Can I believe this?

[imagine.more]

My ODS could name all his letter names and sounds and point them out when written down by 19-20 months and was counting to 5 I think. So I don't think it's totally unrealistic, though definitely on the younger side. I did work with him a bit, but nothing crazy, no flashcards or anything silly, just some fridge magnets and a magnadoodle. Then I got morning sickness and he watched a lot of Super Why, rofl!

 

and I don't think it's necessarily rote memorization, though with some kids it is, my son began reading by 2.5 with a handful of sight words and sounding out words so clearly he understood. I think different kids just fixate on different things. Last year it was letters, this year it's trains, next year maybe it'll be mud. At least now he can read about the trains and mud if he wants, haha!

[rocketgirl]

They are probably doing "school" at daycare. When my first was 1 1/2 I thought, I'll teach her colors, and she already knew them!! I had no idea! She went to daycare everyday while I taught p.s. Do keep in mind tho singing the ABCs doesn't mean they know them...

[dani3boys]

When my oldest son was 18 months old he knew his ABCs. He had a little bag of plastic letters that he played with. He would pull the letters out and tell me the name of each one. He had an aunt who was in pre-school at the time, and he picked this up from her. So yes, it's possible.

[Plucky]

The proper response to being told about what any child can do, advanced or not, is "Great!" Otherwise I don't think it really matters (other than to the child's family) where the child is in comparison to other kids.

 

Exactly. In the end it doesn't really matter. I don't know about the rest of you, but no one ever asks me when I learned to read, tied my shoes, or was potty trained. :001_smile:

[Donna]

My dd knew her letters by sight and sound (not letter names) at 18 months and could count to 10 in 3 different languages (English, Korean from her brother's taekwondo classes, and Latin from listening to her brothers' Latin lessons). She memorized everything even entire books so it looked like she could read when she was that age.

Edited July 29, 2011 by Donna

[Mama Geek]

The ABC song is one of the songs I sing to dd. I am not obsessive about it. She doesn't complain, I don't know when she'll pick it up and I am not to worried about it. Of course I read a lot of what I read for me to her.

[FO4UR]

Mine learned letter sounds at 2yo thanks to LeapFrog Letter Factory. I think it's completely possible for an 18mo. If a child can learn that a cow says "moo," letter sounds are just a step up...not that it's the best use of that precious time between 1 year old and 2.

 

My oldest knew all kinds of things at 18mo-2yo.;) Colors, shapes, letters and numbers were all systematically taught...my younger two just picked up those things by osmosis.

[Carrie12345]

My niece turned 2 this month, and came to visit a few weeks before her birthday. She's fairly solid on her alphabet and numbers, and knows a bit of Spanish. She can also speak in complete sentences when she feels like it. Her daycare center is moving her up to the preschool room b/c the toddler room bores her, and she's becoming a handful.

 

The four toddlers I've raised so far have been all over the map. One didn't utter a single word until just before his second birthday. Another probably could have recited Plato if I had given it to him, lol.

[LibraryLover]

My kids knew lots little songs and poems at that age (especially my oldest and youngest) the ABC song being one of them. I think some toddlers have lots of receptive language, but not a lot spoken language, while some are much more chatty. I think it's all within the range of perfectly normal. But I would not find toddlers knowing songs and reciting numberS unusual. I see it all the time.

[jenangelcat]

My daughter knew (not memorized) all the letters and their sounds and could count to 20 by 18 months. She could speak in full understandable sentences by then as well. She has always been far ahead other kids her age. Around age two she started reading very basic words and she started reading easy readers around 3.5. She's now five and reading at 5/6th grade level. Her younger sister was a much later talker and can still be hard to understand at age 3. She's just learned the letters (but not their sounds) recently.

 

So yes you can believe it.

[Carrieann]

It's very possible. I have a son that knew the alphabet, could count, etc, and was having conversations at 18 months (he was my self taught reader at 3). We joke all the time that he exceeded his parents in intelligence by the time he was five years old!

 

That being said, we as parents have a tendency to embellish a little when it comes to our kids so of course when I tell anyone that my son was reading by 3, I always get the 'you're so full of cr*p' look! Oh well!

[AngieW in Texas]

My oldest was like this. She was also reading at 3yo.

 

OTOH, my youngest is dyslexic. At 13yo, she still can't reliably recite the alphabet beyond G, but she has memorized the lyrics to dozens of songs, and is reading and writing beyond grade level. There is no reason for the letters of the alphabet to be in the order that they are in, so she gets the order all mixed up. Song lyrics make sense.

[Desert Rat]

Yes it is unusual for an 18 month old to know those things. I have 2 boys. One was reading by 2 (and adding). The other didn't know his ABCs until 4.5-5.

I was judged so much when he was little, it's still somewhat painful to recall. The pediatrician didn't believe me until my son read a poster in his office (at 2.5). Then, he made snide comments. Moms would stay away from us at the park when ds started reading the signs (or graffiti). They thought I was one of those crazy moms who forced her kids to learn. Ugh.

