As the saying goes, it's never too early to start, and this rings true for Kaarthikeya Desigan and his parents.

The 20-months-old toddler from Sungai Buloh, Selangor, last month earned a place in the Malaysia Book of Records (MBR) with not one, but two titles, for his expressive vocabulary.

Kaarthikeya was recognized for being the youngest to speak expressive vocabulary (more than 300 words), and having the most number of expressive vocabulary in five minutes by a toddler, for which he identified 77 flashcards in the given time.

According to the standard development milestones by the Ministry of Health, an 18-months-old toddler should be able to speak between one and six meaningful words - a far cry from Kaarthikeya's vast vocabulary of 300 words.

According to Kaarthikeya's mother Dr. Kanageswary Sockalingam, her son was awarded the youngest to speak expressive vocabulary title on September 11, 2021, after she sent a video of him speaking 300 expressive vocabularies to the MBR on August 19, 2021.

Additionally, Karthikeya set another record by identifying 77 flashcards in just five minutes at 20 months two days old, winning the title most number of expressive vocabulary in five minutes by a toddler, she added.

Speaking to Astro Ulagam, Kanageswary acknowledged that it was quite challenging for her and her husband to understand her baby's needs as they were first time parents.

"So, we spent ample time speaking with him, describing every single activity that we were doing.

"Slowly, he understood instructions and could express his needs in words," the proud mother said.

The next step was improving the child's vocabulary by showing him flashcards, as well as singing nursery rhymes and reading books with him.

"To date, baby Kaarthi owns more than 200 books. Now he can even sing a few nursery rhymes with proper lyrics, and speak in full sentences.

"Our utmost priority is to raise him to be a happy child with good moral values. So, we try to teach him everything in a fun and interesting way. To him, he's just playing and having fun, but in reality, he's gaining valuable knowledge all along," said Kanageswary, who's a lecturer at SEGI University in Kota Damansara.

Congratulations baby Kaarthikeya, and his parents, for this very impressive feat!

May they continue coaching the talented boy to create, and break more records in the future!


Photo source: Dr Kanageswary Sockalingam