A todder seems mentally "advanced"?

[Tohru]

My youngest child seems to be way ahead of where my others were at the same age.  Perhaps it is because we're homeschooling, but identifying things by color at about 18 months and counting things at around 2?

Is that advanced or normal?
 

I'm curious in case my other children were just slow.  lol!  I'd also like to know so that I can be mindful of what is "normal" when I'm around others.  We don't push academics, but I know sometimes new homeschoolers get stressed if other children are doing things theirs aren't yet.

[Pawz4me]

I'd say that's probably a bit advanced but within the range of normal.  As well as I can recall both of mine could identify some colors by 18 months, and could do simple 1-2-3 counting around 2.

[Mrs Mungo]

Recognizing items by color is normally 18 month milestone. Most 18 month old kids can do that.

 

Counting to ten is usually more like a 36 month milestone, but lots of kids reach it sooner; that is still within the normal range.

 

Here are some charts that might help?

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html?mobile=nocontent

[Mnemosyne]

Sounds normal to me. Be prepared for him/her to go backwards a bit - my son knew colors and could count, but after a couple months of doing both perfectly he started mixing them all up again.

 

Now, at 2.5 he's getting it down again, but if he's just playing he will count "1, 2, 5, 8, 9" and call yellow, green.

[lifesadream83]

My Lily (15 months old) is signing like crazy, steals all our books, and loves to sing our Song School Latin, and loves to do the phonics sounds her sister does when we do spelling.  I am not sure how advanced I would say she is.  I think it is just a matter of exposure.  Other toddlers aren't necessarily exposed to the same things as toddlers with older siblings homeschooled.  

[momma2three]

My middle child could do that... I was busy taking care of the oldest, and being exhausted and pregnant with the youngest, and he spent A LOT of time playing on my iPhone.  He knew all his shapes (including trapezoid and crescent and weird ones that it never would have even occurred to me to teach), colors, numbers, and a bunch of letters.  He's a sweet boy, but not on the advanced edge of things now.

[Tohru]

Nice.  Thanks.  My others were slow then.  lol! One didn't understand concept of colors until 3!  The other couldn't count for awhile, but in college now and still not good at math :)

[Tohru]

Recognizing items by color is normally 18 month milestone. Most 18 month old kids can do that.

 

Counting to ten is usually more like a 36 month milestone, but lots of kids reach it sooner; that is still within the normal range.

 

Here are some charts that might help?

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html?mobile=nocontent

 

Thanks for the link!  It isn't only just recongizing colors - it's using them in a sentence, as an adjective:

"I like purple cat.  Cat is big.  I have 2 cats."

[abba12]

Mine could point to an object which was the colour I specified at 18 months (show me something blue), but she couldn't tell me the colour of an object on her own until later (what colour is the ball?). Younger DD is doing similar

 

Mine also knew all her letter sounds by 2.5, but didn't master counting to 10 until an entire year later.

 

Having said that, she is bright in other areas and most people think she is older than she is until they hear her speak. I think at this age it all comes down to what they are exposed to. I think most kids are advanced in some things and behind in others. My first was, and still is, about 6 months behind typical milestones in speaking (not so noticable now, but very noticable when she was 2 and basically non-verbal while other advanced kids spoke in sentences!). Now my younger is about 6 months ahead! It's a HUGE adjustment to me dealing with a 16mo who is starting to speak to me with real words lol. I even caught her putting two words together last night (baby cow) which DD1 didn't do anywhere close to that age. But DD2 does not have the same problem solving skills or emotional maturity that DD1 had.

 

It's amazing how different they all are. I would say your LO is on the brighter end of normal, I'd consider those milestones to be a little bit ahead of the curve, but not remarkably so.

[abba12]

Thanks for the link!  It isn't only just recongizing colors - it's using them in a sentence, as an adjective:

"I like purple cat.  Cat is big.  I have 2 cats."

 

Ok, you posted while I was typing.

I must say, that sort of description, if it's coming from a just turned two year old, does seem more on the advanced side to me now. It's one thing to be able to name what colour an object is, it's another thing altogether to conceptualize it enough to choose to use it as an adjective. Heck, I don't think my DD1 used ANY adjectives until she turned three lol. However, I am basing that off my observations with a less verbal toddler, so my perspective might be off.

[Catwoman]

I think she sounds like a normal, bright child.

 

Realistically, it doesn't matter. Expose her to a lot of information in a fun way and let her relax and be a happy 2 year-old. If she's truly advanced, she will keep wanting to learn more and more, and you can follow her lead.

 

My biggest concern when a parent wonders if their child is gifted is that they often feel the need to push the child academically starting at a very early age, and that's not always the best idea.

[bolt.]

These skills tend to be "one-off" skills, not things that occur in a sequence that can be discribed as "fast or slow". What I mean is that the "when" of these skills has an element of randomness.

