Karthik Chavali from Nundah can name all the planets in the solar system. He can name 38 countries and their respective capital cities, and can also identify countries on a map. Impressive, right?
Even more astounding is the fact that Karthik is only 22 months old.
A typical 24-month-old baby can speak an average of 50 words and can name things that he or she sees around the house every day. Babies at this age can name the parts of the house or the parts of the body. They can already ask for things that they like to play with or food that they want to eat. They very well understand the concept of “yes” and “no” too.
Karthik Chavali, with his precocious memory, is being hailed by many as the “smartest baby in Australia” today.
Karthik’s parents, Vishy Chavali and Sal Kandukuri, started noticing his advanced memorisation abilities when he was just 14 months old. Karthik was able to remember everything that they read to him. He recited it back to them flawlessly almost immediately. It seems that once he has memorised something, he no longer forgets about it. His mind is like a sponge, absorbing everything.
When asked if they have any special parenting style they could share with other parents, Vishy and Sal said they don’t have anything special to share. If there’s anything at all, it could be that they don’t give Karthik gadgets to play with.
Whilst they both work in the IT industry, they both believe that children should not be given access to technology during their early years. What they should have instead are books and actual toys to have fun with, along with meaningful interactions with the people around them.
Vishy said that gadgets consumed children and contained them in a make-believe world which was detrimental to their cognitive and physical development. He believes that young kids should first learn the concept of being in the “real world”.
For mum Sal, all children are geniuses in their own way. She says it’s up to parents to recognise their gifts and enhance them, along with providing proper support for any areas that need to be improved.
For young Karthik Chavali, with such great parental support and his prodigious memorisation skills, the world is indeed his playground for learning.