how can you tell if your child is a genius?

[proudfather]

I am probably ignorant on the subject, but i'm pretty convinced that my daughter is a genius!

i guess i need to hear someone tell me that all the things my daughter is doing is normal for her age...

she is thirteen months old now

she started crawling at 6 months, walking at 10 months
her first sign language was at 6 months (milk)
her sign language vocabulary is at about 10-15 words and she can put them together to tell us what she wants (ie: 'more milk please', 'change [diaper] please)
sign language:
milk
juice
eat
all done
more
thank you
please
change
patti cake (she can do all the signs when the song is sang)
light
uppy
ni night
and gives kisses of course

she can verbally say
mama,
dada,
hi, bye,
pri (pretty),
tree, (she learned this from the 'pri tree' ... christmas tree)
gran dada,
gran mama,
uh oh,
tan yu (thank you)
'who is tha' while pointing (when she sees someone she doesn't know)
'what is tha' while pointing (when she sees something she is curious about)
mine and my wifes first name (she figured these out on her own)
'pri ri' when she doesn't have her ring on, she holds her hand up and says this so we give her her ring


please tell me your opinions, normal, advanced, or genuis?

 

[Genes!s]

lol I have no idea, but it's so refreshing to see such a proud daddy!!

 

[LynnMcG]

My daughter was like that too. At 9 months she was singing e i e i o - when she heard someone start singing Old McDonald. She spoke early, barely crawled, just started walking at 9 months. And we also signed with her.

I think, from what I understand the signing can really help with her verbal communication skills. Just to warn you though, now that my daughter is 5, SHE DOESN'T STOP TALKING! It doesn't matter the subject, she just talks and talks! We joke because our 2 year-old son doesn't speak that much and we're kind of liking it!

Seriously, I have no clue as to how you can tell your child is a genius. And beware comparing her to another child - they are each precious in God's sight. But continue to foster her communication skills. It sounds like you're doing great! Read with her, talk with her.

 

[Zoomer]

It's hard to tell at such a young age since children learn at different rates. She may be a quick learner now but slow down as she gets older. The same goes for slow learners, they usually have a big spurt later and catch up by kindergarten. If she is still so ahead when she is in kindergarten then I would have her tested.

 

[Busybee]

Hmm, I don't have a clue. For me, what my kids do is normal, but to others they seem advanced.

My oldest was walking at 8.5 months old (same week she cut her first teeth). Was speaking sentences at 12 months. I can honestly remember her telling me "I'm going to fair" because there was a carnival in town that she saw. Potty trained at 18 months. She's still very advanced according to others and I'm beginning to see what they're talking about (people are amazed at how well she communicates and she's a very quick learner). So for me that was all normal, but everyone else told/tells me she's advanced.

5.5 month old is now crawling and sits up (tends to wobble over at times though loooooool), says mamaaaaaa when she gets ticked off, also responds by looking at you if you call her name, and Lord help the house because she's into eveeeeeerything . Also, we don't do baby talking at all ever (the goo goo gah gah stuff). We act silly with her but speak words.

Just keep working with her and don't really base your child's abilities on others. When you start to compare you can't truly appreciate what your child does. Just enjoy her and build upon what she's already doing and work to improve any areas she's interested in. The important thing to remember as a parent is that the learning isn't about us, but about them. I know when I first had Hannah I was sooo concerned if she was doing this or that because someone else's child was or wasn't doing it.

Wanted to add, that for all that my daughter can do, the Lord is keeping her humble by making her have to work with in the math area to get it .

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

She sounds a little advanced especially in her speach. Our daughter crawled at 6 months and walked at nine which if I remember from the baby messageboard I used to frequent was earlier the most. Our daughter didn't say but a couple of words until about 18 months but then she went straight to talking in sentences. Each child develops at different rates according to their natural ability and how they are nutured.

 

[faith renewal]

I would definitely say it's too early to tell. My son was behind in all the normal markers, he didn't crawl until 1 year, didn't walk until 18 months, and didn't really begin to use words until about 15 months, after we had started signing with him. But his fine motor skills are extraordinary, he is actually able to construct buildings out of Legos (the small ones) and use tools such as screwdrivers and pliers for their usual tasks. Each child develops differently, but you should certainly be thankful that your daughter is able to communicate so well, and continue to work with her and develop those skills.

 

[mamaneenie]

From my understanding of child development, reaching the physical milestones of crawling and walking earlier than others, isn't much of a sign of intelligence later on, but language is. She has got very good language skills by the sounds of it.

