Understanding the development of gifted children in their early years, from birth to age 2, is a remarkable journey. During this time, signs of giftedness might not always be obvious, but they are essential clues to their extraordinary potential and special learning requirements.
Some children show signs of giftedness at a very young age. Keep in mind, however, that many gifted children do not show signs this early, but begin to show them later. When parents are aware of the gifted characteristics, they teach and nurture their child in these areas, resulting in the child merely appearing to be gifted. A truly gifted child shows interest and progress with very little parental encouragement or coaching.
It is important to identify gifted children as early as possible so they can be guided and encouraged to develop themselves to their fullest. Take this quick assessment to learn more about the characteristics (suggested by Inderbir Kaur Sandhu, Ph.D.) to watch for to help you determine if your child may be gifted.
Challenges Faced By Gifted Children And Their Families
Gifted kids and their families may face some special challenges. Sometimes, it can be tough for others to understand their needs. Some challenges faced by such children are:
- Understanding their needs
- Feeling different from peers
- Managing big emotions
- Boredom
- Balancing academic and social needs
- Perfectionism
How To Support A Gifted Child
Parents can help their gifted children by listening to them and understanding their feelings. It’s essential to encourage them to explore their interests and talents. Parents can also find other families with gifted children to connect with and share experiences.
Ways To Nurture Giftedness
You can use different ways to nurture the giftedness of your child. Try to:
- Offer a variety of books, toys, and activities that match their interests and abilities.
- Incorporate puzzles, building blocks, educational games, and art supplies.
- Provide opportunities for hands-on learning experiences, such as science experiments or nature exploration
- Encourage participation in sports, music, or other extracurricular activities to develop diverse skills.
- Foster creativity through imaginative play and storytelling.
- Utilize educational apps or online resources that align with their interests for additional learning opportunities.
My grandson is not yet two so I could not answer yes to a couple of questions.
Same here my baby is only 11 months old.
My child is 16 months and I answered 17 out of 21 yes, but I agree with the others about the TV questions. Children are not supposed to watch TV before 2, so that makes me question the accuracy of this entire quiz.
My son is will be 2 in 2 months and we got 18 out of 21, not because of the 2 year old questions, but because we have always limited TV. He has not really watched any at all until recently. He is gifted. Any suggestions as far as programs for him?
My daughter is 2 years old she has always shown signs of being advanced. People are always blown away by how well she talks and her fantastic memorie. I got a 16 out of 21 on this and it made me wonder about what kind of programs I could put her in to help her advance herself.
My son is two counts to100 knows all his letter including the sounds reads and spell a few words knows shapes days of the week months of the year seasons and much more. he loves to learn almost obsessive and we love teaching it. Still shocked by how fast he catches on. He’ll rather watch ABC’s than play a game on the computer or phone. He amazes everyone and isn’t even in school yet. Looking to start him at 3 but taking my time to find what is right for him.
I have a very forward little girl….she’s 14 months and already way ahead of her piers….she has developed her talents naturally! I encouraged to such as classical music with shapes and colours etc from birth….anything that stimulates your child is beneficial to them! I also have 3 older daughters who are clever…oldest in grammar school gifted and talented, other 2 are very advanced In primary school….hubby is a builder and I left school at 16 with only g.c.s.e s I don’t think parents ability is key to raising a highly intellectual child…what is important is giving your little one time, patience, love and stimulation! Always remember there is no right or wrong way to raise a child as every child is unique…..but mostly remember that your child is not just a academic and let them be children for a long as possible…there’s more to life than learning!,,
My son can read, I mean read, like a book we have never read before, he sounds out words; he doesn’t just call them out from memory. He has known all of his letters and letter sounds since he was 15 months, he first started actually reading at 27 months, I have been looking all over, and I still am not sure of the right path to take with him. Please help!
I dont know if my daughter is exceptionally bright or not. I don’t know what to compare it with. I am not academic, just a nurse. She is 21 months and can already recognise all the numbers 1-10. She counts to 10. She can recognise colours yellow, pink, orange and blue. She can sing a whole nursery rhymn and knows every single animal. She says hundreds of words but not always clearly. She has learned through repetition and goes over the same books and puzzles over and over. I have a feeling that she capable of much more and I would love to know how to help her learn (she is VERY keen). I would hate to think my lack of skills would be the reason she doesnt achieve her full potential.
My 10 month old is very alert. She was walking by 9 months of age. By 10 months of age she could do the following: Pronounce the phonetic sounds of the alphabet (except 3), she knows the sounds in order up to the letter I. She knows how to count to 10 (could say 5 of the numbers in the correct sequence, cant quite pronounce the rest), she knows the sound of 12 animal noises, she knows 3 of her colors. I can ask her to point to objects/animals and she does so correctly. She knows about 30 words, she loves books, really just obsessed with them all by 10 months of age. Is she gifted?
TV?
This is a nice assessment tool but I think there’s one thing you might want to consider in your question list. We did not allow our child to watch TV (including movies, DVDs, etc.) at 1. The first time she watched TV was about 18 months..
