Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think if 3 year old was a genius, you would know it. I don't believe in gifted as some schools define it.

Well what exactly do you "believe" in?

For what it's worth, OP, we thought our 3 yr old was just an entertaining little character. Super chatty with adults. But we didn't even consider "gifted" until he started having school problems half way through K. His K teacher mentioned that he reminded her so much of a highly gifted kid she had nannied. Turns out we have a profoundly gifted child (who happens to hate math). At 3 we just thought he was profoundly fun.

There aren't any real signs at three. Someone studied this. Took all the people who thought their 3-5 year olds were profoundly gifted. There was almost no difference in how the parents described the kids who turned out to be gifted versus those that didn't. In other words, all of the participating kids were described by their parents as early readers or talkers or kids who seemed really bright compared to their peers. But only half those kids ended up being gifted. And no one has studied the kids who weren't brought in (i.e. The kids with average or low speaking and reading skills) to find out if those kids tested gifted. In other words, no one has any idea what a gifted 3 year old looks like. For every kid who is identified gifted at age seven whose parents would describe them as highly chatty as a toddler, there's another kid identified as gifted who was totally average as a toddler.

Fwiw I was identified as profoundly gifted as a kid, talked at a regular age, read a little early (but not weirdly early). My 5 yo son's brain seems to work in the same ways as mine and others in my family (all of whom are profoundly gifted) so I suspect he will test profoundly gifted as well . Certainly will test "basic gifted". His speech is lousy, he's socially quirky and he could have started reading at four but refuses (scared I won't read to him anymore). But sees the world in a certain way that I recognize.

I think there are too many combinations of temperament and types of giftedness to put together some definitive set of characteristics. My 8yo has an IQ in 130s. She's a low energy, laid-back, cautious, big-idea kid who can just understand anything. While she knew colors at 12 months, letter and numbers by 18 months, reading chapter books by the time she turned 3... She could walk into her room completely rearranged and not notice. She could come home with another child's shoes on. She got a lot of attention for speaking like a 5yo at age 18months, but by age 3 she liked to stay under the radar. Once I witnessed her raise her hand in preschool to answer "carbon dioxide" and it looked like she immediately regretted it.

Gifts is mostly related to IQ like High verbal and reading abilities. How early your kids started recognizing colors, shapes and speaking language.

Anonymous wrote:I think if 3 year old was a genius, you would know it. I don't believe in gifted as some schools define it.

So there is no distinction between genius and average? That seems to not be helpful statistically.

Anonymous wrote:What are the most significant and/or common signs or traits of giftedness in a 3-year-old?

Omg, seriously? Just live your life and play with your kid in your free time.

Anonymous wrote:I think if 3 year old was a genius, you would know it. I don't believe in gifted as some schools define it.

Well what exactly do you "believe" in?

For what it's worth, OP, we thought our 3 yr old was just an entertaining little character. Super chatty with adults. But we didn't even consider "gifted" until he started having school problems half way through K. His K teacher mentioned that he reminded her so much of a highly gifted kid she had nannied. Turns out we have a profoundly gifted child (who happens to hate math). At 3 we just thought he was profoundly fun.

There can be a variety of "gifted traits" that a child may exhibit. Hoagies website explores giftedness thoroughly. You can probably find what you're looking for there.

http://www.hoagiesgifted.org

I think if 3 year old was a genius, you would know it. I don't believe in gifted as some schools define it.

My kid barely said Boo before two years old. But he has been reading/improving since he was 2.5. I don't know if that means he's gifted or just a little smarty. When he's 10, not sure if these accomplishments will even matter, but I enjoy watching him develop.

I am not sure. But I wonder about my 2.5 yo. Can do a lot more than my older ones could at that age (could sort things by color and shape around 18 months, figured out letters and what word goes with each - m is for monkey, c is for cat, etc, can rhyme, knew colors around a year, knew all of her body parts by a year, etc). I am not sure if she is just a little precocious or what.

High verbal and reading abilities, according to research, I suspect because those are the most visible stand-outs that even a clueless parent would notice.

Not the case for my gifted son, who was an expert sorter and categorizer at that age, but significantly delayed in everything else and receiving therapy for those (ex-preemie). He was reading at a 12th grade level by 5th grade, so some abilities developed later.

My daughter was exceedingly verbal from 9 months old. She was reading at 3.

I'm sure tons of not gifted kids are that way, but for us it seemed early and she tested off of the charts in the testing she had in second grade.

None that I saw in my gifted son.

What are the most significant and/or common signs or traits of giftedness in a 3-year-old?