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Teddy Hobbs, 4, taught himself to read when he was two
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BBC / REUTERS
By the age of four, Teddy Hobbs can count to 100 in English and six foreign languages, including Mandarin, French and Spanish.
He taught himself to read at the age of two.
This is how it can be read in several British media, which celebrate the youngest member of the United Kingdom in the gifted association Mensa.
Mensa allows people to become members who belong to the smartest two percent of the population.
In order to be accepted, they must pass certain intelligence tests.
Teddy, from Portishead, Somerset, was admitted to the association at the age of three at the end of last year, according to the BBC, among others.
The child therefore scored 139 out of 160 points on the Stanford Binet Test - and surprised his parents, who apparently had no idea how intelligent their son is.
The mother, Beth Hobbs, 31, told multiple media outlets how Teddy acquired his extraordinary abilities.
»Mom, I count in Mandarin«
"He was playing on his tablet and making noises that I couldn't place," she told the BBC.
She asked him about it and he replied, "Mom, I count in Mandarin."
Teddy also taught himself to read at the age of 26 months by watching children's TV shows and imitating the sound of letters.
When he went back to daycare after the Corona lockdown, they told his teacher about it.
A teacher then tested Teddy and said: "Yes, he can read."
The parents say they let him take the tests to be better prepared for his enrollment next fall.
They couldn't explain why their son was so intelligent.
His mother is quoted as saying that his talent is both a curse and a blessing.
Finding the right support is difficult.
Teddy goes through different phases in which he deals specifically with certain topics such as numbers or letters, she told the Times.
At the moment he is studying the flags of different countries.
But recently he also started playing with dough: "That's great."
Teddy's mother stressed that it was important to her that her son had a normal childhood despite his special abilities.
"He's just realizing that his friends can't read yet, and he doesn't understand why," she said.
»But for us it is very important that he stays down to earth.«
It's nice when Teddy has all these special skills, but he sees it this way: "I can read, but my friends can run faster." So everyone has different talents.
She wanted her son to maintain this attitude for as long as possible, the mother told the Times.
“All we wish for Teddy is that he grow up decently and have a happy life.
I guess that's what every parent wants."
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