You might want to consider adding in an N/A option for some of your questions.
Hmmm
My son at 22 months old, had telephone conversations thus….. My name is Simon , I’m 20 months old ( wrong) my mummy thinks I’m in my cot, I’m not tired do you have time for a chat. All V amusing, often phoned random numbers, often Samaritans, because the number was 333333, they would not just ring off cos it could have been someone in distress. His main occupation was, as he said, conversations. I regret I didn’t recognise his abilities.
My grand daughter is two she knows all her abc’s, just found out she could count to 14, knows all her shapes and colors, and is starting to figure out words. Her mind is so busy all the time. Talks in full sentences. I am not sure if she is gifted but she is learning at a real fast rate, now she wants me to spell words to her. Knows a lot of animal sounds. Jumps, sings, and wants to exercise. We have a keyboard she is very interested but I don’t play so I am going to just let her play with it and see how that goes.
my son he know’s to count 1-100 even if in any order at age of 2 years old. he love to watching nursery rhymes and play puzzle mat.
By this test anything above score of 8 is gifted. though my kid scored way higher. i dont think this test can be used as a tool to judge any kid.
This is a tricky test because my son was a late talker so that takes him out of a lot of questions. Maybe that is the point. Hey, Mozart didn’t talk till he was 5! My son didn’t utter much of anything until 2.5 and by 2.75 he was counting 1-100 and identifying numbers at random (in and out of order), counting backwards from pretty high up, and understanding what comes before or after, he knew all colors, and knew all letters either in or out of alphabetic order. At first I thought he was just learning patterns but then he started picking things out at random when we were out and about, like spelling out the name of a store or something. I am mostly curious if this is typical at his age. I was so worried when he wouldn’t speak and once he did, I realized he had just been accumulating things and wasn’t ready to talk about them yet. I am really not interested in whether he is gifted or not, I just want him to be interested in life and joyful so I am following his lead on what he enjoys.
I know my son is gifted, by 16 months old, we would tell him things like “you can’t play outside without your shoes” and he would walk of and put his shoes on. The first time was so amazing now at 2 1/2 he is talking in perfect sentences almost as well as his 4 1/2 year old brother. The day he was born he could support his own neck and by 3 months old he was spoon feeding himself, and the only reason I tried him on solids is because he let me know he was interested and has always had an uncanny way to let us know exactly what he has wanted or needed.
DD is 17 months and doing all but reading. I am looking for something to further advance her. She is so smart and I want to provide her with activities so the little sponge that she is, can soak it all up.
My son is 3 years old and he taught himself all of the alphabet, numbers rear and write them and he just started signing the letters in the alphabet.
My daughter got 13/21 & she’s only 4 months old.. does anyone have any recommendions on how I can continue encouraging her fast development?
my son is two and he knows how to count to 100 forward and backwards, he can count by 2’s 10’s etc. he knows his ABC’s he can write each one in order upper and lower case, he knows his vowels, days of the week, months of the year, his planets, the 7 continents, he knows his shapes including octagon, and pentigon, his colors, animals and their sounds, weather, the time, he can spell up to 80words and he can read sentences. he knows his body parts, directions north south east and west, he knows his left from his right and knows when to say his please and thank you’s i think he is very gifted his dad an i had him at an late age of our lives he’s 51 im 46 and we are looking for him a program that could farther his education and guide him into the right path. please help
My little girl is 14 months and was able to say yes to all 21!
Back here and did the test from memory for my now 19 year old, he would score 19 out of 21. Gifted yes, but never tested his IQ; he and school never needed it for anything. And I despised people who would brag about their childs IQ…. (Gosh But I have bragged about him pointing at numbers when he was 15 months old…) . I just did not want to be part of that conversation, it was and isnt relevant for getting around life for him.
He is finishing his bachelor computer science and more importantly he has enough social skills, a girlfriend, friends, and is an active member of his student organization. My other two would score higher on language, and actually my second is soaring in college right now. We were more focussed on having a morale, ideals, showing and having respect, accountability for your acts.
my child at 1 year old he already know the letters,sounds of animals. And when he’s at 18 months to 2 years old he knows how to read the colors in word and he can read some of basic words like car, cat, dog, sun, pig etc. and now he is 2 years and 10 months old he can now answer some kindergarden activities and he can answer some math activities..
My 15month old said her first word at 6month, hit all her physical milestones super early, could say around 50 words at 1 year old, can understand many commands now, ‘where is dad’s nose?’ ‘dad’s nose *points*, etc. Her first “joke” was saying ‘cheers’ as she squeezed my boobs together when feeding haha.
We haven’t particularly done much (like read to her), but she has an incredible memory. Things like TV shows, she may have watched through a few times, she can already say what will come up. She’ll say ‘rainbow’…and I’d wonder why when it’s not on the screen, and on the next scene there’s the rainbow. Things like that. I am really looking forward to her progress but also scared I can’t keep up and give her the best environment for her very active brain and body.