Neale Godfrey: Return to the Nest
Jill Patir: Hug Your Loved Ones a Little Tighter
A round-up of child prodigies
Filed under: Newborns, Toddlers Preschoolers, Health & Safety: Babies, Development/Milestones: Babies, Media, Day Care & Education, Feeding & Sleeping, Baby-sitting, Research Reveals: Babies, Nutrition: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Babies, Health & Safety: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Development: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Behavior: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Activities: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Gear Guides: Babies, Gear Guides: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Research Reveals: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers
When I was in elementary school, I skipped Grade 2 with a girl I'll call Anyah Ramtaddah. I was slightly ahead in my English comprehension, but Anyah was radically ahead in everything from science comprehension to mathematical understanding and she read books like War and Peace for fun. I've googled her and know that she now works at Harvard Medical School in genetic testing. I think she was a child prodigy, and that if they'd skipped her 7 grades she would still have flown through with straight A's. But she may have had a few social complications, which is maybe why they only allowed her to skip the one grade.This site has a fascinating collection of facts about current child prodigies from around the world. One of them completed the entire elementary school curriculum by the end of kindergarten, one entered University at the age of 8 years old, one earned a Master of Science at the age of 11. One of them was able to disprove a 150-year-old scientific theory at the age of 9. Their stories and talents are so absorbing but I can't help but wonder what it would be like to be a parent of one of these kids. I'd worry ceaselessly about pressure, bullying, adulthood before its time. Of course there would be insane, mind-blowing pride, but I think there would be equal parts worry.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
2-12-2008 @ 8:09AM
Tami said...I have a granddaughter that is 11 months old. She has been walking since she was 9 months, broke herself from the bottle at 6 months and is and has been talking in complete sentences that you can completely understand. Such as, "I want to ride my horse", "Daisey(puppy) is a meanie", "Hi, Who are you?", "What is this?", and it goes on and on. You can even carry on a conversation with her on the phone. It blows my mind. She even will lay on her side on the floor and watch tv for over an hour at a time. Is this a prodigy in the making? She came into the world a toddler or better and has never been a baby.
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12-27-2007 @ 3:32PM
SKL said...My 11-year-old nephew is like that, but unfortunately couldn't hold a normal conversation to save his soul. It used to be really cute to hear him spouting off what his photographic memory recorded from the encyclopedia when you ask a simple question, e.g., why does he think his dog has this or that illness? But now it's scary, because 99.999% of the population will have no patience with a teen or adult who talks the way he does.
His mom is proud of his achievements but has to work extremely hard to try to help him keep up socially and to find school programs that don't feel like preschool to him. I frankly would be more worried if my child had an extreme IQ along with quirks, than if she had normal intelligence and social abilities.
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12-27-2007 @ 9:32PM
Uly said...Sounds like your nephew is possibly on the spectrum, an aspie or autie.
I mean, that's a lot to get from one throwaway comment, but talking like an encyclopedia is what people say.