Genius!
The Big O will be turning three next week. He is so big now and I marvel at how he has grown. But lately I have been wondering if he's really developing as he should. Yes, yes I have been comparing him to his peers and I find that perhaps he is lagging.
I know what you are thinking, "Lady Steed, you should not compare the Big O. Let him develop at his own pace!" Ok! You're right, I know I should do this but I can't help it when one of his good friends, just one day younger than him has reading skills. READING SKILLS. Wow! And this, this makes me remember a day back in the hospital, right after he was born.
Theric's aunt and two of her daughters came to visit me and Big O in the hospital. It was so nice of them to come visit, I was very happy to seem them. As Aunt was holding Big O, Eric's cousin S., age 13?, looked at Big O and said, "You know what, Lady Steed, Big O is going to be so smart. He's probably going to be a genius because he has Theric and you as his parents." She was completely sincere and I was very flattered and told her thank you and hoped she was right. But I knew that intelligence is not always genetic and that though I expected Big O to be rather bright I wasn't expecting him to be a genius.
NOTE: I do not consider Theric and myself to be geniuses, though I do consider us to be a bit more intelligent than your average man on the street.
And now, it appears that maybe he's not even exceptionally intelligent. His friend, the Dude, can read books. He read 'Pat the Bunny' to O at their last play date. This child recognizes the letters, knows the sounds they make and can sound out words! It's amazing--I don't think I could do that till Kindergarten. O can't read, he still has trouble recognizing letters and shapes, and it's very depressing to me. We have been reading to him every day since we brought him home from the hospital; we use alphabet flash cards, what are we doing wrong!
But he is potty trained! haha!
And isn't that all that REALLY matters?
I know what you are thinking, "Lady Steed, you should not compare the Big O. Let him develop at his own pace!" Ok! You're right, I know I should do this but I can't help it when one of his good friends, just one day younger than him has reading skills. READING SKILLS. Wow! And this, this makes me remember a day back in the hospital, right after he was born.
Theric's aunt and two of her daughters came to visit me and Big O in the hospital. It was so nice of them to come visit, I was very happy to seem them. As Aunt was holding Big O, Eric's cousin S., age 13?, looked at Big O and said, "You know what, Lady Steed, Big O is going to be so smart. He's probably going to be a genius because he has Theric and you as his parents." She was completely sincere and I was very flattered and told her thank you and hoped she was right. But I knew that intelligence is not always genetic and that though I expected Big O to be rather bright I wasn't expecting him to be a genius.
NOTE: I do not consider Theric and myself to be geniuses, though I do consider us to be a bit more intelligent than your average man on the street.
And now, it appears that maybe he's not even exceptionally intelligent. His friend, the Dude, can read books. He read 'Pat the Bunny' to O at their last play date. This child recognizes the letters, knows the sounds they make and can sound out words! It's amazing--I don't think I could do that till Kindergarten. O can't read, he still has trouble recognizing letters and shapes, and it's very depressing to me. We have been reading to him every day since we brought him home from the hospital; we use alphabet flash cards, what are we doing wrong!
But he is potty trained! haha!
And isn't that all that REALLY matters?
posted by Lady Steed at 7:31 PM
16 Comments:
Amen, sister. Amen.
Dewd, that other kid is weird. Seriously. I didn't learn to read until I was like, 6 or whatnot, and now I read a lot. A lot a lot. IN FACT, my whole career is based around books. IN FACT, I'd say I'm a genius at reading.
I think the Big O is the best.
I mean, until Leata Jr. is born. You like that name, right?
Yeah, Leata Jr. that's great.
Reading before kindergarten is overrated. I just went to this big reading summit, so I know. The key is to make sure he is developing other skills that will make him a good reader, like rhyming, organizing, categorizing, pretending, labeling (saying things like, "You're smart, Mom!"), and counting.
That other kid will probably not have any comprehension skills, and will end up begin tutored by Big O. Or maybe not. But that will be fun to fantasize about when he's telling Big O to feel Daddy's scratchy face and try on Mommy's ring.
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So you know, "that other kid"'s mom will be stopping by and reading this too.
And speaking of things to know, Leata, is there something you and Lady Steed should tell me?
Sposita, I did not intended for this post to turn into a arena for putting down the Dude. I apologize. Can we still be friends?
All of my nieces and nephews could read before they went to kindergarten. I'm pretty sure all the kids in my family could too. My siblings swear by the book "how to teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons." The girls all were more interested in reading before the boys.
Don't despair. He's only 3. He has 2 more years before Kindergarten.
Seriously though, you should check out the book. Two of my nieces were able to read every Harry Potter book by themselves in 1st grade.
I knew my alphabet when I was three and I could write my name(pre-school does that to you). I knew how to read a few words by the time I was four; when I was five I could read a few more words and by the time I was six I was a steady reader. Fear not for the Big O, he's prolly doing just fine. And, seriously, potty training really is all that matters in this world.
Don't worry. We're still friends.
But honestly, we don't DO anything to make him read. He likes it. We actually think it was mostly a reaction to having us reading all the time instead of paying attention to him. So chalk it up to us being neglectful parents and his need for extreme measures to get attention.
My genes certainly muddied his intelligence chances. If he took more after his father, he'd be reading upside down and backwards by now.
And the Big O is the best friend I could ask for the Dude. Really.
I meant no disrespect to the Genius Reading Baby (GRB). None at all.
I just MIGHT be a little envious that I can't say I read at age 3. Also: you mess with the Big O, you mess with me.
And what wouldn't be more special for the Big O than a sibling named Leata Jr. Especially if it's a lil brother...?
I meant no disrespect either. I started reading at eighteen months and have always been kind of proud of that. I think things have more than levelled off, though, as I have never really excelled at anything else (other than being offensive to people I don't know). I guess the main point is that it's not really anything to be concerned about if two children don't do the same things at the same rate.
On the other hand, kids who are forced to learn to read too early, before learning all that other stuff I mentioned before, can definitely have comprehension problems later. Good to know the Dude's parents are actually neglectful rather than overbearing. The boys will probably both be fine.
But anyway, he seems to know a lot about rocks, and surely that counts for something.
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I don't get it!!! I'm neglectful, too!
Wait, you're worried because the kid can't read at 36 months? Well yeah, at this rate he might not be driving at the age of 6 either. :-)
I wouldn't worry unless his preschool teachers say he's not ready for kindergarten yet. That's what Jenny says too. And she recommends that "100 Days" book. Not that Big O needs to be reading right now. I didn't read until kindergarten/first grade and now I'm pretty much the best reader that I know of. :-)
You can also go to your state or county's education website and look up the educational goals or milestones they want your kid to be reaching before the start kindergarten. Some states have really helpful websites.
The potty training is all that matters. What do they need to be reading The Wall Street Journal for?
I would give both my kidneys for my 2 year old to be potty trained. How did you do it?
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