I am wondering if my 3 year old son is gifted?

Question

I have done some looking around on the internet about identifying giftedness. He seems to fit a lot of the criteria, especially as an infant. Now that he is getting older, though, it seems harder to teach him things. A quick overview of his first year: smiling by 3 weeks old, laughing at 1 and 1/2 months, lifting his chest off the floor. During his 4th to 5th month he learned to sit unsupported, give kisses, and look to find people and objects when asked where they were. He was crawling at 5 and 1/2 months, walked at 9, and by 11 months had a vocabulary of about 60 words. He now can count to 20 and knows his ABC's fairly well. He is obsessed with anything to do with dinosaurs. His memory amazes me, he can remember some of the most obscure things, but he seems completely uninterested lately in learning his ABC's and numbers, though he loves to count, and he wants to read. He asks often: "What does this say?", while pointing to words. Is he gifted, or merely bright?

To the people who think that I am a "pushy" mother: Let me assure that nothing could be further from the truth. I merely wanted other, more qualified opinions, than my own. Is it wrong to want to know at what level your child is performing? I do not push any of my children, but I do want them to be well educated. As a parent I am responsible for their education. I do not try to teach him things I believe are beyond his grasp, but rather follow his cues and go from there. The question I had about his seeming uninterest in learning his letters, was merely that. Why a child who seems to devour all other information, as no interest in learning his letters. Not, as people might think, what can I do to force him to learn his letters. Just wanted to give you some clarification into my motive for asking this.

Answer 1

He might be gifted, but it is too early to tell. Don't try to analyze his behavior before he gets to school age.

Answer 2

I'm thinking the same thing about my 2 year old daughter..she could support her head by the time she left the hospital, was sittin at 3 months, crawling at 4 and walking by 10 months..right now she knows her colors, animals and their sounds, some abc's, and can count up to 15..she's also bilingual..remembers songs, and all this other great stuff..so either they are gifted or ahead for their age or we just did a great job or parenting and teach our children everything at any chance..either way..be proud and happy lol.

Answer 3

It sounds like your son is the product of great parents. If you keep him occupied and bring new things to him he will continue to grow. The experts say that by a certain age all children tend to even out. So since he started out early with many things he is slowing down because he is leveling off. I am not sure I believe that but it is what the experts say.

I would wait until he went to kindergarten to determine if he is a special child in a certain area. That way a teacher can compare him to the rest of the pupils and recommend whether or not you need to test his IQ.

Answer 4

Gifted...probably not. Just good parenting and a very bright child. Advanced...I believe is the word. I have one of those children too. She can write her name and spell many words @ 3 yrs old. I'm a proud mommy! The best thing you can do is just mentally feed his mind as much as possible. Answer all the questions he has will help him retain it quickly and he can utilize that information...such as cause and effect. It's amazing how much they can comprehend as long as the parents take the time to teach and explain.

Answer 5

Most children are born with lots of potential but they never get the chance to live up to their full potential. Their little brains are like sponges and just absorb everything around them. If you are taking the time to talk to him and teach him things now it will improve his ability to learn things in the future. Keep working with him but make it fun. If he is not having fun he won't be interested. Keep the sessions fairly short and when his interested is waning stop and do something different.

Good luck - most children handled this way can be "gifted".

Answer 6

In children under age 3, cognitive development is equated to language development. Since he is very advanced in his language development, he most likely is gifted. You can have him tested by the school psychologist at age 6. He will need to be at least 2 years above grade level in all subjects to classify as gifted.

Answer 7

It is really too early to tell, we don't test for that until five.

Physical development is not always an indication of cognitive advancement.

I would just enjoy him and not push him, time will tell. My son used to be resistant to learning new things because he didn't always get it right. It took us a while to work on lowercase because he had mastered uppercase letters and wanted to be right all the time.

Try alternating things that he has mastered with new things to build confidence.

Answer 8

Why are you so concerened? He is a child, let him enjoy being a child without having you put him in a box.

Yes he may be gifted, or bright or just pushed by his pushy mom.

Leave him be and enjoy his childhood with him rather than stress.

Answer 9

it may be to early to tell but if i had to say i would say congrads you have a gifted child and all thought you might be sayin o yeah real fun you should be proud a smart child is a wonderful gift just like any other child but there is alway that special felling when you can say my child is "gifted" by being 3 it is still hard to tell but like i said if i had to say then i would say yes i think you have a very special son! CONGRADS! be proud of what you have it can all ways be the total oppisit.

Answer 10

Its kind of young to tell now. Kids tend to have learning bursts. If your child is in fact "gifted", his teachers will most likely notice it when he is in school and put him in more challenging programs.

I care for the 3-5 year olds in my church and I met a little girl yesterday who was only 3, but could write her name, and anybody else's name (if she didnt already know how to spell it, she could come close). However, she was very quiet. Some kids just excell in certain areas. That girl had strong literary skills. Other kids excell socially, or mathematically.

Here is a list of the developmental milestones for a child his age. (if he is closer to 4 though, they will obviously be out of date) This should give you a good idea if your child is on track in all areas.

Developmental Milestones by the End of 3 Years

Movement:

Climbs well
Walks up and down stairs, alternating feet
Kicks ball
Runs easily
Pedals tricycle
Bends over easily without falling
Hand and Finger Skills
Makes vertical, horizontal and circular strokes with pencil or crayon
Turns book pages one at a time
Builds a tower of more than six blocks
Holds a pencil in writing position
Screws and unscrews jar lids, nuts and bolts
Turns rotating handles

Language:
Follows a two- or three-component command
Recognizes and identifies almost all common objects and pictures
Understands most sentences
Understands physical relationships ("on," "in," "under")
Uses four- and five-word sentences
Can say name, age and sex
Uses pronouns (I, you, me, we, they) and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)
Strangers can understand most of her words

Cognitive:
Makes mechanical toys work
Matches an object in her hand or room to a picture in a book
Plays make-believe with dolls, animals and people
Sorts objects by shape and color
Completes puzzles with three or four pieces
Understands concept of "two"

Social:
Imitates adults and playmates
Spontaneously shows affection for familiar playmates
Can take turns in games
Understands concept of "mine" and "his/hers"

Emotional:
Expresses affection openly
Expresses a wide range of emotions
By 3, separates easily from parents
Objects to major changes in routine

Developmental Health Watch:

The developmental milestones give you a general idea of the changes you can expect as your child gets older, but don't be alarmed if her development takes a slightly different course. Each child develops at her own pace. Do consult your pediatrician, however, if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range.

Frequent falling and difficulty with stairs
Persistent drooling or very unclear speech
Inability to build a tower of more than four blocks
Difficulty manipulating small objects
Inability to copy a circle by age 3
Inability to communicate in short phrases
No involvement in "pretend" play
Failure to understand simple instructions
Little interest in other children
Extreme difficulty separating from mother
Excerpted from Caring for Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5, Bantam 1999