Most parents are constantly trying to educate their children. They read to them, sing to them, and expose them to visually stimulating environments. In some cases it pays off and the child becomes a voracious learner always ready to take on a new challenge. Other kids, not so much. Then, there are the rare occasions when the child surpasses all expectations and reveals that she is smarter than her parents… before she is potty trained.
Such is the case with Elise Tan-Roberts of Edmonton in North London. The 2-year-old girl has an IQ of 156 and is rated in the top 0.2 per cent of her age group. Even more impressive, little Elise just became the youngest member of Mensa, the society for geniuses.
So how does one’s child score an invite into the elite group for exceptionally gifted youngsters?
In Elise’s case she was able to name 35 capital cities, identify the three types of triangle, spell her name aloud, read the words “Mummy” and “Daddy” and recite the alphabet, in less time than it takes other kids her age to put on their shoes.
According to Elise’s parents, the toddler began talking when she was just five months old and was walking three months later. By 10 months she was outrunning small animals, and by the time she celebrated her first birthday the pony-tailed little tyke was reading basic words and counting to 10. She can now do the same in Spanish and Chinese. What’s more, her parents, who are of English, Malaysian, Chinese, and Nigerian descent, say they hope their daughter will soon learn additional languages to reflect her diverse ethnicity.
Elise’s 28-year-old mother says she realized that her daughter was different shortly after she gave birth to the girl in December 2006. Louise Tan-Roberts told The Times of London that her daughter took “an unusual” interest in her surroundings as a newborn.
“She just says things and you have no idea where she got it from,” Louise revealed to reporters. “I don’t set out to teach her loads of stuff, she just enjoys learning and picks things up. She’s always on the go, she never stops.”
Louise also notes that taking her daughter to playgroups with “average” children has led to “interesting” scenarios. For example, a couple of months ago a mother of one of Elise’s playgroup pals gave the mini genius a toy animal and told her it was a rhinoceros. “‘That’s not a rhinoceros,’ Elise said. It’s a triceratops.”
The tot was right.
Elise’s parents say they plan to keep giving their daughter opportunities to learn and grow, and are not worried about raising a kid that is smarter than most adults.
What would you do if you were faced with the challenge of raising a genius?
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