftedness, fighting the schools for accommodation and still every once in a while wondering if they are all that gifted. We all get a case of gifted denial here and there when our kids behave like..... kids, LOL.

Stick around, this place is a wealth of knowledge!

Jen