For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

If you have a child where everyone was commenting on there speech and memory at a young age and you too noticed it.

How are they now if they are over 3 yrs old?

ARE People still impressed with anything?

im just curious to see how your DC has grown cognitively since then.

Message edited 8/11/2008 7:44:22 PM.

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

My daughter is only 2.5, but I have always been told how well she speaks and communicates with others for her age. People are shocked when I tell them her age...

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

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Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

My 5yo is now reading books written for adults.... Not long stories, yet. I don't think he has the patience for a novel, but he has several books (One is about all of the characters from the Hulk comics) that are definitely written for teens and adults. That's usually what he reads to me before going to bed at night.

He also makes his own books. He takes blank sheets of paper, and tapes them together to bind a multi-page book. He writes a story, and illustrates as well. He even made a spiderman pop-up book. It actually pops up a bit when you open the book!

He makes movie posters and hangs them on the wall, he tries to write plays, and gives everyone different roles. His plays are more free-form, and he just gives guidelines as to what we should do.

He draws weather forecasts, pictures of DNA, pictures of our house in its various stages (before, with the hole dug for the basement, what he thinks it will look like after it's done, etc.)

So, yeah, he still impresses people.... including Mom and Dad.

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

Hey Nance.....I always got these comments about Ryan and at 2 still do. He talked really young and had a very large vocab really young. He also knew colors pretty young. I take time to teach him things , as you do with her. They are both very bright and one day they will marry and have very bright little ones

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

Posted by RyansMama

Hey Nance.....I always got these comments about Ryan and at 2 still do. He talked really young and had a very large vocab really young. He also knew colors pretty young. I take time to teach him things , as you do with her. They are both very bright and one day they will marry and have very bright little ones

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

Christopher always got compliments on his speech. He just turned 3 and he still does. He's very articulate and has a big vocabulary (along with a big imagination). Kaylee is 2 and never got complimented. It's not that she's unintelligent, but she's definitely way behind where Christopher was at this point.

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

Robbie developed language skills at a very early age. People would always comment about how advanced he seemed and had a hard time reconciling how young he was with his vocabulary skills. And when he was in the Y they noted that he was using manipulatives to do 'number stories' without prompting. For example he would take a group of blocks and say I have 5 blocks and a gorilla ate 2 (remove 2 blocks) - now I have three blocks!

He did well in kindergarten and in first grade. In the highest level for math and reading. He DOES have a bit of a challenge with authority - he once corrected a teacher's spelling (he was right). He is learning Spanish and doing very well. Skipping grades was brought up at one point - but it is not something that we would consider for him.

But for all intents and purposes - he is your average 7 year old. He whines, has the occassional tantrum, likes video games, skateboards and his bike. Most people don't comment on how smart he is anymore - unless he happens to be caught in a moment. Like For example - one day we were at the store and I gave the girl a 10 dollar bill for something that cost .. I don't know 3.87 or something. She messed something up and was trying to figure out my change when Robbie (without looking up) goes "The change is:$6.13". Or times when he busts out with a word like "obstreperous" or "counter-intuitive" in proper context.

I am super proud of him.

ETA: I am also proud of Noah. He did not speak as early as Robbie and he doesn't 'impress folks' in the same manner that Robbie used to. But he has this innate charm and humor and warmth that tends to attract people to him. He IS very intelligent - he just shows it differently.

Message edited 8/12/2008 8:53:59 AM.

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

From an early age we were told by Alex's pediatrician, and by her teachers, that she needs a lot of stimulus because of her intellect and energy. She picked up sign language very quickly when she was younger and had a 30 word vocabulary by the time she was about 10 months- a year.

Her speech was slightly delayed, only because she relied so heavily on the sign language, but once she did start talking it was like an explosion.

Now she's just about one month shy of 3 years old, and yes, we still get a lot of comments on her vocabulary, speech, and more so, on her adept sense of humor. She "gets' things that even some adults don't observe or understand, particularly when it comes to sarcasm and humor.

I am curious to see how it pans out as she enters elementary school...

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

I am often asked Bella's age and people are quite shocked when I tell them that she is not quite (almost) 3. Her language exploded around 15-18 months...

She has an amazing memory and retains EVERYTHING...drives DH bananas. She also pronounces almost everything correctly.

You can have a full adult conversation with her and it's soooo weird.

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory

I still get comments on Joseph's memory & vocabulary (he's 7 in Sept).

I think he's still a little bright kid but like others has issues with authority. He is also stubbornly doing things his own way which I suspect will lead to problems later on (figuring out the math problems & not doing it the way he was told to - fine for now, not fine when the numbers are so much larger). I notice a difference in how he speaks versus how his friends at school do.

I think a huge part that plays a role in his confidence was being told how smart he was. Unfortunately, he doesn't take to failure well & often will say he can't do something & need a lot of prompting to keep trying once something gets the slightest bit difficult. He has gotten much better since we've put a huge amount of emphasis on how hard he's tried, perserverance. (Tae Kwon Do helps with this as well).

Reading has dropped off a bit. Most books he's interested in are way over his head. The only way we've been able to push it is with books that use superheroes. Comic books have been a big help.

Re: For parents of older kids..who when DC was a toddler had a high vocabulary and memory