So, are all 2 year olds this smart?

[LaLa]

Ok, so bean is our first baby, and she is 2 now (in oct)
And I"m so amazed with how much she knows!

She can sing her ABC's, count to 11, recognize those numbers in print, do puzzles up to 8 pieces without blinking!
She got an alphabet lower case puzzle out for the first time yesterday and she put the whole thing together in 3 minutes!

I assume this is probably normal behavior for 2 year olds, but since I've never really been around one, I don't know?
She seems so bright to me and my dh!


Oh, and a little quirky too...
For example, she likes ORDER! She lines up all of her toys and dolls so they are always in a line or circle and facing the same direction (usually facing a window)
She is always lining things up and putting them in some sort of order.

When she took out her puzzle pieces, she took them all out and laid them in lines,then put them all back in the reverse order...every letter of the alphabet!

I think it is so cool watching them develop their minds like this!

Tell me more about 2 year olds and and 3 year olds !

[rwikene]

Sounds like you have one smart cookie to me!

You must be working with her a lot...my neice just turned 3 and can't count to 11 or say her whole alphabet.....or do puzzles more than 4 peices for that matter....

It is amazing to see how fast children learn when put in a nurturing environment!

[LaLa]

I'm sure that being a SAHM has a lot to do with it...we do a lot of reading, singing, and puzzles together (and other things )
just to keep ourselves entertained!

:LOL

[CanOBeans]

I think she is probably smarter than average in many areas. My DS was/is very similar -- could do all of that and did the lining up things too. He was speaking in full, complete sentences at 20 months, knew all his colors, could count to ten in four languages, quote entire picture books (with say 20 paragraphs) word for word etc. before 2 years. Now at age 5 he does simple addiiton and subtraction in his head easily (10 - 4, 15 + 3) and has the vocabulary of a much older child. And nope, we didn't really work with him much, he just picked it up. OK, we did teach him the counting in other languages, but it only took telling him once or twice before he got it.

[mama2girls]

LaLa,

A is like that, too! She'll be 30 months on Fri. I realized just today that A can recognize letters up to E and can learn a song in a day.

It amazing how much they learn when you put it to music. She can also spell her own name and tell what her mommy, daddy, and sister's names are.

I think that lining things up and repetition are hallmarks of this age. She is always lining up dolls and cars (but not her books on the bookshelf--wonder why?). And she gets very fixated on things--for example she has a MRs. Potato Head and once my mom put the lips on the top of the head. Now she always says, "Lips go on top!"

And the long, long sentences that come out of her mouth!

[GruppieGirl]

This is a great outlet to boast a little about our toddlers. I would never tell my friends these things.

My 2 yo (Sept.) started telling us our phone number this week. She must hear us say it to people on the phone.

LaLa keep working with your toddler but be weary of pushing her. Ie flashcards, memorization. Kids can easily get turned off to learing at a young age.

[LaLa]

oh fun!


It's so cool to hear what other children are doing!


Bean doesn't really speak that well, yet, but that's ok. I know her language!
teehee...I kind of like it that way

In fact, she never even said mommy until she was about 18 months old. She said Daddy, and Grandpa and Grandma, and even doggie, but no Mommy!
WAHHH!!!

It is just so incredible to see how they pick things up so quickly!
And I've learned i have to be careful what she is exposed to also...

Bean watches PBS in the morning, and we watch Seseme Street. Well, she decided to start EATING like Cookie Monster does.
She says "I'm cookie"
then that is followed by "yum yum yum yum..."
while she demolishes everything in her path!
LOL

So, we try to avoid that portion of seseme street now

[shaygirl]

It's amazing how our little ones can mesmerize us with their love of learning, isn't it?

