Signs of genius or extremely bright toddler - NOT a "humble brag" as I am not related to the child!
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Anonymous
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I am only the nanny.
My seventeen-month-old charge truly amazes me. She is speaking in fairly full sentences ("Hold both hands, please"; "Eat out lunch" when she wants to go out to lunch). She knows two is more than one and negotiates with me for more than one. She knows the alphabet song and can count to twenty (except she forgets 13). Also her language correlations are interesting - she knows stands on "tip" toes, for example, and then will ask for something on the "tip fridge". Strangers have commented on her communication. She loves books and knows which book is which by the covers (she has over sixty books). She also likes more complex books like "Corduroy" and "Green Eggs and Ham" and will sit for the entire reading. I was a daycare teacher prior to becoming a nanny and, although I have a BA, never took any classes on gifted children. Were all my previous charges slow or is this child exceptionally bright? If she is bright, is there anything I should be doing beyond reading a lot and speaking to her normally? TIA PS I swear I am not her parent! |
Anonymous
| She's averagely bright. Most kids in my family are that way - early and strong communicators, great memories, etc. Just keep going in the same direction. |
Anonymous
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Of course you are the parent. If you were really a former daycare teacher, you would know that this is not really anything completely off the charts. Lots of very verbal kids do this by 17/ 18 months, as do kids who grow up to love to read and write. But not exactly a sign of "genius."
I'm sure she's very cute, too, mom. |
Anonymous
| This was DD as well. She's now a lovely 1st grader and, while bright, is not a genius. |
Anonymous
| My kid did this, too. Honestly I really thought he was the smartest kid ever. Fortunately I never told anyone!!! Still very verbal at 8, but not gifted at all--right in the middle of the class on everything and an atrocious writer. |
Anonymous
| The child seems bright but nothing really so much off the charts. |
Anonymous
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She sounds lovely, OP. And you sound like a caring nanny.
I think it's way to early to make determinations on whether a child is gifted at the age of 17mos. Children evolve a lot over time, and so much mental and physical development is happening it's also hard to know which milestones coming early are indicative of what. To me, gifted is mostly useful when the kid enters school and you're thinking about differentiated instruction. In the meantime, just keep doing what you're doing and exposing her to books, music, art, and continue to foster her physical development through outdoor play and physical activity. |
Anonymous
| Reading at age two is iq 140. Full sentences at age 12 mons. I see a truck it brings the mail. For example. People never believe that. |
Anonymous
| Eh, most geniuses I've read about were delayed in talking. Think Einstein, Feynman, etc. Good communication is indicative of a bright child, but I think real, true, genius is rare and probably manifests in almost autistic concentration and curiosity at toddler ages. |
Anonymous
| My sister's first kid was like this. He's 9 now and very bright. Not a genius though. |
Anonymous
My IQ is a little over 150 and I did not hit those milestones as a toddler. |
Anonymous
| I don't know if she's gifted, but as a former gifted child myself I would say number one thing is not to praise her for being smart. ( fixed vs. growth mindset stuff). |
Anonymous
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The "two is more than one" negotiations struck me. My nephew, who is extremely bright in math at at an Ivy now, did that at around the same age (Pointing to his two grandfathers together for the first time and said "Two Papas!". Anyone can memorize numbers in sequence but what your charge and my nephew did make them exceptional. My nephew is not a genius, btw, but he certainly amazing at math.
Keep doing what you are doing, Nanny. She didn't learn in a vacuum so either you or her parents or both are doing something right. |
Anonymous
OP again and yes - we never use the "smart" word. I praise her effort. Hard to get strangers to stop saying it however. |
Anonymous
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My friend's kid who was like this at that age is now in elementary school and very socially awkward.
The same friend also has a kid who had 30 words at 2 years old, and he is the most empathetic, kind kiddo. He's so loving and so much fun to be around. I'm not saying it's necessarily one or the other. But seriously, I would love to see some brag posts from people about how thoughtful & kind their kids are. We're so fixated on being smart (and sometimes athletic) as if that matters at all to how happy you'll be in the future. |