Your Gifted Two Year Old

Your two year old may be gifted, and you are wondering how to tell the difference between a "normal" child and a "gifted" child. While every child has special gifts in his or her own way, some children are advanced beyond their two years. Perhaps your child spoke early, seems to grasp complex concepts easily, or seems gifted in a particular area, such as reading, math, music or emotional intelligence.

Parenting a gifted two year old is a very different experience from parenting a two year old who is not gifted. Gifted two year old children need a certain level of stimulation above and beyond the ordinary child, so identifying gifted traits is critical for early learning.

Decades of research on gifted children reveals, over and over, and gifted toddlers are different from their peers. A two year old with gifted traits stands out. Here are some characteristics of gifted two year olds:

1. A gifted two year old generally speaks early. Early talking can include any clear speech by the age of six months.

2. Two word sentences by nine months is a sign of a gifted two year old.

3. Complete sentences by twelve months, even if pronunciation is not clear, is the mark of a gifted two year old if language continues to develop in complexity by the age of two.

4. Early identification of letters and symbols by the age of two is a gifted characteristic.

5. Some two years olds can read. Truly gifted two year olds read books that have never been read to them before, signally transference of reading skills and demonstrating gifted two year old traits.

6. Gifted two year olds respond to music and connect difference songs with similar patterns to each other.

7. A gifted two year old notices math patterns, can add, subtract, divide, or multiply if asked in simple terms.

8. Social skills are advanced in two year olds, with peers and with adults. A gifted two year old will comfort a hurt peer or adult, smile and ask another person about their activities, or initiate an activity and invite others to play.

While this list is by no means exhaustive, if your two year old child has these characteristics, he or she may be gifted. Proper identification of a gifted two year old is critical so that as parents you can offer your gifted two year old intellectual and emotional stimulation that meets their needs and helps them to develop to their full potential.

Find an educational psychologist or university research center that specializes in early childhood giftedness and ask about specific testing (IQ, social skills, life skills) that can identify a gifted two year old. Parenting a gifted two year old is like no other experience, and you need support and tools to give your child the intellectually and emotionally rich life he or she deserves.