Is my 3 year old daughter gifted? Should I have her tested?

Question

she is 3 years and 3 months old. She has always picked up things really fast. My son is 4 and they have told me his is ahead acedmically and she is ahead of him - I do not make this an issue or discuss this around them. she has known shapes,colors and oppisites for a long time now. SHe can write the entire alphabet, capital and lower case without any assistance. Occasinally they are backwards or mirror image. If I remind her which side of the paper to start on it doesnt happen (left handed) she knows all the sounds the letters make. she can rhyme words, and can spell words that we have gone over for several days. Two days ago she wanted to help me write a grocery list. I told her how to spell peach. I told her one time and she wrote it. this morning she brought me a piece of paper with the word peach spelled correctly and told me she is writing a grocery list. she remembered after me telling her just one time. she counts to 50, add on her fingers...

I am not bragging and I know it doesnt matter. some say I should have her tested. I would not start her in school early. hubby thinks we should just continue to work with her and once she is in school if they decide to put her in advanced classes then thats what we will do. He is probably right. what do you think? I also would never want to put too much attention on this to give her pressure or to make my 4 year old son feel bad.
Thanks!

Please do not think I push her. she loves to carry around pencil and paper and asks to do these things. She will ask me how to spell words so she can write letters or lists.

Answer 1

Wow, she is a smart little booger, huh? You said your son was ahead too so she is probably picking up a lot from him.
I would wait to test. You said you would not start her in school early so there is really no need. They will test her skills before entering kindergarten. Continue to work with her and encourage her with fun learning games. You are doing the right thing by not making an issue of this to put pressure on her. Big brother may know more than he says, my son is like that. We will hear him saying things we didn't realize he knew.
best of luck!

Answer 2

I know how you feel - I have a 9yr old that was tested as academically gifted at 5 and he has 2 sibs coming up behind him that are just as bright. Actually since the two little ones have him to read to them and do additional work with them #2 is ahead of where #1 son was at her age and #3 is even further ahead. Your daughter may also be picking up things from your son.

I waited until school for testing. But before enrolling him in the local school I did research on the schools and school systems to find a place that would be able to work with him (and not put an 8/9 yr old with 13/14 yr old kids).

He is in a 'charter' school - it is part of the public school system, so we don't have to pay for it, but they have a specific 'charter' of how they teach and treat children. We do have to drop off and pick up every day and there is no lunch program, but other than that this school is doing exceptional well for him.

Unless she is getting board at home, enjoy her while you can and look into schools that will meet her needs.

Bright kids really keep you on your toes! And be careful what you say, mine at least have exceptional memories and catch me quite often when I forget.

Take care and enjoy the ride!

Answer 3

No, I don;t think you are bragging really. But I do know that knowing all of that is pretty common now for a 3 year old. I would nto have her tested before she starts school as it WILL put pressure on her no matter how hard you try to avoid it. Once she starts school, if the teacher notices it, they will arrange things and have her palced in special classes if need be in order to encourage her development at a quicker rate than ehr calssmates. Just continue to teach ehr at home at HER pace not what any books say and be aware that once she starts school, you may end up with an entire list of thigns "wrong" with her that are ONLY because she is bored.

Answer 4

Hi,
I actually have my Master's Degree in Special Education and I think your daughter is definitely developing and reaching her developmental milestones sooner than normal, but that does not necessarily mean that she is a TAG (talented and gifted)child. You obviously have a very smart child, and that is something to be very proud of, but I would not recommend doing any testing on her just yet. You should wait at least another year if not 2 to start testing her.
I have a two year old son who has been able to count to 10 in Spanish and English since he was 1 1/2 and he said his full ABC's by 2, and he talks very well for his age. He has always been ahead of the game with all of his developmental domains (motor, communication, adaptive, etc.) He potty trained himself by 2, and walked by 8 months as well.
Anyways, my son seems to be on the same boat, but as a parent and Special Educator, I don't think you need to worry about it too much. Just keep stimulating her mind as much as you can. Many children at this age can be very far behind or very far ahead of their developmental skills, but much will change during the next year or two. If this continues when she starts Kindergarten or 1st grade, then it would be appropriate to test her. Until then I think you should just let her be.
Hope this helps a little.

Answer 5

It's wonderful that you have such a bright little girl! I also have really bright kiddos (not bragging either, just to give a reference for personal experience), and the way I look at it, is it's terrific that they're so bright and pick things up so quickly, but I don't want to let that become the focal point of who they think they are. "The genius" or "the smart kid" or whatever, if that makes any sense. I want them to think of themselves as a special person, a kind person, or other positive traits first, so I tried not to focus too much on all of the academic stuff. I certainly followed their interest, and their lead, with what they were interested in, but I didn't go for a lot of repetition, or those Little Einstein-type materials focused on increasing intelligence or whatever. I have four in school now, and all of them are extremely bright. One of them, though, is a math whiz but a slow reader-- he's the only one who hasn't been involved so far in the gifted programs. As he catches up on his reading skills though, the rest of his brightness is beginning to shine through. :) My two youngest children are 5 yrs. old and turning 3 next week, and they are also extremely bright as well. It's hard being in a parent in a household where the kids often seem smarter than the adults! LOL We're lucky to be raising them in the Internet Age... ;)

Anyway, my suggestion is to let it wait until the child starts school. For the time being, she can be a really advanced preschooler who enjoys learning a lot more math & language than most kids her age. It sounds like you're doing whatever you can to keep up with her interests-- and believe me, *interest* has a lot to do with it! My one "late reader" has had ZERO interest in academics since just about day 1, but I don't consider him any less smart than his sibs who learned early due to their own curiosity.

Best of luck!

Answer 6

As the mom of one like that, just keeping doing things with her that she enjoys doing. Don't push. Let her do the asking and the pushing. Learning should be fun, whether they are gifted or not. And even more so if she is gifted. Do things that stretch her creativity. We, myself included, get so caught up in the left brain, that we forget the right brain. Ask and encourage her to ask a lot of why, how come questions. Whatever you do, don't start pushing workbooks and the like now. Lots of chalkboard/dry erase board stuff. Blank paper to color and draw. (I love the Anti-Coloring books!) Go to the library, museums, art galleries. Check out non-fiction books of what ever interests her. Let her mind soak up everything and anything and have LOAD of FUN while doing it!

Good luck! And remember, they each have their special gift. My second is not academically gifted, but is artistically and creatively way ahead of her big sis!

Answer 7

My daughter (almost 3) has also always picked up on things really quickly. She can't write or anything like that yet, but I also don't push her to learn. We work on counting and letters and colors those kinds of things but I believe that children should be allowed to have fun and be children. I am sure she could do it if i sat and made her work on it, but she doesn't need to be able to do that stuff at 3 and she will learn it when she needs to, so I don't worry about it. I would wait and let the school test her.

Answer 8

I would get her tested. The hard thing on that is going to be your four year old. Do not praise just the one child as were she may be gifted in academics and he may be gifted in sports or arts. You do not seem the type to do that but a friendly remider never hurt anyone. Just keep her mind growing. Good luck and take care!

Answer 9

Hi! Your daughter sounds really smart. And I agree that you should wait to have her tested; let her learn on her own right now because it's so much fun, and hopefully she'll always love learning.
Don't underestimate your son though. He might just be as gifted as your girl.

Answer 10

Sounds like you've been working with her a lot - most parents don't - so good job!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would wait, to have her tested, until she begins school. Let the professionals test her.