He was 26 months old, or just over two years old, when he taught himself to read and became the youngest gifted child in England.
Teddy Hobbs, a child classified as gifted, could count to 100 at two years old, so joining a gifted association was not a challenge for him.
Because although for many the period of confinement due to the covid-19 pandemic was terrible, for the Hobbs family, in the English town of Portishead, it was an opportunity for their little one to learn more than one thing.
The surprise was taken by the nursery to which they sent him once he was able to return after the pandemic, when they had to call a preschool teacher to confirm what everyone suspected, at only 26 months he could read.
The incredible story of a child classified as gifted, whose talent meant that at the age of 4 he could continue counting to 100, although now in 7 languages.
Teddy Hobbs: the gifted child
Beth and Will Hobbs never thought that the child they conceived through IVF would bring them a completely different parenting experience than other couples.
This is because when Teddy was born, the confinement due to the covid-19 pandemic arrived, so the little one, like the vast majority of people, dedicated himself to watching children’s television.
According to his mother, he learned to read when he was only 26 months old, but it was “watching children’s television and copying the sounds of the letters,” he said. New York Post.
She added in her statement “He started tracing the letters and when we sent him back to daycare after the covid lockdown we told them we thought he had taught himself to read.”
Something that the nursery confirmed immediately when they did a test with a preschool teacher and they found that the little one could read. The signs of a gifted child were there.
Such was his surprise when some time later he heard him mentioning some strange noises, which he did not recognize, but it was just Teddy counting the numbers in Mandarin, one of the languages he learned at the age of 4.
In a video posted by 6/KOTV The little boy can be seen perfectly reading and cutting a map of Kenya, while his mother points out that she thought it was just that he was developing fast like any child.
“Teddy has done this all by himself, when we go out and give him the option of having a gift, he chooses a book, instead of chocolate,” says Beth Hobbs.
Mensa: The Gifted Association
As Teddy prepares to delve into the Harry Potter books, once his parents let him read them, something else happened in his life.
After entering college last September, Beth and Will decided to approach Mensathe oldest and largest high IQ association in the world.
The goal is that little Teddy, who at 4 years old is already a gifted child due to his abilities to read and speak, managed to join, becoming the youngest member of the association.
But, entering was not so easy, since due to his age the little one had to first go through an educational psychologist and then take the tests, he indicated. The Times.
By the time he took the Stanford-Binet IQ test, the results were astounding. Teddy obtained 99.5 points, that is, he could enter the association that only receives members with more than 98 points.
But the test also revealed that Teddy, who took the test at 3 years and 7 months, had the same knowledge as a boy around 9 years old, so he clearly stood out from children his own age.
Teddy’s life
Teddy happily poses with his certificate that guarantees him as a member of Mensa, although he lives life like any normal child. His mother points out “Poop seems very funny to him.”
Yet you spend your days learning something new at every turn. Beth noted, “He picks a new topic of something to be interested in every two months or so, it seems. Sometimes they are numbers.
Adding “They were multiplication tables for a while, it was a very intense period, then countries and maps and learning to count in different languages,” he stated. The Guardian.
He did point out that even though Teddy isn’t aware of his intelligence yet and it seems to him something absolutely normal, he does notice that his friends can’t read like him.
Although it is something he questions, he also thinks that if they can run faster than him, he can read, because all children have different talents.
For the moment, he lives a normal life playing sports, reciting multiplication tables and taking advantage of his talent to read to his 15-month-old little sister.
While his parents only want the best for him, stating: “All we want for Teddy is for him to be a good person and to be happy with life. That’s all any parent would want.”