I was so excited about my boy's accomplishments and didn't feel like I could "brag" to anyone. And I really couldn't because when people hear about littles who are advanced they start comparing. I learned valuable lessons early on. Now it's not so bad because his intelligence isn't noticable, mostly. And I really do think it was neat that he took alphabet blocks at 19 months old and put U and P together and said, "Look mom, UP!" Still knocks my socks off!

[EKS]

My younger son could do this. The older one could say exactly one word at 18 months.

[Meriwether]

Yes it is unusual for an 18 month old to know those things. I have 2 boys. One was reading by 2 (and adding). The other didn't know his ABCs until 4.5-5.

I was judged so much when he was little, it's still somewhat painful to recall. The pediatrician didn't believe me until my son read a poster in his office (at 2.5). Then, he made snide comments. Moms would stay away from us at the park when ds started reading the signs (or graffiti). They thought I was one of those crazy moms who forced her kids to learn. Ugh.

I was so excited about my boy's accomplishments and didn't feel like I could "brag" to anyone. And I really couldn't because when people hear about littles who are advanced they start comparing. I learned valuable lessons early on. Now it's not so bad because his intelligence isn't noticable, mostly. And I really do think it was neat that he took alphabet blocks at 19 months old and put U and P together and said, "Look mom, UP!" Still knocks my socks off!

 

That is really cool. My baby just turned 18 months and I'm thrilled that she can say apple (the first 2 syllable word other than mama that she can say clearly). When I look at her, I can't imagine a 19 month old doing something like that. Were you surprised when he did it? Or did he do other things that made it less startling?

[bluemongoose]

Yes it is possible!

 

I have 3 little ones. My oldest (with no help from me) suddenly knew her ABC's and 123's. She knew all but a handful of the letter sounds. I can vouch that she learned this on her own as she hated the ABC song and would scream at the top of her lungs if I tried to sing it, and we didnt have TV, so no sesame street :lol:. I was flabbergasted when, at 19 months, she told me she wanted to read. So I got out an ABC book and started to tell her what the letters were, but she already knew! So I moved on to the sounds, but she only needed help with a couple (w, u, q, and y). So I got out the magnet letters and made the word cat. She was able to figure it out. From there she really started to try anything she could. I did help her with long vowel sounds and th/sh etc., but other than that, she learned to read by practicing on her own, or by reading aloud to me. By 3 she was reading thin chapter books (Magic Tree House) and now at 6yo she can read anything.

 

My other two love songs and singing and could almost sing the ABC song correctly. They did recognize a couple of the letters at 18 mos and one could count to 10, the other 5 by then. They could not count objects though. One is now 4.5 and can read simple CVC words. The other is 2.5 and is learning the sounds to the letters. Both can count objects now.

 

Every kid is different, but it is possible.

[stephanier.1765]

My oldest knew his ABC's at 15 months, could count to 20 at 18 months and then by 2 he could read, count to 100 and knew just about any color out there.

[chicagoshannon]

My daughter knew the alphabet and their sounds at 18 months. She knew numbers 1-10 by then also. My just turned 1yr old son most likely will NOT be that way though. He doesn't even say more than dad yet. At 1 my daughter was talking in complete sentences.

[vonfirmath]

At Christmas when my son was 2y5m, my FIL managed to "train" him to spell certain words by using a flashcard process. He said he was teaching him to read. Personally, I think my son learned that a particular combination of letters was "M-O-M-M-Y" etc.

 

Though he was able to do it with refrigerator magnets as well as the original sheets the word was on... So maybe he knew alittle? It was not important to me and I did not reinforce it after we left so it took him another year to really learn his letters. He's still very letter focused and can spell words, read some words, etc. now. All in his own time and way.

[CAMom]

I was having a conversation with someone the other day and they mentioned that their 18 mo knows their ABC's and 123's already. This really surprised me because I have a nephew who just turned two and he's barely speaking. He can say things like Grandpa, Ma, Da, Truck. He also uses baby sign language for some things.

 

Is it unusual for a child that young to know the alphabet and numbers that early?

 

I haven't read any other replies.:)

 

I'd say it's unusual but not out of the realm of possibility. My oldest definitely knew all letters and numbers by that age. He moves to college tomorrow.;)

 

My second (a dd) was verbal very early and speaking in complete sentences by 18 months. She knew her letters and numbers by the time she was 2.

 

My little guy didn't say much of anything at all until he was about 28 months. When he started talking, he caught up to "normal" pretty quickly. He knew his letters and numbers by about 2 1/2.

 

All of mine showed a definite interest in letters and numbers. So I just incorporated them into our play and they learned them quickly.

