Open Thread/ Brag Your Baby: Tell Us That Thing You Never Tell Anyone Because You Don’t Want To Sound Like A Jerk

There is nothing worse than that parent who thinks their one-year-old can read. Or their two-year-old can do math. Nobody likes to hear parents bragging about how great their kids are. I am fully aware of this as a parenting writer — it annoys me just as much as the next person. But sometimes I think I take my sensitivity towards this to an extreme by not sharing some of the incredible things about my child.

I think self-deprecation is a tool I sometimes use to endear people to me. Not, consciously of course – but honestly I think I have an issue with saying, Hey! I’m really good at this! And I think I may be inadvertently letting this issue overflow onto the way I speak about my child.

My son is three-and-a-half. He can read. I’ve known this for months, but whenever someone notices and tries to explain it by saying things like – Oh! He’s really good a remembering what words look like! I find myself nodding in agreement, instead of saying what I’m really thinking, which is, No, actually – he knows how to sound words out. He reads words he’s never seen before, too. 

When I picked him up from daycare the other day, his teacher said, “Did you know your son can recognize his own name?” I said, “Yeah. He can read. Not just his name – a lot of words.” She looked at me like I was nuts.

It’s Brag Your Baby time – I’ll start.

My child has been reading since he was three. I didn’t drill him with flashcards or anything. He gets a bedtime story and has a ton of books. He watches TV every day. Not quite sure how he got so good at it – but the kid reads. I’m thrilled about it because I love books and loved reading as a child and I hope he continues to be excited by words.

Your turn. Here’s your chance – brag your baby.