My Love is almost three and a half, and he has not yet ceased to amaze us both.........he was doing the alphabet thing before he could even talk -- he'd be able to point/identify any letter by his 1st bday (we had this really cool abacus-style ABC tile-turning toy that should get most of the credit) and by 18 months, he was naming them all himself! As soon as the words started forming, his interest in learning grew even more! He will sing you the entire Star Spangled Banner word for word ~ although I'm sure he doesn't know what "gallantly" means, or what a "rampart" is....what IS a rampart, anyway??! (since just before he turned two)....maybe it's because of all the baseball games we've gone to! He is starting to verbally spell familiar words -- his name, STOP, Fred Meyer.........all the signs he's seen frequently over the past couple of years! It's pretty funny sometimes, because he's at the point where he can "read" all the letters of the alphabet, and he knows the sounds each one makes, but he can't read yet. So when we're in the car he'll say really quickly, "Momma, what does f-i-r-e-s-t-n spell?" (He tries to "read" it to me so fast....I get the giggles a lot when he does it!) And I've usually passed whatever sign he happens to be looking at by the time he tells me all the letters, so sometimes I'll have to improvise, or just guess, but the answer to the above spelling question is: Firestone (the one by our house has a very tall sign with neon letters that grab his attention every time we're in that area!).

How sweet your little girl sounds. The image of her tiny self lining up all her toys in neat little rows facing the window (how considerate of her to give them something pleasant to look at!!) just warms my heart! I think all children are born with an innate sense of wonder and discovery.........it just takes a patient and gentle soul to guide them into the love of learning and being a full-time Mom really gives the opportunity for comfortable self-paced learning in your own element, whether it be the living room floor or under the covers sunggled up in bed! I also feel very fortunate to have the option of being with my son all day, and I will never tire of the look he gets when he's trying to figure out how something works! And the smile of acheivement when he "gets it".

Besides, you don't even really have to try too hard.....if our children see us enjoying ourselves & having a good time, then they'll just follow our example & approach things with excitement and curiosity, right?! So I think you and your dh should take lots of credit for her apparent genius-streak. After all, you spend the time not only to notice, but to nurture as well. You should be so proud!

Oh, and keep up with the singing, but some advice: rotate the songs you sing!!! My Isaac started saying/singing EVERYTHING to the tune of "This old man" this summer (right about his 3rd bday)! I guess I had been singing that one quite a bit on our walks & in the car! It was adorable and ingenious (to us!) at first, but eventually became slightly annoying..........so I had to make a concerted effort to NOT sing that song for a couple weeks, and then he did start adding our other old favorites to his playlist!! Every time he'd open his mouth, it was that tune.......it was very funny, and I miss the innocent little "quirks" that are gone all too quickly.

Thanks for sharing! It got me thinking back on my little guy's amazing journey to where we are now, and how cool it really was! ..........And there's so much more coolness yet to come!!

[glad2bemama]

It is nice to hear parents bragging a little about their kids--- they are all special in their own ways! I love it! I am constantly amazed at how different my two boys are each and every day, but I am not really able to brag around the other parents IRL...

My first ds had 6 words at 6 months-- kitty, bubble, hi, bye bye, mama, dada and was speaking full sentences by 14 months. He identified colors at a birthday party at 9 months old on a toy. His grandfather laughed when we told him this and said "Sure, he did. So, what color is this?" To which ds answered him correctly on each one. He could also count to 20 by 18 months old! By the time he was 4 years old, he literally woke up on his birthday and counted to 100! Needless to say, he was also able to read fluently by age 4, as well.

My second ds was also speaking early, as well ( even though everyone said it wouldn't happen with the second one, too ). He was speaking in full sentences by 18 months. But, his true talent is art. He sculpts, paints, and draws amazing things and he just turned three! We literally spend hours each day providing him with the tools that he needs. I actually had to buy an art book to learn how to draw some of the things that he wanted. And music, he started singing from the time that he could talk, "Baa, Baa Black Sheep" and others before a year old. Right now, he loves Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker", as well as Jerry Garcia and David Grisman's blue grass. "Kitaar" for guitar was actually his second word after "Mama".