[Runningmom80]

my DS knew his ABC's by 18 months, and could recognize any letter, and numbers up to 10 by 2. He was reading at 2.5

 

 

I will say that I didn't talk about it. I knew no one would believe me! :lol:

[Ali in OR]

My middle child could identify letters at that age. I did not work with her at all--she did not know the alphabet song for instance. But she knew individual letters, so I'm sure if I had been teaching her she would have known the alphabet and counting. I remember we were in our realtor's office in December, so she would have been between 16 and 17 months, and she went up to a poster on the wall and starting pointing out letters and saying what they were. The realtor was flabbergasted. Dd did not read particularly young (again, I wasn't pushing)--could read simple stuff at 5 and anything she wanted at 6 and still loves to read today. I don't think she's unusually gifted, but she has always loved books.

[choirfarm]

Well, from the time they could sit in my lap at a doctor's office we would take out the magazines and I would show them letters, colors, etc. Both boys knew their letters and by 2. I would say show me a b and they did. Now my oldest didn't really talk much until we got him off the phonobarbitol at 2. My middle one definitely would go around saying b, g etc. I remember getting my hair cut and a boy was heading off to kindergarten there and I was asking my middle one who wasn't 3 yet and he had no clue whatsoever and my child knew them all. Both boys were early readers. My 3rd one wasn't like that, however. So you bet it is possible. Now my two boys couldn't write them even before they went to kindergarten. They hated coloring books as well. So they could read going to kindergarten but couldn't write.

 

Christine

[blessedwith7]

Our oldest talked early (first word at 6 months) and read early (first Bob books at 2 years old) and read fluently before she turned 3. She knew her letters and numbers early. Our second came along and barely said mommy by the time she was 2 1/2 - between the 7 of them, they've been all over the place as far as what they can do when. Although our oldest has continued to be very verbal and has a very high reading level, they have mostly all evened out by the time they were 5 or 6 in their abilities.

[Pamela H in Texas]

I will say that I didn't talk about it.

 

I think most people don't. It's a shame we can't brag like everyone else. I went nuts carrying on when my son could finally do X and Y. Everyone congratulated me and was happy for me. Had I bragged about those same things about my daughter, it would have been considered inappropriate.

 

Additionally, my daughter and I are VERY quiet people and though mentioning it on a message board to support another mom is okay (in my book), I never said anything IRL. IRL, we would have preferred if people hadn't noticed in the grocery store line and at the library and such. In time, she learned to hide it a little better. But really, I don't think we should have had to.

[sleepymommy]

I'd say yes it is possible. Ds7 did those same things. He could also point to the letters and numbers and say it's name. He's not gifted or anything, he's quite average, but for whatever reason he learned these things really early. He also walked early and was speaking in good size sentences.

 

Ds4 didn't utter more than 8 words until sometime after he turned 2 yrs. But I think his sentences now are even better than his big brother's!

[chepyl]

My oldest knew his alphabet at 18 months. He could recite, identify, and write his letters and numbers. My younger child still won't say her ABCs, she can identify but says "I no no mommy." But she knows "How Much is That Doggie" and "Animal Crackers" she just likes the tunes better!

[Truscifi]

Yes it is unusual for an 18 month old to know those things. I have 2 boys. One was reading by 2 (and adding). The other didn't know his ABCs until 4.5-5.

I was judged so much when he was little, it's still somewhat painful to recall. The pediatrician didn't believe me until my son read a poster in his office (at 2.5). Then, he made snide comments. Moms would stay away from us at the park when ds started reading the signs (or graffiti). They thought I was one of those crazy moms who forced her kids to learn. Ugh.

I was so excited about my boy's accomplishments and didn't feel like I could "brag" to anyone. And I really couldn't because when people hear about littles who are advanced they start comparing. I learned valuable lessons early on. Now it's not so bad because his intelligence isn't noticable, mostly. And I really do think it was neat that he took alphabet blocks at 19 months old and put U and P together and said, "Look mom, UP!" Still knocks my socks off!

 

That's awesome! I still have the paper with the first word my son ever wrote. He drew a picture of (what he said was) an owl and wrote the word 'owl' next to it. He had just turned 2. I couldn't really say much without getting snide comments either, but dh and I always marveled over that paper.

[jenangelcat]

I think most people don't. It's a shame we can't brag like everyone else. I went nuts carrying on when my son could finally do X and Y. Everyone congratulated me and was happy for me. Had I bragged about those same things about my daughter, it would have been considered inappropriate.

 

Additionally, my daughter and I are VERY quiet people and though mentioning it on a message board to support another mom is okay (in my book), I never said anything IRL. IRL, we would have preferred if people hadn't noticed in the grocery store line and at the library and such. In time, she learned to hide it a little better. But really, I don't think we should have had to.

 

Whenever any comparing ever came up with friends, I'd end each claim with "but she's not normal, there's a huge range for when kids learn things" or something of the sort. I always felt like I had to apologize for my daughter being extremely smart.

[AndyJoy]

My ds could recognize and give the letter sound for 19 letters at 19 months. I'm not teaching him to say the names or sing the ABC song yet. He also will tell you the sound without seeing the letter if you ask, "What does the C say..." He doesn't speak in sentences yet but he loves his letters and points them out constantly. He loves to scribble with a pen or marker and then point at it an declare, "Puh!" or some other letter sound.

Edited July 29, 2011 by AndyJoy