 

It's like language acquisition week: my toddlers tended to have these occasional weeks when they would learn/say any and every word they were exposed to. Then they would settle onto a plateau of that as their fixed vocabulary for a while. So "what" they learned "about" kinda depended what we were doing that week.

 

I think it might indicate that his brain has a bit easier time with basic abstraction (which does not mean "brighter" OR "faster" than average: just a single cognitive ability being slightly tweaked) -- but it also might indicate pure co-incidence, and that if you had been talking about the parts of a bicycle that day he picked up his colors, he would have picked up bicycle mechanics instead... He was just ready to pick something up that day, and anything would do.

[Catwoman]

Nice. Thanks. My others were slow then. lol! One didn't understand concept of colors until 3! The other couldn't count for awhile, but in college now and still not good at math :)

Actually, they probably weren't slow at all. They were probably just more interested in different things, and had varying strengths and weaknesses. :)

[Guest submarines]

Actually, they probably weren't slow at all. They were probably just more interested in different things, and had varying strengths and weaknesses. :)

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

 

In the vast majority of cases knowing colors / not knowing colors or counting / not counting at this age doesn't really mean much in terms of their intelligence and how the future will unfold.

 

Everyone is different and this includes their focus and interests. Some kids want to count everything they see, some don't care.

 

It is only our culture that places "academic" precociousness on a pedestal.

[Mom in High Heels]

Han Solo is way more advanced than Indy was at this age.  He'll be 3 next month, and he can count to 20, knows his colors, can say the alphabet correctly (granted it's only when he sings the song), and has an expansive vocabulary (seriously, it's crazy how many big words he knows).  He mispronounces a lot of big words, but he knows them, and uses them correctly.  He has refrigerator magnets and is always asking me what a letter is.  He's gotten to the point where he can pick out a few letters correctly.  We're working on spelling his name, but it's 8 letters long, and that's a bit much for him right now.  He can mostly spell Indy's name (6 letters).  He's far too clever for me.

[Jackie]

Just for reference, this was always my favorite developmental checklist: http://ecdc.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Developmental_checklists_Updated2012.pdf

[Ottakee]

Well, I had a foster boy who at 15 months could count to 15, speak clearly.............even enough to tell the little old ladies at the grocery store to "F you" and other choice things.......clear as a bell.  I think he knew all of his colors too.  We only had him a few weeks so I don't know if he remained advanced or not.

[Tammi K]

My experience has been that having a whole passel of kids has allowed me to see vast variations in development I would have missed if I had only the first two. My oldest was a text-book baby. She hit all of her milestones right on target or perhaps a bit early.

 

Then number two came along. She was rolling over at 9 weeks, crawling at 4.5 months, walking at 8 months, and at a year, I tried to see how many words she had in her vocabulary. After making a list of every unique word she said for the day, I gave up after an hour or two because I had almost 100 words recorded. (On her first birthday, she came into the kitchen and said, "I want a cookie. I want juice. I want you to give to me now!" )

 

Okay, so was thinking that must be super parents - Except, then we had number 3. She didn't walk until she was 17 months. She didn't speak until she was 3. She could, however, draw pictures that were readily identifiable before she could speak to name them.  She eventually went on to speak quite well ( a bit too well, sometimes), become a decent water polo player, and an excellent artist. Her early skills were little indication of her future strengths.

 

There is probably a similar story of each of the other three kids. Each of them had an area of 'expertise' that out-paced their peers. Several of them had areas where they were well behind their peers. Now, with the youngest at 13, I can see that they are all capable,  intelligent people who have the ability to do well at whatever they choose. However, none of those things that set them apart at an early age matter nearly as much anymore. 

 

I really like the advice of a pp who suggested providing a rich, pleasant environment for your child and allow her to enjoy being a toddler. Try not to set too much stock in the early achievements or stress too much over the delays. It is nice to have the early bloomer, but, in the end, most other kids do catch up.

[Kerileanne99]

It is entirely possible that your kiddo WILL be advanced. And I do think there is a distinct component of what they are exposed to. Not pushed, but exposed to in a fun and light-hearted manner. Make sure to put out lots of stimulating, open-ended toys/activities. I would say to make sure you don't bother with recommended age groups (other than safety-wise!) but with older children in the house this is surely not an issue:)

If you want to read a bit more about some broad characteristics of advanced toddlers/preschoolers, here is a Rufs guideline list. I think it CAN be beneficial to identify early if you are even considering school options--if not, it is just another bit of info to file away. You won't have to do anything more than roll with it, strew lots of challenges in their path, and be prepared for a wild ride!

http://talentigniter.com/ruf-estimates

 

Oh. And try to get some rest now, because you will need a lot of it later:)

[Mergath]

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

 

In the vast majority of cases knowing colors / not knowing colors or counting / not counting at this age doesn't really mean much in terms of their intelligence and how the future will unfold.