Now, I should add that my oldest did not walk until 14 months old and by that time he was talking in full sentences and has trouble with art projects like coloring, cutting or writing. In contrast, my youngest walked by 10 months, talked early, is amazing in art work, but could not correctly identify his colors until he was 2 and a 1/2 and has no interest in learning his letters even though he loves to be read to. Soooo... I guess that it all evens out with them.

Thanks for letting me brag

[DiaperDiva]

It is amazing to see how fast children learn when put in a nurturing environment

OUCH! We have a nurturing environment here too, yet Kailey (who will be two in Feb) can not do many of those things. She loves puzzles though, but doesn't speak yet.

BUT...she can take a part and put back together a 1965 Chevy in less than 6 hours

[jjdoula]

I just wanted to share one of my favorite stories about my older son, now 7.

When he was about 18 months old, he was "helping" his uncle work on the car, so he was given a screwdriver to "fix" with while his uncle was under the hood. About a minute and a half later his uncle heard a noise, he stood up and looked down to find that my son had removed the headlight!!

Needless to say, he was supervised with tools from then on! He still likes to take things apart..his stepfather now supplies him with computer parts that aren't working to "dissect", and he gets to help build new computers..

[shaygirl]

DiaperDiva ~ I am sure your wonderful Kailey excels in other areas and is as smart & loving as she can be! I was a little bit apprehensive bragging as I did, because I didn't want to offend anyone (or seem to be sucking the fun right out of it!) who's babe may not be doing the things mentioned here at an early age. I'm sure everyone feels the same way: our children are absolutely perfect just as they are, and they will learn & acheive at their own pace, which happens to be just right for them!!

But I was curious about the Chevy comment..........are you talkin models here, because we've got a 79 Caprice that could use a little work...... !!hee hee!

I'm having fun reading all these wonderful boasts!

[DiaperDiva]

SHAY~ LOL! I was not offended.

That is wild about the 79 Caprice, because we have an 81 caprice! Kaile yhas been tuning it up for a few months now LOL!

I guess I can join in the bragging to....


Kailey loves dressing herself, from diaper cover on up. She also does great brushing her teeth. She is careful to chomp her teeth together and brush away. She loves helping me do the dishes and rinses and puts them in the dishdrainer herself.

She too loves puzzles and is a pro at the number and alphabet ones we have.

Oh and she loves to sing and dance.

[simonee]

wow those kids are smart.

Audrey is almost 3 1/2, and still doesn't know the whole alphabet (but she identifies most letters with a word that starts with the letter) and can count to seventeen or so with only a few missers.
She doesn't dress herself and only makes small puzzles.

But she's an incredible artist. She draws recognizable people and a whole zoo of distinctive animals, and she criticizes me when I miss a whisker on a cat And she plays out whole days with her stuffed animals, making them interact in a way that's not quite AP ("you HAVE to do this now"), and then tells them that they just happen to have strict mamas because not every kid is lucky

[Britishmum]

I love reading what other people's toddlers can do. I spent several months worrying about dd and trying to slow her down because I was so concerned that she was going to find it hard to mix with other kids her age later on. Then my wonderful pediatrician told me that unless I locked her in a room away from the world, I couldnt stop her and to get on with it and encourage her all I can. Since then I've lightened up about it, but I have to admit I still worry about school or whether or not to homeschool.

Eg she knew most of her colours and shapes, and a lot of letters by her first birthday. By 18 months she knew them all. Now she is 26 months and knows all our names and several of her friends' names too, often from badges at classes etc. She works out the sound of a lot of words, eg she carried the 'b' from an alphabet puzzle upstairs last week and put it on the bed, saying 'B is for bed'.

Like your dd, Lala, she lines up toys and sorts them out really neatly (just like her dad, who is an engineer). Her lego models are amazing, and her concentration is really good. She learns a new song after hearing it once (just like dh who memorises songs from the radio after one hearing).

