Stressed about teaching my 15-month-old

[Anonymous]

As a first-time mom, I'm feeling overwhelmed trying to teach my 15-month-old all the basics like colors, numbers, ABCs, shapes, and animals as well as encourage speech and appropriate social skills. Should I be more structured in my teaching approach? Has anyone followed a relaxed curriculum with their toddler? I'm worried about her not keeping up with other kids her age. My husband says I should just relax. Is he right?

[Anonymous]

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Is she neurotypical?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes.

+1

[Anonymous]

Yes, relax. She is still a baby. All that academic stuff will come -- you don't need to teach it now. Enjoy your baby, spend time together doing fun things.

[Anonymous]

Curriculum for a 15 month old? Please be for real.

[Anonymous]

Lol

[Anonymous]

Please dear God be a troll! This can’t be real.

[Anonymous]

Talk, sing, play, explore and read with your child. Enjoy this time together.

[Anonymous]

I want to laugh but I know I thought stuff like this sometimes.

OP, my kid didn't learn to talk until she was two. She's in 2nd grade now and her reading ability is off the charts (literally, she maxed out the Dibels scoring they did on her a few weeks ago) and knows her multiplication tables.

And yes, also knows her colors.

Your kid is FINE.

[Anonymous]

I put zero thought whatsoever into "curriculum" for my toddlers. I played with them, talked about colors, read to them, got them outside as much as possible. We had two working parents so they were in daycare during the day, until 6pm every night.

One is now finishing their junior year in high school with Eagle Scout, 3.8 GPA without weighting, and a 1540 SAT. The other is in middle school with straight As and 2 years ahead in math. They are doing fine, academically and socially and mentally.

Your kids will be who they are. They might love academics, they might love something else. Use this time to help them explore, not to direct. If there is spare time, use it to read to them. That is more valuable than anything.

[Anonymous]

Well, you are so far behind. My children all read War and Peace by the time they were 6 months. At 15 mo you should be expecting perfect SAT scores.

OP
I have 4 kids. Trust me, they all develop at different rates.

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, OP here. Thanks for the responses. I appreciate the feedback, it helped me see how silly I was being. Dealing with mom guilt is a constant battle for me. I often find myself questioning if I'm doing enough for/with my daughter.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t worry. I’m pretty active when it comes to educating my children in math and reading, but at 15 months it’s enough to read to them, talk to them, and play with educational toys (at this age blocks, a shape sorter, toys with colors, etc). It’s easy to casually point out shapes and colors and count things without having a structured curriculum. A 15 month old won’t respond to a curriculum anyway.

[Anonymous]

Here’s the teaching approach you need for the next several years.

1) talk to her throughout the day. Give her time to respond back in the conversation.

2) read lots of books to her pointing at things

3) sing songs you remember from your childhood. Or get a book of kids songs out from the library and try some of those.

4) go for walks or to a playground and point out things you see during the walk. “Look at that yellow flower. Isn’t the yellow flower pretty?”