i here a lot of 2 year olds know there alphabet, are counting

Teresa - posted on 05/08/2010

Another one to say every child is different. :) My girls were little brainiac sponges. They learned it all cuz they wanted to. I just exposed them to stuff and they picked it up. Even shocked me a few times w/ what they knew.



My son is learning a lot, but it's his own things at his own pace. He says ABC and 123 on his own, but just recently started being able to count a little higher. He only counts to 10 w/ a little help and I think that's only cuz we count a LOT. I give his sisters a 'count to 10' deadline probably several times a day... ;)



I'm not pushing him to learn, but I am kind of 'pushing' (just encouraging really) him to repeat his ABC's. Not because I'm trying to get him to learn them right now, but I figure if he learns to say them properly then he might start pronouncing his letters better. Hasn't worked yet though. ;)

Kelly - posted on 04/26/2010

each toddler is different... your son may even recognise more numbers and letters than he actually shows - some children don't always seem to feel the need to share their knowledge with others! ;)
My son was 2 on 30th March and has been recognising numbers 1-10 since just before his birthday (altho struggles with pronouncing 5 "eyev" and 7 "yemen")... I put this down to his obsession with the 'Numberjacks' tv programme... he adores it and began picking out numbers quite quickly after watching a few episodes...some may consider tv as a bad influence but I think it's amazing how quickly he learnt the numbers just by watching this programme!!
I bought him FridgePhonics from Leapfrog for Christmas last year - it's basically a-z magnets that fit individually into a base unit which sings a little rhyme about whichever letter has been pushed in by the child... it also plays the alphabet song.. Charlie loves it and spends ages standing at the fridge door selecting letters and listening to the songs (with a bit of dancing thrown in from time to time!!)... I can quite honestly say that, had it not been for this toy, Charlie probably wouldn't know many (if any) letters... I've tried to make it interesting by picking out 'mummys letter' (m or k for kelly), Charlie's letter 'c' and giving relevance to some of them... perhaps linking them to something they're familiar with helps them to memorise it.. he knows around 8 (10 at most) letters which is pretty good at 25 months!
Definitely try the FridgePhonics - they're a great educational toy!

Amy - posted on 02/26/2010

Don't worry, he will do things in his own time. My 4 year old didn't learn these things til she was nearly 3, but she aught herself to ride a bike when she was 2. Every kid has a different learning style: Kiesthetic (movement) Audio, or Visual. Once I realized my child was kinesthetic, I was able to adapt my teaching to her style and she started picking things up quickly. My 23 month old is an Audio, so I started singing things to her (as did her sister, so she's learned a few things I wish she hadn't, but that's what big sisters are for, right?). She can sing the alphabet and 123's, but doesn't neccesarily recognize them when she sees them written down.



Just enjoy what your son is learning at his own rate. And don't worry about what he's "supposed" to do. Somehow, our kids all manage to get where they need to be, with or without a timetable.

Natasha - posted on 02/25/2010

My little one has just started with 1 and 2 and everything else is more and not at all interested in ABC when there are cars to be driven at high speed along the floor. I count when we are reading books etc but I agree with lots of statements here, there is a lot of pressure for little people to be doing big stuff. Happy and healthy is good for me and everything else will come. Each phase is so fleeting. We have had the stresses about whether he was having enough milk, why he didn't like green stuff, was he slow at walking etc - he has done all the things that I was worried about so no reason why he won't be doing all the other things at some point.

Melissa - posted on 02/24/2010

Every child does develop at different rates...my toddler can count to ten but hates the ABCs we keep working on it even though he can't go to preschool until next January. Anyone know what time of program they want to send their child too? I'm leaning towards Holy Rosary in the next town over...I don't do a good job of taking him to church and teaching him about God...but I think its important for him to be exposed to it.

Karstin - posted on 02/24/2010

Relax. My daughter walked WAY early but she's now almost two and just starting to talk. As long as he understands simple phrases and words you say to him, I'd just let me grow in his own way., If you try to push the issue too much, you'll just frustrate him and stunt his learning.

Alyn - posted on 02/23/2010

I think your son is fine. Mine doesn't even know how to say ABC. Of course, I never tried teaching him that. He does, however, count 1..2..3. the downside is that when he counts to three, he jumps. that's partially my fault, since I will count to three and then lift him up when he was small. Funny thing is, one day he was being naughty and my husband told him that when he counts to three, our son better stop what he's doing. When he got to three, our son jumped and then laughed at him.

Pauline - posted on 02/23/2010

I agree with Kristi, they all do things in there own good time and as long as you can see that he is learning things then that's all that matters. My daughter will be 2 on the 17th march and she dosen't count or say any of the a,b,c's. But she is learning new words almost daily and for her, she is doing well. I try not to compare her to others of the same age, everyone is different.

Robin - posted on 02/22/2010

Not at all. Each child is different and exposure makes a huge difference as well. My daughter will be 2 on March 5th. She has been attendin Montessri preschool since 15 mos and she does know her ABCs and can count to ten. I give that program full credit as I would not have even thought she was capable of memorizing that information as young as she is. But the children in foster care that I work with that are her age are not able to do this.

Kristi - posted on 02/22/2010

All kids develop differently. Don't worry too much about it. My Little Man doesn't say much and can't count at all (though he likes it when I count things and point to them...he tries). I really like this community. I think it's a great way to interact with other moms. But sometimes I can't help but be amazed at how high-strung some people are....Let's just let kids be kids! Don't worry too much about what your son "should" be doing. I think as long as it looks to you like your little guy is learning and doing well, there's no cause for alarm! My son can't do a lot of the things parents claim their kids can do on this site. But I see my son everyday. I know what he's learning and picking up. And even though he may not be able to say much or count on his own or what not, I know, without a doubt, that he is one smart little cookie!