How can you tell if your two-year old is gifted?

Question

My daughter will be two next week,she has a vocabulary of at least 300-400 words, she can make sentences of 5-6 words, she said her first words at 4 months and started walking at 9 months. I know she is smart, but how can I tell if she is truly gifted? She is my only child, but I know from seeing other children the same age that she is very advanced. I don't want to put pressure on her to excel as she gets older, but I want to help her be the best she can be. any advice is greatly appreciated

Answer 1

ok well my brother could make sentences at 2 and he walked the day he turned 8 months old. he did get tested and he is gifted. he could also read way early.

i don't think your kid is gifted. maybe smart...maybe. but gifted...not even the slightest.

Answer 2

You can get her  tested and most place do do it for free. My god daughter is gifted she can read as well as talk in complete sentences. I know my daughter is smart but more on the a little above average. Dont put to much pressure on her but getting her tested will mean that she can get the right education when she gets older and scholarships as well.  

Answer 3

I think every parent thinks their kid is gifted. Have you really written down all her words and they total to 300-400? You could get her tested but I think she's just smart but not gifted. You probably just spend more time with her and she learns from you because there isnt another baby taking up the attention.

Answer 4

This is tough to talk about without seeming like a brag, but it's true.  My mother was a gifted educator for more than 22 years and she suspected very early on that I was a gifted child.   I manifested some of the same things you are describing about your daughter:  early complex speech, early walking, etc.  Gifted children can be "gifted" in different ways though.  Some, like myself and your daughter, it seems, are gifted with communication---others are child prodigies in math, the arts, music, or even sports.  My mom was right in my case--my IQ scores were very high and my best strengths are communication, memory, and logical reasoning.  I have close to perfect recall, which makes Yahoo Answers very fun, and made standardized testing throughout my life a joke, since I can just recall a page in my mind like a picture and just "see" the answers.  I aced high school and college.  

Problem is, with most gifted children, we tend to NOT be well rounded since we are usually pressured into focusing on our strengths until we are truly exceptional in that area.  When pushed too far by our parents as in my case, we tend to get a superiority complex about other people which makes friendships and normal relationships very difficult.  My best friend is also gifted:  she is a professor at the University of Utah, very isolated and lonely, and regrets not having a more normal childhood just like I do.

My 2 year old son is currently showing signs of being gifted as well and his doctor has recommended testing.  I'm thinking I'm gonna pass for now.  And teach him how to throw a ball, play in the park with other kids, and get really dirty.  It's more fun.

Answer 5

Does it really matter? do you really need a certifies certificate saying that your girl is gifted? enjoy the time you have.True, she is about average for her age and enjoy that! don't put much thought into it.Just enrich her growing brain, don't push it.She will be the best she can be without you forcing her into programs.Let her be a kid! You don't want to lose the only kid you have because you pushed her as a child.Trust me.

Read to her.Teach her flash cards.A lot of kids actually like that stuff (when they are not being forced like it is in school)

good luck.

Answer 6

If she were truly gifted, she'd be able to read by now.

She's very smart, but probably not truly gifted.

My son knew all his letters and numbers by her age, and could read at 3 1/2, and he wasn't considered gifted.

Read to her, get her lots of books and educational toys, and never let her get bored!