 

Everyone is different and this includes their focus and interests. Some kids want to count everything they see, some don't care.

 

It is only our culture that places "academic" precociousness on a pedestal.

 

:iagree:  Kids that age develop so differently, and for the most part it really doesn't mean much about their future "advancedness" or cognitive abilities.  When my dd was two, she could barely put two words together, but she could point out the location of something like forty different countries on the world map.  Today she's verbally advanced but can barely find the US on a map. :P

 

I'm not trying to make the OP feel bad, but so many parents go the opposite direction and freak out because their toddler isn't doing everything as fast as other kids (that was me, btw) when really it doesn't mean much of anything for their future success.  

[Sisyphus]

It's funny how different kids can develop. My walker at 7 months (I went straight to the pediatrician, it was my first child) is no more coordinated or athletically inclined than any other kid. My walker at a more normal 11 months is very physically gifted- very! I had a friend who had a baby a week before my oldest, and her poor husband would compare and compare, her baby walked a bit on the late side at 18 months or so. (fun fact, normal is actually 6 months to 2! Who knew?) if Ds jumped off something at the park when they were 4 and his child didn't, it was due to the "late" walking, etc. Pointless to have worried, it ended up being neither helpful or harmful for either child, like most things. As mine are the advanced ages of 15 and 12, my advice is just soak in every moment you can, not that you aren't of course, but oh, how I miss those toddler days!

[Tohru]

:iagree:  Kids that age develop so differently, and for the most part it really doesn't mean much about their future "advancedness" or cognitive abilities.  When my dd was two, she could barely put two words together, but she could point out the location of something like forty different countries on the world map.  Today she's verbally advanced but can barely find the US on a map. :p

 

I'm not trying to make the OP feel bad, but so many parents go the opposite direction and freak out because their toddler isn't doing everything as fast as other kids (that was me, btw) when really it doesn't mean much of anything for their future success.  

 

Oh honey! Yes, this is exactly why I asked here (I'm the OP.)  I wanted to know what was in the range of "normal" before I acccidentally mentioned something that could make another parent feel terrible.  It's been a long time since I've had a little one and I probably should just pull out all the books rather than try to go from memory and compare this youngest one to my older ones.

[Dory]

The range of what is 'normal' is pretty big. Different kids, different mental development at different stages. My youngest was reading on his own at 2 1/2. My oldest was barely talking at that age. Both are advanced in different areas now. Both of them are gifted despite my oldest not even talking properly then (or still now).

[SKL]

I agree that it's in the range of normal.  Can't tell from that information whether the child is overall advanced or not.  I've known many kids who could exhibit the conventional preschool "skills" at an early age.  Some of them ended up being normal, some advanced, and some actually struggled when things got more complicated later on.  My kid brother could spell a list of words (such as people's names) when he was 3, but he was not an early reader, and school did not come easy to him.

 

My eldest was inconsistent about getting her colors right, until after she got glasses at nearly 3.  Then she was perfect.  ;)  One less thing to worry about.  ;)

[Isabella]

I can't remember about colours, but I do remember my 2yo counting to 50. I didn't think it strange, as she'd had so much exposure with her older siblings counting. My attention was only drawn to it when an older friend (who used to teach preschool) heard my dd starting off 1, 2, 3, 4....  My friend said encouragingly 'That's right!  Then...f i v e.... s i x....'  My daughter looked at her and said 5, 6, 7...all the way through to 50.  The lady looked shocked, and that's when I realized it might be earlier than most kids did.  She is now 17, and fairly bright, although not exceptionally gifted.  She is dyslexic, and didn't read till 10, or write well till 13 or 14, but numbers and math were not a problem for her.

 

[Pamela H in Texas]

I skimmed through the responses.  My guess is simply that your toddler has 1) a different learning style and 2) a lot different exposure than your older kids did.  We have had a lot of kids who seemed advanced (foster kids do seem extremely bright) in many ways.  Our home is very educationally rich and we are fairly academically minded.  We probably spend more informal time in educational pursuits, use right brain learning for our "down time," etc.  So is it odd that I've had multiple 20 month old children leave here knowing their letters, letter sounds, numbers, counting, colors, etc?  Not really. It also isn't really weird that I've had multiple 3-4 year olds at various stages of learning to read. 

 

But what if I didn't have my three?  And I just fostered one child at a time?  Would the toddlers progress as much as quickly?  Seriously doubt it.  They'd just have a lot less exposure.  Maybe more than some children have because of how *I* am, but a WHOLE lot less exposure just because they wouldn't be hearing it times six little kids!  

