When Toddlers Have Talents Far Beyond Their Years
There are quite a few videos out there of little kids doing things at an extremely advanced level, given their age.
Like this one, where a girl who’s not yet two years shows she knows the world map better than most adults, from Zimbabwe to Ecuador. (It’s pretty amazing.)
Or there’s this video, showing a 3-year-old boy’s incredible penchant for making elaborate and detailed finger paintings. (Especially incredible if you think of a regular 3-year-old’s finger paintings.)
And this one, showing a 4-year-old who can really drum!
I don’t know what, exactly, drives the brain to master skills like these in young children. Did they just inherit special talents? Is it that they love these activities so much they practice more than other kids–or alternatively, do they have a level of focus that’s better than most kids? Or do they have really tough parents who make them drill and practice? Whatever the cause of these impressive skills, you can be sure the brains of the kids in these videos are wired differently from the average tot’s! What do you think?
Possibly Related posts:
Posted: Brain plasticity, Odds and Ends
Posit Science's corporate blog is the place where our employees share their thoughts about Posit Science and its products, brain fitness, breakthroughs in neuroscience, and any other topic they find interesting and relevant. 
October 19th, 2010 at 10:58 am
my hubby is a drummer cant wait to show this to him, keith moon is smiling down
October 19th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
More videos like this at http://www.iahp.org.
October 20th, 2010 at 11:53 am
Thanks, Jim!
October 21st, 2010 at 6:05 pm
You could sit 100 4-year-olds down and pressure them to “learn the drums”. Have them “practice” day after day. If they didn’t have the talent this little boy has, it wouldn’t net you anything except upset, unhappy 4-year-olds.
Some people have extreme gifts. Some people think faster than others. Some think more globally, easily. In my opinion, the human race would be better off if we just accepted our natural variety, and the talents some people have. Celebrate it, even.
October 21st, 2010 at 7:37 pm
I have a granddaughter who is one of these special children. When she was four months old my daughter would say “hi” to her and thought she was answering “hi” in return. It seemed improbable but by the time she was a year old she had at least 100 words and now, at two, we have conversations. At 16 months she could name dozens of countries from a map. She has a brilliant memory and extraordinary spatial perception. We don’t coach her, but we teach as we play with her and she is so bright she “gets it.” It is a privilege to be around a child like this.