Achieving Important Milestones Earlier Than Other Children
Milestones are indicators that show whether a child is “on track” in areas such as physical, cognitive, and emotional development. However, if a child achieves these milestones earlier than their peers, it can be a sign of giftedness. For example, your friend’s baby may be only 3 months old but can already stand, or a 10-month-old baby who can speak complete and clear sentences.
Special Communication and Language Skills
Infants start babbling their first words around 12 months old and begin forming words at around 18 months. If a child shows interest in vocabulary and books during storytelling sessions, or can speak complete sentences before 14 months old, these are early signs of language ability. Additionally, very few babies possess special talents like easily following verbal instructions to move to a specific place in the house or understanding directions to perform a specific task.
Expressing a Wide Range of Emotions
Gifted children often exhibit intense emotions. This means that they can experience both positive and negative emotions, as well as have complex thoughts and be more emotionally mature than their same-age peers. Parents can observe how their child connects with others, pets, or objects to recognize their emotional intelligence (EQ). These children need to be encouraged to express and articulate their thoughts.
Enjoy Problem-Solving
Another sign of innate intelligence in babies is exceptional problem-solving skills. For example, if parents hide their favorite toy in a cupboard, these babies have the ability to come up with clever ways to retrieve it using their keen senses. They may also stack boxes on top of each other on a toy truck without them falling…
And while all children develop appropriate problem-solving skills at certain developmental milestones, a gifted child will demonstrate these skills much earlier than their same-age peers.
Concentration
Infants are often easily distracted by a sound or movement happening around them. Babies can concentrate on a specific target for about 10-15 minutes. However, gifted children can concentrate for longer periods even from a young age, possibly before 6 months. Puzzles and colors are usually easily handled by these children as early as 10-11 months old. Parents may also notice that their child points at pictures in books or even flips the pages when they are reading a story to them.