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[Fossaman]

Yeah, I don't get how it's so ridiculously expensive in USA.

I don't know the actual numbers, but my guess is that at least half the cost is paying for the daycare's insurance premiums. Anything involving childcare or medical care in the US is lawsuit bait. And it's not like the employees at these places are making more than minimum wage, either.

[SalmonGod]

Ok, I have to ask.  I keep seeing sentiments built around the notion of "old enough to walk."

You do realize kids start walking as early as 8 months, right?  And running follows not long after.

[Jackrabbit]

Yeah, I walked at 11. If I had to, I'd probably use it till the kid was about... well, old enough to ask what it was. Then I'd say it was a joke and be done with it.

[SalmonGod]

That would most likely be somewhere around 3 1/2 to 4 years, in my experience.

[Neonivek]

That would most likely be somewhere around 3 1/2 to 4 years, in my experience.

I am guessing you mean old enough for a kid to speak rather then just say words?

Because I didn't say a single word until I was 4.

[Jackrabbit]

Depends on the child. I would have asked at about 18 months, myself.

[SalmonGod]

That's pretty late.  My second kid is 2 1/2 and is just starting to string words together.  His first sort-of sentence was a few days ago when he got his foot caught and said "Yeah, I stuck."  He's been able to follow verbal directions (when interested in doing so) for about a year, though.  Compared to his older brother, he's a few months behind, but I hear that this is common for kids with older siblings.  My older one was 4 1/2 when he was diagnosed type 1 diabetic, and he was just barely capable of absorbing the concept that his body wasn't working right, which was why he needed shots now.  Explaining the dangers of running away outdoors or in public is only a little bit easier than that.

Depends on the child. I would have asked at about 18 months, myself.

Yeah, it varies pretty drastically.  There are two year olds who can hold conversations.  I think my kids are somewhere around average.

Also depends on what you mean by 'would have asked'.  At 18 months, plenty of kids are at the stage where they're pointing at every object they see, and want you to repeat the name of the object.  Doesn't mean they actually understand what it is.  I probably spend half of my time with my toddler lately just repeating names of objects while he practices imitating them.

[Vector]

Eh... I started speaking basic words/communicating in English at two months (... I know this isn't supposed to be possible, but it's what happened), but if I remember correctly I was a bit late on starting to pick up actual grammar.  Reading chapter-books fluently at 3, I guess, and doing algebra/writing poetry with reasonable acuity at 5.

On the other hand, I had a terrible time with the idea of exceptions to rules and a habit of self-deprivation, so I guess it was probably a lot easier for my parents to control me than it would have been for most people.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

I started talking pretty early. Apparently I gave an assistant photograper a real dressing down when she started using baby-talk on me. I am told that
people are not often that surprised.

Interestingly I learned how to walk (in a fashion) before crawling, which I didn't master until after my 1st birthday.

[Cthulhu]

That would most likely be somewhere around 3 1/2 to 4 years, in my experience.

I am guessing you mean old enough for a kid to speak rather then just say words?

Because I didn't say a single word until I was 4.

Yeah, that's pretty late.  I was reading at 4.

[Neonivek]

Mind you my mother says that I likely COULD speak but I chose not to.

It apperantly happens.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Reading chapter-books fluently at 3, I guess, and doing algebra/writing poetry with reasonable acuity at 5.

....wow.

Do you still have any of these poems? I'd be interested in getting a look into the mind of a poetic five year old. I have no idea what someone that young would write poetry about.

[Vector]

....wow.

Do you still have any of these poems? I'd be interested in getting a look into the mind of a poetic five year old. I have no idea what someone that young would write poetry about.

Yeah, I do.

Mostly nonsense stuff; some Wizard of Oz fan-poetry, some other things about grass or whatever, nothing exciting or good.  They also had me writing "letters" to my kindergarten teacher, which were pretty hilarious for me in retrospect.  The teacher gave me math problems, which I did; I returned math problems for the teacher to do.  There was also some complaining about how I went out during recess to analyze the construction of the play structure and ended up being made fun of.  My spelling list had words like "traverse" (actual sentence: "I use my body to traverse the playground") in it... oh, and both "tortuous" and "torturous."  Of course, the usual "draw pumpkins experiencing emotions" assignment showed that I had no idea what angry faces are supposed to look like

In complete seriousness, I sounded pretty similar to how I do now, though with a more stilted command of the language.  Hehe, that's because I learned how to speak from books written 50+ years ago.

[Gunner-Chan]

I was about to add if it was anything like my younger sister it was probably about hamsters. She was obsessed with hamsters when she was little.

[Vector]

I was about to add if it was anything like my younger sister it was probably about hamsters. She was obsessed with hamsters when she was little.

I don't think I even knew what a hamster was at that age, actually >_<  I can only call it poetry because it was

a. words

b. that had a verse structure and some sort of rhyme

But it usually wasn't about anything in particular*, just words slung together, because I mostly didn't know how to convey meaning--I just thought rhyming and alliteration were kind of cool.  If you look at all of the short stories and things I have saved back then--or teacher reports, stuff like that--you can tell that a lot of it is just a failing struggle to be comprehensible, and also a general distaste for trying to communicate anything.  My ability to think through a problem or an idea was far in advance of my ability to communicate the solution, so I got a well-deserved reputation for being difficult and annoying.

And I liked building stuff, though I think I sort of thought anything you put in the right pattern would work.  So the idea of "the right type of wood" or "the right type of stretchy material" was not something that ever dawned on me >_>


*Eh, I wrote a song about morning glories in the morning (... yeah, seriously) and another one about rivers on fire or something like that, but that was a couple of years later.