Gifted Toddler Characteristics

Speech Milestones

• Gifted toddlers tend to hit speech and language milestones before other kids do. This may include talking earlier than other children, learning to read as early as age 3, and developing a more advanced vocabulary than children of a similar age. Parents of a gifted toddler may notice that their 2 or 3 year old can easily carry on conversations with adults but may choose more simplistic speech patterns and vocabulary when speaking with a child his own age. Gifted toddlers also tend to be able to carry out multi-step instructions while their peers can only handle a single instruction at a time.

Learning Traits

• Gifted children are highly curious about the world and usually ask questions about how things work even in toddlerhood. Many gifted children, including toddlers, exhibit an ability to focus on a topic of interest for longer than their peers. Gifted toddlers may also develop motor skills such as walking and handling small objects earlier than other kids.

Emotional Development

• A gifted toddler may exhibit leadership abilities, an appreciation for nature or art, and the ability to work or play peacefully by herself. Some gifted toddlers show early signs of empathy, including being able to guess others' emotions, and are highly sensitive to sad or frightening events. Your gifted toddler may also be better at concepts like sharing than others her age.

Considerations

• While there are many signs that can help indicate potential giftedness in a toddler, only an assessment from a professional trained to identify gifted kids can determine if your child is truly in that category. Keep in mind that gifted children can also have learning disabilities, so some kids may exhibit signs of both giftedness and autism, ADHD, or dyslexia. Some toddlers may also be highly gifted in one area but not others, so they may not end up testing as gifted later in life.