Drea de Matteo Dishes On Her Daughter’s ‘Amazing’ Talents
 Flynet |
She may be only 23-months-old, but little Alabama Gypsyrose has some mighty high expectations to live up to. “I might have created the most important person to have ever lived,” jokes her mom, actress Drea de Matteo to Us Weekly.
According to the Desperate Housewives star, her predictions aren’t that big of a stretch; She reveals her daughter is able to carry on conversations and may be already showing signs of a promising future in linguistics!
“She is fully talking, counts to 20 in English and Spanish and is a super artist.”
And while many other toddlers her age may swipe the furniture with their paint brush far more than the paper, Drea raves that Alabama’s skills are surprisingly advanced. “She paints at her easel all day. It’s amazing!” she says.
Alabama is Drea’s first child with fiancé Shooter Jennings.
Source: Us Weekly
– Anya
- Posted on Oct 27, 09 at 8:00AM
- Permalink
- 20 Comments
October 27th, 2009 at 9:30 am
A lot of people have complained that Salma Hayek always sounds like she is bragging about Valentina’s achievements, but this interview is much worse than anything Salma has ever said. Good for you, Drea, but really, there are plenty of other kids who have done what your child is doing. I doubt she’ll be the most important person in the world.
October 27th, 2009 at 9:48 am
It’s cute when first time moms brag about their kids and the rest of us can chuckle a little knowing most kids are that smart! What her daughter does sound pretty typical to me but let her brag, it’s her right as a parent.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:31 am
I am 90%% sure that Drea is joking around. She has a very deadpan personality.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:35 am
Ditto, Mary! We all think our kids are the most amazing and wonderful children ever!
October 27th, 2009 at 10:53 am
I know she was joking about the “best person ever” thing, hence my winky-face! I just think it’s interesting that Salma can’t comment about Valentina but when Drea does it, it’s cute. I’m a first time mom too but I don’t tell the world my child’s milestones, because most people think it’s rude, right?
October 27th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I don’t think her daughter necessarily has a promising future in linguistics. I’m a linguistics major and can tell you that linguistics is the study of human speech including the units, nature, structure, and modification of language.
I think she meant that her daughter was very verbal or good at acquiring language.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
She sure is a great kid, being the grandchild of Waylon Jennings and all.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
finais, I’m with you completely. Bragging is rude, whether it’s about yourself or your kids.
It makes me a little uncomfortable to read BOTH Salma and Drea’s comments about their kids recently. Both of their comments were unabashed, outright, overtly BRAGGING. Not just expressing love and having confidence in their kid, but boasting. Joking or not, it’s kind of obnoxious.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
what’s wrong with thinking your kid is great? I’m sure she probably got asked about her daughter in an interview, and she was half tongue in cheek. if you know who drea is, you would know she is a funny chick. plus i don’t know about you… but a kid who can count to 20 in english and spanish before 2 years old sounds pretty advanced to me.
October 27th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
I don’t see the drama with Salma or Drea boasting about their kid’s abilities, however normal or mundane they may seem to others. How does it personally affect your life one way or the other?
October 27th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I’m sure Drea was being funny. But what a name to saddle that darling child with.
October 27th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
lol every parent thinks there child is the best person that ever lived, theres nothing wrong with thinking that. every child is special in their own way. drea was just joking around. she loves her daughter. i had a feeling that alabama was gonna be talented.. i mean look at her background/her family. shes gonna have a lot of personality
i love alabama, shes really cute! 
October 27th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I think bragging is rude. And worse, its incredibly boring. At that age counbting to 20 would be simple word parroting, the child is unlikely to have any real grasp of one to one correspondence etc. Just shows her mother has popped her in front of those useless baby einstein dvds.