 

Anyway, soooooooo.....I would expect that a child with a propensity for picking up various things would pick more up if he was kid three than kid one.  Doesn't make him a genius or the others dunces :)  

 

Of course, I'd also roll with it :)  And who knows.  Maybe he will find a true cure for some horrible disease or social problem :)  That would be nice :)  Just don't expect development to be linear.  Even if he were on a 4th grade level by 4years old, he isn't necessarily going to be on even a 6th grade level by 8years old.  Or even if he is there by 5, he may not do high school before 12.  It all just has sputters and spurts regardless of how advanced a child is (said by a parent who has had more advanced children and later bloomers :) ).

[trinchick]

At 2 my now 3yo could identify all of the US presidents by face. All of them. Came from playing Presidents vs. Aliens with DD on the Ipad. I always thought it would make a good Letterman Stupid Human Trick.

 

Of course, he still cannot identify all of his capital letters despite working with him closely on it. And he's not potty trained. I've come to the conclusion that kids are weird and there's no way to predict what will interest them or what they will retain.

[Truscifi]

The use of language you describe is maybe a bit advanced, but it is hard to tell at this age whether it is just hitting a milestone early and will even out later or is a sign of giftedness. For your little I think just go where she leads you. As for other parents, don't brag and if they get their feelings hurt because they are comparing, that's on them.

[AimeeM]

I'm not sure if it's advanced or not. My middle boy (almost 5 now) did the same around those ages (although he was decidedly behind verbally, so he knew those things without using the vocabulary you describe your kiddo using). My youngest boy (21 months now), isn't interested in anything to do with colors unless you count using the crayons to decorate my obviously bare looking walls, eating chalk, and flying off couches.

[Just Kate]

This thread reminds me of when dd was just 2 year old. She had pretty severe speech problems and I was told to contact Birth to 3 to see if she met the criteria for therapy through them. They sent people out to our house (one was a speech therapist and the other was an RN, I think) and their role was to test dd in 7 different areas, speech being one of them. If she showed deficiency in two areas, she would be considered to receive therapy through them. 

 

Because I was homeschooling ds in K at the time, I had educational things all over the house - maps on the wall, lots of educational toys, etc. The Birth to 3 workers came in my house, sat down on the floor, and started the evaluation. Just five minutes in they told me there was no way dd was going to qualify. Although she had a pretty severe speech problem at that time, she was just too far ahead in other areas. She could point out different states on the map, she was able to take three step directions, she could point out letters and numbers, etc. It cracked me up at how "advanced" they acted like dd was behaving when her behavior seemed rather normal to me! But I realize that many of the kids that they evaluated had severe developmental disabilities, which would make dd seem advanced, I am sure. Also, dd only did these things because she watched me work on them with her big brother. She wanted to be just like him!

 

Now, at the age of 6, she is still in speech therapy (getting better all the time!) and she does well in school. She isn't advanced though. Maybe on the high end of average?

[SKL]

This thread reminds me of when dd was just 2 year old. She had pretty severe speech problems and I was told to contact Birth to 3 to see if she met the criteria for therapy through them. They sent people out to our house (one was a speech therapist and the other was an RN, I think) and their role was to test dd in 7 different areas, speech being one of them. If she showed deficiency in two areas, she would be considered to receive therapy through them. 

 

Because I was homeschooling ds in K at the time, I had educational things all over the house - maps on the wall, lots of educational toys, etc. The Birth to 3 workers came in my house, sat down on the floor, and started the evaluation. Just five minutes in they told me there was no way dd was going to qualify. Although she had a pretty severe speech problem at that time, she was just too far ahead in other areas. She could point out different states on the map, she was able to take three step directions, she could point out letters and numbers, etc. It cracked me up at how "advanced" they acted like dd was behaving when her behavior seemed rather normal to me! But I realize that many of the kids that they evaluated had severe developmental disabilities, which would make dd seem advanced, I am sure. Also, dd only did these things because she watched me work on them with her big brother. She wanted to be just like him!

 

Now, at the age of 6, she is still in speech therapy (getting better all the time!) and she does well in school. She isn't advanced though. Maybe on the high end of average?

 

My sister had therapists in home for her baby, and they would exclaim at how "advanced" her preschooler was, and that she must "do something about that."  Preschooler was/is advanced in a couple of areas because yes, she's bright, and her mom works with her on academics every day.  Most likely they thought she was amazing because they were used to dealing with the other end of the spectrum.  My sister went through a period when she thought she needed to put her in school early.  This has calmed down, perhaps because the kid now attends preschool and she isn't that much of an outlier among normal preschoolers (and there are some big areas where she's behind).  She'll probably do well in school academically, but I don't see her needing to be on a special track (though I could be wrong).

[Luanne]

Having worked in childcare for over 10 years with one and two year olds, I'd say, yes, this is advanced for a child of that age.  My daughter is an only child and was the same way.  I didn't try to teach her stuff, she just seemed to pick up on it.  She still picks up on new stuff very easily.