Is my 3 year old academically gifted?

Q. How can I find out if my 3 year old is gifted and should I be doing anything about it? She speaks in long, complex sentences and is interested in concepts such as space, the Egyptians and the Victorians. She can recognise all her letters. She recently made a connection with shadows, when working out that if a low sun makes long shadows, a high sun would make short shadows.

A. What a fantastic situation to find yourself in. Your little girl is clearly a bright lass and as well as natural ability, you will have fuelled this by your interaction with her from a young age. Where, for example, has she found her information on the Victorians or Egyptians? From stories you have told, or from an older sibling coming home from Key Stage 2 lessons in History and talking about such things? Very often, bright younger siblings do benefit hugely from such interaction, and the older ones pave the way. But remember that for them that can be hard, too.

Is she gifted? Well, she certainly sounds to be very clever and quick. But the labelling of children as Gifted and Talented is something that education has only done in the last decade or so. And sometimes it can be misleading. Any really good primary school will assess this very soon on her arrival in School. I think I would suggest for now that you relax about it, let her absorb information from her usual sources, fuel enquiry and interest, but don’t push it too much. The last thing you want is for her natural curiosity and communication fluency to be stopped in its tracks by your putting too much emphasis on it and creating a sense of pressure to please you or ‘deliver’. Just enjoy it and celebrate it in your head.

As far as schooling goes, though, you do need to get that spot on right if you have a very bright child like this. Your choice of primary schools may be a wide one, or may be restricted depending on where you live etc. Explore that carefully. Look at Ofsted inspection reports – or Independent Schools Inspectorate ones, if you are considering an independent school. These can really tell you if the schools foster independent learning as a skill. Your daughter sounds very ready for assisted learning, and not too much spoon-feeding which can cramp enthusiasm and interest in an advanced child.

Good luck. It’s a lovely challenge to have…