Or *is* he?
I observe a lot of intelligence and good behaviour in my classes week to week and I have become to feel proud of their achievements even though I'm not their parent.
I see a lot of achievements on my Twitter feed straight out the mouths of the lovely mummies I follow.
I know, being a teacher, that the first 4 or so years of a child's life is so important in training their brain to "learn effectively" (and giving them as much as possible to absorb with their brains being like sponges and all), and that by knowing this, I have consciously "taught" Lincoln, sometimes without even realising I am "teaching" him, every single waking hour of every day.
Cruel mummy? or Clever mummy? you decide. But his achievements speak for themselves. Or do they?
I realised that actually we are all incredibly proud of our little one's achievements no matter how big or small, but what we don't do is truly know at what exact age/stage they should be doing what we are congratulating them for.
Lincoln is my first child (of hopefully many). So what or who in fact would I have to compare him to?
Google?
Good god, if we believed Google even 80% of the time, we would all be waiting to die slowly in the corner with our Googled illnesses or believe our child to be
a) a genius fit only for Mensa or NASA or something!
or
b) completely under-average, non descript, and should never leave the house with a brain that simple and a brain that, by the way, mummy gave you!
So, I am going to be brave. I have no idea how Lincoln fairs in the "your child is a genius" vs "your child is inevitably going to be a wooden top" judgement system that we all have.
There is no set one.
Please comment and tell me your little one's achievements too. If they achieved what's written below at a younger age than Lincoln then please tell me! I will need to save and prepare to bribe future headteachers and exams officers ;o)
..... well, a Mummy's job doesn't stop at teaching!
Lincoln is 19 months and can......
- Count to 6 (it took a while for this one)
- Identify and say the following Colours - Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Purple, Pink, Black, White
- Knows the difference between High/Low, Fast/Slow, In/Out, In front/Behind, Hot/Cold, Hard/Soft, Noisy/Quiet, Wrong/Right (even if he doesn't choose to change or acknowledge he is doing the wrong thing)
- Understands the emotions Happy, Sad, Angry, Tired, Scared, Shy, Jealous, Proud and Brave. (sure there are more but can't think on the spot)
- Sing at pitch. This one I love.
- Identify Shapes - Circle, Square, Rectangle, Triangle, Star, Oval
- Name Body Parts - too many to name. All nearly including elbow, hair etc
- Identify over 50 animals. I'm not that sad (for those of you who think I may have sat there and counted), we have a 50 animals book and he knows them all.
- His vocabulary is (if I do say so myself) absolutely bloody massive. can not count the amount of words he says. I guess constantly giving things a name or label pays off in the end when it comes to speech development.
- Can tap in time to music. *ahem* yes, that one is kind of a given due to my subject matter, but still, taught by moi nonetheless, I am extremely proud given his age.
- He knows tooooooo many character's names than is healthy. Rex, Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Lotso, Slinky, Ham, Sully, Boo, Randall, yadda yadda yadda, all those off CBeebies, any Pixar movie and yes, I am in the Bad Mummy's Club for even letting him watch tv! *shock*... in my defense, it isn't every day (grins).
So... Cruel Mummy? Clever Mummy? Obsessive Mummy? All of the above?
You decide...
But be kind! ;o)
Kids do stuff at their own pace. Another mum reading this blog may feel pretty shit at parenting cos they do similar things to yo but their child does not get it. I have two children - one was just about saying the target number of words by 2 that HVs look for. The other could have a conversation with me. (and she was the younger one to whom less time got devoted).
ReplyDeleteYou know what? In the majority of cases, by the time they go to school, they all roughly do the same things. Not always - some have developmental delays which are the fault of noone. But the rest broadly can do the same things. When you look back, it doesn't matter whether they were ahead or not. My 4yo who was a great talker didn't start walking until she was 22 months. No-one would know any different now.
The problem with obsessing too much over it is that you can waste the time you have enjoying them as babies. And there is no point in comparing them as they are so different.
Thanks for your comment! He walked very late and didn't truly sit up by himself until he was 12 months. I got all caught up in the early achievements to state what he was "late" at ;o)
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ReplyDeleteI work with pre-school children, and as a Mum of 2 children (vastly different in their development), and someone who works with over 150 children in a week ranging from the age of 6 months to 5 yrs I can honestly say that labelling a child as a “genius” or a “wooden head” at this early stage is just nonsense. Children that have a natural memory for symbols and words tend to progress quicker in ways which our current system of learning celebrates. But this is never an indicator of intelligence, just ability to copy and repeat. Remember, Einstein didn't speak properly until he was 7 yrs old. In fact many children that will develop into super intelligent adults stay quieter in their early years as there is much more going on in their head than they are able to communicate.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming that you are describing Lincoln's development with your tongue firmly in your cheek. As a teacher yourself you must know how irritating and generally unhelpful many parents are who think their children are little geniuses. These are the parents who can believe no ill of their child, and in doing so create arrogance in children which can be negative in the most important development of any child – their social skills.
Word of advice - don’t mention these ‘great achievements’ to your friend with children, as it will inevitably annoy them. Save it for your blog! You obviously surround your little one with love which is the most important lesson any parent can teach in these important early years. Relax with the teaching, and go with the cuddles and imaginative play. Believe me, when you have your second (and subsequent) children, you will learn the importance of these quiet times with only one. (And by the way, EVERYONE secretly thinks their child is a genius – it doesn’t mean they are!) ;)
I think Lincoln's achievements are great for his age, and you should be proud. My B knows an awful lot too but unfortunately he still cannot talk! Soooo frustrating! He communicates well though which is probably why he doesn't speak yet! Through gestures and grunts alone he is able to communicate to me that he knows shapes, body parts, colours, names of people and TV characters etc....
ReplyDeleteI think we all think our own children are amazing and clever and with the right love and time from us they can be happy too. I dontnthink these is anything wrong with showing hw proud youare of your child on your blog xx
B is same age as Lincoln and he also didn't walk until late - December I think! Plus like I say, he doesn't say words yet either !
ReplyDeleteNot what you want to hear I'm sure but Lincoln sounds absolutely normal to me!
ReplyDeleteWhat do you teach? Where did you do your PGCE? You look familiar!
Did you get the idea for the name Lincoln from Prison Break? I'm more of a Michael fan myself!! Lets hope your Linc gets in less pickles and scrapes than his famous namesake!