As someone else said it is hard to tell if a child is particularly bright until they go to school. I would wait until she goes to school and get her tested.

We are going to do that with our son. He is 3 and has been counting to 20 (actually pointing and counting and getting it right) since 2 1/2. He also recognises all the letters of the alphabet and has even written a J and an O on the blackboard. I am not too worried about it at this stage, I think it is relatively advanced, but I am trying to make sure he keeps a level head about it, and keeps working at the skills he has.

 

[Cubes]

I don't know how to determine a genius from a child with normal development, but I do want to say that we parents have underestimated what children can do and how early they can do it.

We get them involved in activities that sometimes divert them from their true potentials.

My daughter, whom I consider a normal child developmentally, is four years old and has written and illustrated her 1st unpublished book. She initiated the activity, was self-motivated throughout and finished the book over the course of a several months this year. She made her drawings, and dictated the stories. I wrote down whatever she said, childish expressions and all. The only thing I did was to punctuate and note her dictations. I also stapled the pages together in a manilla folder so that it looks like a magazine. On the inside cover, I made a small box with my notes, the date and my impressions of her at this time in our lives, and signed my note.

She was singing before she could talk, and at 16 months old, she could sing various songs from Les Miserables and My Fair Lady and Sound of Music. She now composes her own songs and lyrics. We recently got a digital keyboard without the lights...and she never fails to sit and sing her heart. I don't play the piano so it is my hope to get her some lessons in 2005.

She reads well--including 10 letter words, counts past 100 (but I have asked her to stop at 100 so she can have a better concept of what numbers are), she adds and is now learning about the concept of subtraction. Sometimes, conceptually, she gets adding and subtraction mixed up--so we have mostly been adding. We have not touched multiplication or division. We move at her pace. She attended preschool for 7 months when she was three and was quickly noted for her drawing/illustrating skills. She started drawing at 22 months. In that regard--she may be considered gifted, also with the music.

She is otherwise a regular kid who enjoys being with other children and doing the normal activities that children enjoy.

I have had similar successes with my other three children...although they were not all into singing or drawing, and my four year old now is the first among them to write her own book or compose songs.

 

[Leanna]

I think every parent thinks their baby is a genius.

I think my baby is. He's going to be four months this week and he can already roll over both ways and started scooching in circles at 9 weeks. etc etc. I will spare you the details. Also, because I am a decently intelligent human being on tests and in school, and his father is absolutely brilliant and way smarter than I. So I think he's a genius.

 

[Andry]

Don't take this the wrong way....but please don't live vicariously through your daughter. The last thing a child needs is the expectations of a parent that will not be / might not be fulfilled. Everyone gets hurt in the end.

She is what she is, and your responsibility is to help her discover who she is, not mold her into what you think she is. Like most parents, we're proud of our kids just the way they are. Enjoy them.

I feel sadness for the Dalai Lama....the expectations of his people and country based on an untruth that he must now try to live up to. What a shame and a sham.

Again, please don't take this the wrong way. You should be proud of your daughter for the gift that she is, and whether she conquers the world or conquers the sandbox should make a difference to you on how proud you are of her.

 

[proudfather]

Don't take this the wrong way....but please don't live vicariously through your daughter. The last thing a child needs is the expectations of a parent that will not be / might not be fulfilled. Everyone gets hurt in the end.

She is what she is, and your responsibility is to help her discover who she is, not mold her into what you think she is. Like most parents, we're proud of our kids just the way they are. Enjoy them.

I feel sadness for the Dalai Lama....the expectations of his people and country based on an untruth that he must now try to live up to. What a shame and a sham.

Again, please don't take this the wrong way. You should be proud of your daughter for the gift that she is, and whether she conquers the world or conquers the sandbox should make a difference to you on how proud you are of her.

I can understand your concern, but i know not to live through my child(ren). I am only 21 years old so I still have a lot of my own life to live. Also, my wife had parents who expected nothing but success and didn't notice her unless she was no 1 in something. We have both made a conscious decision not to make the same mistake.

By the way, no offense was taken...

 

[Redguard]

I think every parent thinks their baby is a genius.

I agree. Unfortunately, they're all wrong. My daughter is the ONLY child genius. LOL, just kidding.

My advice... don't get too caught up in trying to label her as a genius. If she ends up having sub-stellar academic performance when she's older, you might end up looking down on her.