A British boy who has taught himself to read and count in different languages since the age of 2 has joined Mensa, an organization for people with IQs higher than 98% of the rest of the world. gender.
Teddy Hobbs, 4, of Portishead, Somerset, has become the youngest member of Britain’s Mensa club, after his parents asked medical professionals to assess their son’s condition before starting school. learn.
Teddy took the 4-hour Stanford-Binet IQ test at 3 years, 7 months old. The results showed that Teddy scored 139 points, higher than 99.5% of children of the same age and had the ability to recognize words equivalent to a 9-year-old child.
Teddy can now count up to 100 in 6 different, non-native languages, including French, Chinese, German and Spanish. The boy is even willing to read Harry Potter stories when his parents allow him.
Experts also determined that Teddy did not show signs of autism or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
According to The Times, Teddy taught himself to read while watching TV and playing with tablets at the age of 2 without his parents knowing.
Beth Hobbs, 39, Teddy’s mother, said the boy was her first child with her husband, Will Hobbs, 41. She and her husband initially thought that their son was just talking nonsense while playing on the tablet. Later, they realized the boy was actually pronouncing numbers in Chinese.
“Every few months, Teddy picks up a new topic about something to care about. Sometimes it’s the numbers. Once it was the times tables, a very stressful period. Then there are countries, maps and learning to count in different languages,” Beth told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
The mother said that Teddy’s high IQ also creates challenges for her and her husband in raising children. She confided, the two will try not to feel different from their peers.
“All we want for Teddy is to be a good and happy person in life. That’s all any parent wants for their children,” added Beth.
Tuan Anh