Is my little girl smart?

[Candlelight]

At the risk of plowing my own trumpet, I just want to see where this stacks up against the "norm":

My daughter Amelia can:

- Count to 12 in English
- Count to 5 in Maori
- Knows a dozen colours
- Knows hot-cold, up-down, high-low, on-off,
- Recite the alphabet in it's entirety
- Sings (as far as I know) about a dozen songs, getting about at least 80% of the words correct, including intonation (sp?) and timing
- Ask questions (what's in there? , what's wrong daddy? etc)
- Knows the names of the 23 other kids at her nursery, and half of their parent's names, plus the six caregivers AND the caregivers of the sister nursery next door
- Remembers the location of toys (for example) days after she's finished playing with them, and also incidents that may have occurred in the past with said toys (such as one went missing, etc)
- Knows which button to press to turn on the tv, press play on the dvd player and WHICH remote is which
- Can identify, understand and distinguish ownership of property
- Understands the concept of taking turns
- Can identify different modes and vehicles of transport (car, bus, truck, train, bicycle)
- Completely follows the Christmas holiday including Santa, trees, reindeer and no doubt very soon Turkey and Ham...

There are others but that's all I can think of at present.

Age: 18 months.

So... is this normal?

 

[RoJoHen]

Sounds like she's ahead of the game.

My godchildren are 18 months, and they can barely speak more than random "words" they think they know.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I have no idea, but that does sound pretty advanced for an 18-month-old to me.
You say she can recite the alphabet, can she identify letters already too?

 

[Orac Zen]

She's 18 months old already??

I don't recall my niece being able to do anything like that; your daughter sounds pretty advanced to me.

 

[jamestyler]

I can't answer your question, but I id wonder the same with my daughter. By 18 months she was able to identify a lot and carry conversation (to an extent).

Though taking turns and sharing... that's a trial as I think she gets what she wants at her mothers house, but at mine she has to share with my GF's children.

I've not really had much experience with kids outside my own daughter, so... I never had the answer. But from what I've seen, it does sound like she's a few steps ahead of most.

 

[Amaris]

Pfft. I can do that. [/Homer]

Seriously, though, she does sound well ahead of others in her age group.


J.

 

[Jax]

Personally I think the daughter is too smart meaning she is possessed by a Demon...so we all know what must happen to demon children..."gets bible" leave demon leavvve.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I was a similar child, and my mother was told it was unusual. It sounds like your daughter is developing very quickly and demonstrating high intelligence.

 

[Jadzia]

I will say that this is predominantly a fact-recitation based ability, with identification and labeling of sensory information. What I would call 'concrete thinking'.

Adults who are strong concrete thinkers tend to be traditionalists and more family oriented, that provide and protect for their flock. Also gravitate to upholding institutions such as in law or business management.
Her cultural interest in christmas is perhaps a sign of a traditionalist inclination? Understanding and distinguishing ownership of property, is perhaps a sign of a legalistic inclination?

 

[Triskelion]

Definitely advanced! Great job. Have you started the electroshock flashcards yet?

 

[Saturn0660]

Nice, she sounds good to go.

 

[TheBrew]

The obvious answer to any parent asking about their children's intelligence is "yes, he/she is".

 

[Mr Awe]

I will say that this is predominantly a fact-recitation based ability, with identification and labeling of sensory information. What I would call 'concrete thinking'.

Adults who are strong concrete thinkers tend to be traditionalists and more family oriented, that provide and protect for their flock. Also gravitate to upholding institutions such as in law or business management.
Her cultural interest in christmas is perhaps a sign of a traditionalist inclination? Understanding and distinguishing ownership of property, is perhaps a sign of a legalistic inclination?

I think the main point is that to be able to do all of this at 18 months is pretty impressive. Not sure if I would use to map out her career though!

Being able to retain facts is a foundation that literally anything else can be built upon.

Mr Awe

 

[Kira's Mom]

She definitely sounds advanced- especially with verbal and social skills. A very good start!

 

[sbk1234]

Yes, she sounds smart. I would really recomend you check out some books about early childhood development. My wife and I used "What to Expect the First Year." I don't remember the author, but it, and others should be easy enough to find in the bookstore.
Feel free to talk it over with her pediatrician.
Good luck with her!

 

[StarshipDefiant]

At the risk of plowing my own trumpet, I just want to see where this stacks up against the "norm":

My daughter Amelia can:

- Count to 12 in English
- Count to 5 in Maori
- Knows a dozen colours
- Knows hot-cold, up-down, high-low, on-off,
- Recite the alphabet in it's entirety
- Sings (as far as I know) about a dozen songs, getting about at least 80% of the words correct, including intonation (sp?) and timing
- Ask questions (what's in there? , what's wrong daddy? etc)
- Knows the names of the 23 other kids at her nursery, and half of their parent's names, plus the six caregivers AND the caregivers of the sister nursery next door
- Remembers the location of toys (for example) days after she's finished playing with them, and also incidents that may have occurred in the past with said toys (such as one went missing, etc)
- Knows which button to press to turn on the tv, press play on the dvd player and WHICH remote is which
- Can identify, understand and distinguish ownership of property
- Understands the concept of taking turns
- Can identify different modes and vehicles of transport (car, bus, truck, train, bicycle)
- Completely follows the Christmas holiday including Santa, trees, reindeer and no doubt very soon Turkey and Ham...

There are others but that's all I can think of at present.

Age: 18 months.

So... is this normal?

From my...extremely limited understanding of development, this is pretty good, but don't quote me for it, I'm not a parent and simply looked over a wikipedia article.

 

[Mistral]

Uh, yeah, my kid is in the top 10% in his age group skills and he wasn't doing all of that at 18 months. Some of it, but not all. (And he never learned Maori - what a slackard!). I did do stuff like that as a child-and my tested retention rate by 1st grade was 86%+. I'd say you have a budding genius on your hands. Best advice-don't push but do offer plenty of stimulating activities to keep her from getting bored. And when school rolls around don't let ANYONE tell you things like "that's what is typical for her age group" or "that's what all of the kids her age are doing". Let her grow and learn at whatever pace SHE sets-not the one set by the school system. Damn near ruined me when I was a kid.

 

[Candlelight]

She's 18 months old already??

I don't recall my niece being able to do anything like that; your daughter sounds pretty advanced to me.

I KNOW!!

It's come round fast.

Thanks everyone for your posts. I'll definitely be encounraging her when I can.

She'll be getting a chemistry set for Christmas!

 

[Trippy]

My son could, before he was two, add, subtract, and count up to 20s and knew all the values of money. So I think at the time, he'll be great at math.

He's 11 now and hates math!

Sometimes early development is just that. He is gifted in other ways too, other than academic (a loving boy, a terrific sense of humour), so that's o.k.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I was a similar child, and my mother was told it was unusual.

So she's destined to a life of disappointment in humanity and deep-seated cynicism?