Small heads big brains

I somehow used to think that the Generation Y were a smart bunch of people. Yes, that includes me and everyone born around the same era as me.

That was before I came to witness the marvellous wonders of the kids nowadays and the amazing things they can do or say despite their diminutive bodies and minuscule heads.

Yes, each generation of babies just seem to be getting smarter. I kind of attribute it to two reasons: 1) The increasing education level and exposure to knowledge that parents are getting, 2) the pre-natal vitamins we gulp down everyday during pregnancy. I am so going to make myself believe that those hundreds of pills I took were useful in one way or another. At the rate things are going, maybe all babies will have an Einstein equivalent IQ by the next millennium.

I'm not saying that my baby is a genius, I just think that all the toddlers and kids I see nowadays are brainy, sharp and smart in their own ways. But just to illustrate, here are some of the things my girl did when she was barely over 20 months of age that truly and pleasantly surprised me.


Example #1 
I let Angel watch Barney in the morning so that I could do my cooking in the kitchen. She watched it twice and I turned off the TV thereafter, hoping to let her eyes get some rest.

Angel: Mummy, I want to watch Barneyyyyy!
Me: Yes dear, but Barney went to take a nap because he sang and danced so much with you just now.
Angel: Oh, Barney orh orh (slang for sleep) already.
Me: Yes yes, we let him rest for a while, ok?
Angel: Ok, ssssssshhhh.
Me: That's my girl. *pat pat*
Angel: Let's watch Hi Five then.

Conclusion: Toddlers can come up with alternative solutions to a problem when the first one doesn't work.


Example #2
I casually mentioned to Angel that we could perhaps buy a bicycle for her upcoming 2nd birthday. A few days after that, she saw a picture of a bicycle in one of the story books and said "I wanna buy this one!"

Subsequently after that, whenever she saw the picture, she would always say "Buy, buy, buy, buy!" I've a feeling that she's going to make sure I fulfill my word, if not she's going to keep harping on it for the next few weeks. Or months. Or maybe even years.

Conclusion: Toddlers have photographic memory so beware what you promise to them.


Example #3
Angel, like most kids, has a habit of pulling out her wet wipes one by one and then throwing it into the dustbin. Nowadays, she throws it into the potty instead because she sees me using it to wipe her bottom, throw it into the potty before I empty it in the toilet bowl.

Just two days ago, she took yet another clean wipe and threw it in the potty.

Me: Angel darling, we shouldn't waste wipes that are clean and mummy only throws away those that have been used and are dirty, you understand?
Angel: *stares at me blankly, leaving me to wonder if she got the message*

Before we could stop her, she reached for another clean wipe (they were placed in a box beside her potty but she had somehow learnt to open it on her own) and ran to the dining room where daddy was.

Daddy: No no, Angel. We said that this is a clean wipe and we cannot waste wipes, ok?
Angel: *in the sweetest voice* Ok!

Immediately, she used it to wipe all over her face and then threw the now "dirty" wipe into the potty. What can we say?

Conclusion: Kids are just darn smart.

Last week, we went shopping at Malmö and bought this packet of kids' accessories for Angel which contained a rubber necklace and four different shaped bands. It was a 20kr (S$4) well spent because it kept her delighted (and entertained) for the next few hours and it was a small price to pay for a big smile on her face.

The bands could be used to tie her ponytail, or they could be either worn as bracelets or as pendants on the necklace.

Anyway, I could easily identify the shapes of the first three.

This was a star which was also the first one Angel pointed out. She loves stars!

This was a butterfly which she could recognise too and it's really cute to hear her pronouncing three syllabus words. She would go "BUT-ter-FLY" with an emphasis on the first and last syllabus so it sounded more like "Butt-fly" instead. Previously, she used to have the same name for butterfly, dragonfly and firefly. They were all affectionately known as "ah-fly".

This was a crown and I have yet to teach Angel the word so it wasn't any surprise that she kept bugging me "What's this? What's this?" One more new word added to her vocabulary list.

Now, this was the one that baffled me for a while. I kept twisting and turning it around, trying to make sense of it and asking jw if he knew what shape was this. Thankfully for my self-esteem, he said he couldn't figure it out too. I told myself I had to think fast before jw did. It was the sort of hubby-wifey rivalry games we loved. Anyway, I was sure that I could get it all sorted out, if I just had some more time...

The truth was, I didn't really need to think anymore. That was because when Angel saw me fidgeting with the shape, she rushed up and within a matter of seconds, said: "PRINCESS! PRINCESS!"

Spot-on.

I was honestly dumbfounded for a while. W-O-W. Was I stupid or was she just too smart? Well, it just proved to me that kids can see things in different perspectives from adults. Perhaps we are just too blinded sometimes.

Well, I'm just thankful I have this kid at home. Even if that means my self-esteem has to take a beating at times.