By Cal McGhee

Most three-year-olds still show residual behaviour from the ‘terrible twos’, refuse to make the transition from ‘baby’ to ‘child’, and only begin to learn basic letter and number skills.

However, Bristol-born Michael McBride is spending his ‘tremendous threes’ studying the solar system, teaching himself advanced multiplication and practicing counting in different languages.

Michael’s mother, Emma Greenwood, noticed his advanced learning abilities when he was 18 months old, as he taught himself the ABCs on her iPad.

Michael and his mother, Emma, as he interacts with her iPad [Daily Mail]

As Michael got older, he decided to liven up his ability to count to high numbers by learning how to count to ten in Spanish, then Russian, and soon even Japanese. According to babycentre.com, the average three-year-old can rarely count beyond the number five.

An educational psychologist rated his reading, spelling and maths skills to the equivalent of an eight-year-old, which has worried parents Emma and Anthony since he is due to start primary school in September.

Dr Peter Congdon, who works with intellectually gifted children, has praised Michael, saying: "Michael came out in the very superior range for his age. He is a very mature child and is very socially mature too. It would be much better for a child like him to jump a year at school and not be held back, because he can relate to older children.

"When he starts school, he will be taught words and sounds he is already familiar with, and he may get bored. Looking at his scores for logical thinking, he hit the ceiling, and he needs to be given the proper support," Dr Congdon added.

Left to Right: Mother Emma, brother Ashton, father Anthony and Michael McBride [Bristol Post]

Michael often calculates the value of his mother's shopping trolley when he accompanies her to the supermarket, and double-checks to ensure she is given the correct change at the till.

Michael often corrects his parents when they skip or mispronounce words when reading him a bedtime story, and his grandmother Jenny Greenwood is often left speechless by the erudite toddler.

"He asks us questions that we can't answer already. In the last few weeks he has been obsessed with the planets, learning all the names and where they are, and he loves his maths. Sometimes I get maths questions wrong deliberately to test what he knows, and he always catches me out. He tells me I'm wrong every time."

Reading is one of Michael's favorite hobbies [Daily Mail]

Michael’s parents have opted against seeking Mensa membership for their son due to concerns of his young age, although historically the youngest member was just two years and four-months-old.

In addition to further advancing his education at his own accord, Michael also enjoys typical toddler activities like splashing in puddles and playing games. Who knows whether young Michael will be the next Mozart or Picasso?

Happy Michael among his toys [Daily Mail]