Wow! I'm pretty amazed about this!

[thanka2]

I was checking out this video from another post someone else made here about gifted babies. First, I never thought to even think about if my baby was gifted or not. Seriously, there should be a "bragging" section on this site where members can just blatantly brag about how awesome they think their children are, right? So, wow, I am just blown away. And I think that everyone should take a look at this video and see if your baby is really gifted too.

So, here's the video:

Is Your Baby Gifted?

My son did ALL of those things (except the extreme interest in books one--that came later).

-Held his head up from birth and was looking around
-Was not a sleepy baby and always was alert, tracking people and things but not crabby or fussy--very happy baby but never wanted to sleep
-We have VIDEO with a time stamp on it when he was able to pull himself up while holding our hands at THREE WEEKS! I just found it the other day and was like WOW!
-Sat up on his own at about 2.5 months
-Rolled over on his own at about 3 months
-Started crawling at 5 months
-Said first English word at 5 months
-Said first Cantonese PHRASE ("hui gai gai"--going out) at 6 months
-Was pulling himself up and cruising around furniture at 6 months
-Was fully walking on his own at 8.5 months
-Was running at 9 months
-Could climb stairs on his feet at 10 months
-Could kick a ball toward you at 12 months
-Could climb stairs one step at a time, up and down by 15-16 months
-Could eat with a fork on his own at 17 months
-Now can say probably 30 different words and phrases in English and even more in Cantonese and totally loves books and flash cards (we just started doing those with him and of about 30 cards, he recognizes about 15 by sight and about 7 with just the word showing, not the picture)

Does anyone out there also have a child who just amazes you by how fast they do things?

 

[joyofliving]

Its great to hear about your son doing exceptionally well. Some of the stuff does sound amazing but my only concern here is that if some mom who has a slow child might be reading this right now and feeling extremely pressured to teach her child even the basic things. Maybe? Maybe?? I am not saying that was your intention by any means, but just a thought crossed my mind

 

[carang]

the thing is there is such a vast range of "normal" when it comes to baby development.

a baby could walk anywhere from 9 months-18 months.
a baby could talk from 6 months- 2 years. ( i read that albert einstein didn't talk until he was 4 years old.)

besides, it is fairly impossible to "teach" a baby to sit or roll over (sounds like a dog, LOL). these are things they need to master on their own.

 

[joyofliving]

Cara please stop micro analyzing everything anyone says. By teach I meant encourage. It seems one needs to think ten times before writing every single word on this forum for the fear of people pouncing on them.

 

[carang]

sorry, i wasn't directing my comment at you in particular.

i was merely thinking about what you wrote, and you are right. some mums might be very distraught if their own child is not so "advanced". i was merely trying to ease THEIR minds, telling them not to worry.

i'm sorry if it didn't come out that way.

 

[monte]

I honestly think that it's amazing to watch every baby's development, whether "early", "late" or textbook-perfect. I love watching my baby learn to do new things--he takes such delight in each new skill, how could I not find it amazing?? For the record, he's been mostly "slow" according to the books, but has learned to do a few things earlier than average--which pretty much proves to me that each baby's timeline is just different. Anyway, I truly am glad for you, thanka2, that you think your baby is amazing--it sounds like he is! I hope all the mums on here feel the same way--I know I do!

 

[aussiegal]

Monte, good post. I too think each baby is amazing.

I worry about people that want to attach labels to their children at such early ages. How does it affect the child? Will they only be loved and get attention if they continue to perform 'above' the norm? What about their siblings who aren't 'gifted'. How would they feel to know their parents consider one of them gifted and not the other. (that one is being written about but not the other) Also, what about all the other gifts that are important in life, being kind, having empathy, even sporting ability, are they encouraged as much as the ability to count to 20 (or whatever).

I'm not saying any of you are like that but I've always had an interest in psychology and indeed studied it for a few years at uni and think that labels actually limit people. "Oh yeah, I'm the smart one" can often limit someone on the sporting field. Or the opposite, "I'm the sporty one", can limit them scholastically as they simply are not expected to be able to kick a ball and speak a foreign language or understand algebra.

It's an interesting discussion to be had and just something to be aware of as your children grow up. I love how different each of my children are. The most important thing for me is that they do not feel pressure when they are growing up, (to be something I want them to be), but rather that they follow their own dreams and ultimately, that they forge a career in something that makes them happy. That to me would be the sign that I have done my job as a parent.

 

[mscheerful]

Sitting on his own at 2.5 months? I am really shock and amaze!!

 

[monte]

I agree, aussiegal, about the labeling thing. This is taking the conversation in a bit of a different direction, but I've been reading lately about the different kinds of praise, and the difference between evaluative praise (you are smart, you are strong, etc.) and descriptive praise (that was a smart point, that was a heavy load--thanks for carrying it, etc.) The evaluative praise really can create pressure for the recipient, that they have to live up to something. My husband, who is a teacher, has found that using descriptive praise in the classroom seems to encourage more internal validation, rather than always looking externally. Not that we would never tell our kids they are strong or smart or whatever, but just something to be mindful of.

 

[carang]

VERY interesting Monte. I'd never really thought about the kind of praise that i use. now that i am thinkig about it, i realise that at playgroup, i use a lot of the descriptive praise, but at home it's a mixture of the two.