October 13, 2001 - Saturday
I think it's time for me to just say it: Harry is way ahead of the curve with language. We've thought that for a while, but have had only fleeting interaction with other kids that are directly Harry's age and our opinions are, perhaps, somewhat speculation. That hasn't changed and we're still just speculating, but tonight Harry's mother and I were at a party - Harry's grandparents came to put Harry to bed - and met another couple with a girl just two weeks older than Harry. In the course of the conversation, describing her interaction with them, they mentioned their thought that she was a little ahead of her usual age group with language. Yet as we continued to share stories about our children, it became fairly obvious that Harry was really at still another level beyond this girl. Harry practices elocution, rhyming, new words, and even sentences on a regular and noticeable basis and that's not altogether the norm for a boy of 22 months. Harry reads words - not many but clearly a few, like Harry, spoon, zoo - and can handily identify letters, like A, H, and O. A lot of other letters are still confused - T and I are often Y, for example - but Harry is clearly getting the idea that letters make words and words make sentences.

Of course, being able to talk early doesn't make Harry any sort of boy genius. It just means that he has learned some tricks that usually take other children a little longer. And, I think often that his mother's reading to him since birth is almost certainly much of the reason. Yet, whether Harry's language ability makes him smart or just a performing novelty, I think it can only help him in the short term as he comes to term with and communicates his feelings about a new brother. I've also been told that children with early language ability have an easier time in the first years of school because they are less inclined to try blind whining or complaining to gain their desires.


Comments, opinions?