October 27th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
As for a child learning to talk earlier or do this and that, in my opinion and from info I have read over the years, it doesn’t reflect much in terms of long term intelligence, motivation or personal or academic success. Our youngest started walking at 9 months but he isn’t any better than others his own age at walking nowadays at almost 2!!! LOL Same may be said about talking;-) Or potty training. They all seems to go to the toilet as well as each other by a certain age:-)
The whole rush of today on teaching little ones their abc’s, mathematics, even potty training earlier than in the past is not a good idea. Focus in these very early years is best on non structured & non scheduled learning, enhancing and encouraging creativity, social skills, learning things like empathy, cooperation with others, conflict resolution skills, playtime, etc. And on their own readiness not b/c their parents want to keep up with the Jones’.
When I hear a parent proclaiming their pride over certain rote skills their child has grasped early on, I am not what you would call impressed or even competitive about. My little brother was very advanced early on and dux of his school but as a man, he lacks motivation and diligence to be successful in work and academia….what I am trying to say is that there isn’t a correlation between early learners and greater future success.
Some theorists suggest that teaching rote learning too early on will be counter productive in the long run actually.
In Finland, kids don’t start school until 7 (for some good reasons). After kinder , our son will be within the educational system for possibly his whole life (if he follows in Dad’s footsteps). As it is now, our 4 year old hasn’t been to preschool–completely natural and normal but in todays society it stands out as different.
Ease up on the hyper-rote learning for children of today. It is ridiculous and counter productive in many ways.
October 27th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
what is everyone being so negative?????????
she is gushing about her kid. should she be slapping her? and remember people, salma and drea are gushing when asked about their kids in interviews.
most people are not interviewed about their kids. what she shrugged and said, my kid’s average. then people would think that was weird.
October 27th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
One day I was at t=he farmers market and saw a friend and her child. He was 2 and had ridden his bike the whole way there w/o training wheels. My kid couldn’t use a trike at the same age. I see her everyday but she had never mentioned her sons advanced bike skills. When I said “Wow did Louis ride the whole way thats amazing!” all she said to me was “He just loves bikes…!”
I thought: Thats one classy mother. If something is amazing people will notice anyway so why bother boasting? Any way, its not like Louis will necessarily win the tour de France because he can ride a bike better than my son. More importantly his mother has communicated to Louis that his VALUE does not lie in how impressive his abilities are. And the really really great thing about Louis is that you see this every day in how he already treats others. He is now 5 and he is universally kind and thoughtful (whilke still being a boisterous little boy). And its because his mother did a great job. Thats why I hate boasting/bragging about kids…its disrespectful to your child! People don’t realise that you can harm your child by the positive things you say as much as the negative things you say. Praise their hard work, their listening, their determination, but not the end product. And lots of research backs up my views…off my soapbox…sorry I wrote so much!
October 27th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
I’m glad you wrote that, miaow. Well said and inspiring.
October 27th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Reading the comments here reminded me of a quote a friend of mine posted on Facebook.
“Whether considering a child’s early artwork or any other skill, activity, or behavior, a common mistake when applying praise is an error of focus: praise the child instead of the act.”
Not sure where the quote is from but I think it is great advice. I think this goes along with what miaow posted, which I also agree with, what a classy mother with the little biking boy.
October 27th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I totally agree with Gracie!
My sister could speak entire sentences at 18 months, you could have a complete conversation with her. I love my sister but honestly, she’s not smart at all. She can’t even spell the word sugar let alone any word. I’m constantly having to explain things to her that I can’t believe she doesn’t know.
I read somewhere that force teaching is bad so I never did it with my two kids. Ever. I wanted them to see learning (in a classroom) was fun and new. I teach them basic life skills like folding laundry, putting away dishes, dressing themselves, stuff like that. I never sat down with them and did flashcards and tried to get them to read or force numbers down their throat. They are natural learners and do it in their own time. My 3 year old counted to 20 recently and my husband and I laughed because no one taught her, she just must have picked it up somewhere.
October 28th, 2009 at 12:31 am
she’s gushing about her baby girl. What’s so wrong with that…most celebs do it…and if I were asked about my baby, id sure as hell say something nice. and she’s being funny….DUH!