Every parent rejoices at their child’s first accomplishments, but what happens when your child is so bright that he was accepted into the high IQ society Mensa at the age of three?
Teddy Hobbes, a toddler, can read fluently and count in seven languages at a time when other children are only learning to run, recognize colors, and speak in entire phrases.
The kid genius from Portishead, Somerset, stunned everyone when he was admitted as Britain’s youngest member of the high IQ elite club. But what can you expect from a two-year-and-four-month-old kid who taught himself to read?
Beth reported that the bright boy learnt to read by watching children’s television and mimicking letter sounds.
“He started tracing the letters, so when we returned him to nursery following COVID lockdown, we told them he’d taught himself to read.”
Teddy can count to 100 in Mandarin, Welsh, French, Spanish, and German, among other languages. “He was playing on his iPad, making these sounds that I didn’t recognize,” Beth said, “and I asked him what it was, and he responded, ‘Mummy, I’m counting in Mandarin.’
Teddy entered Mensa after completing an IQ test and scoring 139 out of 160 on the Stanford Binet exam, putting him in the 99.5%ile for his age.
Mensa, founded in 1947, is an international high IQ society that only admits members with IQs above the 98th percentile globally.
Mensa has around 50,000 members of all ages in over 90 countries worldwide. Most people will be surprised by Teddy’s acceptance to Mensa, but two-year-old Mensa members include Kashe Quest of Los Angeles, California, and Isla McNabb of Kentucky.
Parents Beth Hobbs, 31, and her husband Will, 41, had no idea Teddy was a member of a high-IQ group and had no intention of applying for membership in Mensa.
“We were told that three was the youngest age of anyone they had admitted into Mensa in the UK, however there was someone in the US who was two,” Beth explained. To be honest, his admission was a complete fluke.”
“We never sought to get him in, and even when we had him tested, it was to aid him when he begins school in September – we never planned on getting him into Mensa,” she says.
Teddy’s parents had no notion he was intelligent enough to join the high IQ social club. “We performed an IQ test where we basically told him he was going to sit and do some puzzles with a lady for an hour, and he thought it was the most beautiful thing,” Beth explained. We were assured by Mensa’s kid adviser that he was qualified after completing it, so we figured he may as well join.”
“We knew he could accomplish things his contemporaries couldn’t, but I don’t believe we realized precisely how amazing he was,” Beth and Will said of the outcome. We brought him to nursery after that, but he had to return home since he was upset about having to stop solving puzzles. To relax, he’ll even conduct word searches.”
And, of course, Teddy had no idea what a big thing it was to be a member of the high IQ society. “He wasn’t even that interested in what Mensa is,” Beth explained, “but he’s just about beginning to comprehend that he is more capable than other children – so I think he’ll realize more when school starts.”
“We knew he could accomplish things his contemporaries couldn’t, but I don’t believe we realized precisely how amazing he was,” Beth and Will said of the outcome. We brought him to nursery after that, but he had to return home since he was upset about having to stop solving puzzles. To relax, he’ll even conduct word searches.”
And, of course, Teddy had no idea what a big thing it was to be a member of the high IQ society. “He wasn’t even that interested in what Mensa is,” Beth explained, “but he’s just about beginning to comprehend that he is more capable than other children – so I think he’ll realize more when school starts.”
“Everyone we have spoken to have been amazing since it’s been so hard to get any support, but we have no idea why he is so intelligent. He doesn’t now qualify for autism or ADHD diagnosis, and because he’s so far ahead, it’s difficult to get him support with his learning at that age,” Beth noted.
Teddy’s intelligence at such a young age is viewed by his parents as both a blessing and a curse. He seems uninterested in some of the more popular activities for boys his age, such as video games or watching television.
“It has its drawbacks; my friends may say, “Oh, shall we have some c-a-k-e?” and their kids won’t understand, but Teddy will instantly spell it out and request more. Nothing escapes his notice; he listens to everything. “He’ll remember the chats you had with him last Christmas,” Beth explained.
Teddy’s gestures when the family received his younger sister were also remembered by his parents. Both of their siblings were IVF babies.
Teddy also has a distinct sense of the term “fun,” which suggests that he is a perfect candidate for the high IQ society Mensa.
“His idea of pleasure is to sit down and recite his times tables, and he even got so enthused about fractions one time that he gave himself a nosebleed,” Beth explained. That appears to be his quirk, and we’ll deal with it, but we’re working hard not to make a big deal out of it.”
Teddy is still oblivious of how he compares to other children his age, and his parents are working hard to keep him modest despite his brilliance.
“However, he is starting to notice. “He’ll look at some pals who are struggling to read and wonder, “How come they can’t do that?” when he can – we’re just trying to make sure he doesn’t build a superiority complex around it,” Beth explained.
Teddy has a curiosity and level of comprehension well above that of most youngsters, in addition to being able to read and write at such a young age.
“He’s got a degree of comprehension now that makes things tough sometimes,” Beth explained. On Remembrance Sunday, for example, he was wondering what war is and what the poppies are for. It’s difficult to explain it to him when he’s so young, especially when he understands there’s a conflict in Ukraine, so he asks if that’s why we see Ukraine flags. He simply has the level of interest in discussion that I anticipate my friends to have with their four-year-olds.”
Right now, his parents are concentrating on his other abilities. “His social and development skills are really the key emphasis; we worked very hard to have these children, therefore they need to be excellent citizens.”
And, while he may be the UK’s youngest high achiever, he is still a child. “He goes through phases and lately started memorizing all the different flags of the countries throughout the world,” Beth explained. But he’s just been interested in play dough, which is fantastic.
“He has some thoughts that he wants to be a doctor one day since he and his pal like to play doctor at nursery,” Beth added.