It's so funny though, because at classes she is silent and doesnt participate. People who don't know her ask me (often condescendingly) if she can talk yet. I smile and nod. She talks non stop in full sentences, and has been doing so for a year.

It's hard though becasue it is a special need, but not one you can easily talk about. I find it challegning to keep up with her and keep stimulating her without 'hothousing' her. When people say things like 'Oh, they all catch up in the end" I get so frustrated. They miss the point completely and I often feel that my concerns are dismissed, or that I'm seen to just be bragging, But I worry about how she'd cope in Kindergarten if she was expected to learn the alphabet, and I dont want her accelerated through grades. So maybe homeschooling will be our only option.

Anyway, I've bragged enough - it's someone else's turn!

[dentente]

Um, hey moms of all those Rhodes Scholars. Here's an idea: teach them their phone number. Just an idea. If they can learn all those other things...it can't hurt. It could help.

[DiaperDiva]

There is a disorder called something- lexia. It's the opposite of dislexia, where the child is obsessed with learning numbers and letters, just can't stop. A lot of these children can read and write by age TWO! But the down fall is that they can't fit in to mainstream classes(and is that really a bad thing? ) Also they find later in life these children/young adults have difficulty socializing with their peers, and tend to be social outcasts

But I don't think anyone's child has that here, it just reminded me of that.

I think everyone's child here seems pretty darn impressive, and in a good way I also think that they are learning different things at different times, so yes, in the end they will all even out, although some will keep speeding along into the future. They HAVE to, I mean who else is going to lead our country into a social revelution? And who is going to deliver my children's children?

[guestmama9924]

Re: So, are all 2 year olds this smart?

Originally posted by LaLa
Ok, so bean is our first baby, and she is 2 now (in oct)
And I"m so amazed with how much she knows!

She can sing her ABC's, count to 11, recognize those numbers in print, do puzzles up to 8 pieces without blinking!
She got an alphabet lower case puzzle out for the first time yesterday and she put the whole thing together in 3 minutes!

I assume this is probably normal behavior for 2 year olds, but since I've never really been around one, I don't know?
She seems so bright to me and my dh!


Tell me more about 2 year olds and and 3 year olds !

My girl turned 2 in October. Funny , she also counts to 11- what a silly place to stop. She sings the ABC song, still a bit blurred though. And knows all her colors- just not what they match to!

[Marley holding up a red apple proclaiming ' BLUE MAMA!!"

Loves to dress herself, hat, shoes socks clothes, panties and of course a purse and jewelry.

She just started asking "Why?" after everything. I think she gets that from her 6 year old sister.

I am hanging on to babyhood as long as possible with this one, but she is passing me by.....

[USAmma]

Edited because most of my post sounded like a brag, and I didn't want to do that.

[kezia]

Okay Diaper Diva, now you've got me worried about the "-lexia thing". My ds was really into letters VERY early. At 7 and 8 months, he started noticing large letters on signs and wanting to know what they were. Since he didn't talk yet, it took me a while to figure out what he wanted, but one day we were walking into Lowe's and he was pointing at the sign on the front of the store and I finally figured it out. Once I told him what the letters were, he seemed satisfied, and started pointing out more and more all the time. For Christmas, SIL gave him a set of alphabet blocks, and that was when I accidentally realized that he could identify ALL the letters. By 16 mos, he could say the alphabet (though he wasn't really talking yet and it was a little garbled) and I also heard him counting to 10 one day while playing (no idea where he picked that up!).

Now, at 2 1/2, he can count to 100, recognizes a handful of words by sight, and has completely memorized tons of storybooks. One day we were at the mall and out of the blue he starts reciting Dr. Suess's ABC--he knew the whole thing by heart! I guess it shouldn't surprise me, as we've read all those books so many times that I know them by heart too . But he does seem somewhat obsessed with numbers right now. He wants to count all the time, and notices numbers everywhere. He is also very orderly and always does that lining up the toys thing. Please tell me I shouldn't worry!