My 18mo can play Wheel of Fortune. While watching the show, he yells "dah!" and then claps (clearly, he knows the puzzle and which letter to ask for [dah]).

Anonymous wrote:My daughter just turned 4 and can recognize letters and her name but still doesn't know or sing the ABC song. Knows numbers up to 50 and can point them out- can point out groups of things and tell me how many are in the group up to maybe 10 or so, I guess. She's pretty average.

Yep, totally in same boat. I was surprised that more people didn't say the same thing. Our DD knew the ABC song and 1-10 (counting, not number recognition) by 18 months or so. Clearly knew the letters by 3. My DS, on the other hand, just never liked the song. Whenever we sang it, he told us to stop singing. He knows all of this letters and can read simple words, but I don't think he has any concept that one letter comes after another in the alphabet and definitely does not know the song. He also can count and recognize numbers up to about 50 (more or less), but won't point them out if you ask him to do so. In fact, I didn't think he knew a single number until the other day when he managed to turn on the TV (didn't know he knew how to do that) and told me that channel 38 (white fuzz) was on. By golly, the number on the screen was 38. So clearly he knows more than he is letting on.

20 months. @ 2 years could recognize all big and little letters on alphabet magnets. I would say around 2 is typical.

Anonymous wrote:I have a DD that was a very early reader--was reading 1-2 hours a day at a fourth grade level before turning five. It took very little exposure to ABCs. I think it was around age two. My point is that it does not need to be a big deal, and yes, I agree with a lot of the PP's that it is probably harmful to emphasize the rote learning at a young age. I have to say it is weird reading a bunch of responses from parents of still very young children. "My 3-year-old can read 'ball'" etc. You have know idea how little that means. Not many responses from parents with elementary aged kids so thought I'd at my 2 cents.

I'm the PP with the 3 year old daughter who can read "ball". Since you raise the issue, my third grader has read non-fiction grown-up books (about WWII, of all topics), and generally reads several grades ahead of his class - and you know what? He was a late reader
It appears my DD will read much sooner than my DS, and I am proud of her drive, focus and love of learning, but it certainly has no bearing on their respective intelligences.
Stop thinking all parents of young children have no experience or perspective.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS could say the alphabet and count to 20 around 19 months. At almost 2.5 he can recognize some numbers and letters individually, but cannot count objects.

Shrug. It's something cute to write in their baby book, no one here is claiming our early counters are child geniuses. Calm down pps.

THIS! I haven't seen anyone here claim their child is ready for Mensa. I think most of us realize counting and ABCs as a young toddler is simply a matter of memorizing not comprehension. How did we go from answering a simple question to debating how poor education is in the U.S. compared to Europe?

There's a lot of projecting going on this thread....

But if it's just something cute to write in their baby book, why do MANY people immediately post online exactly what age their child was? Just to answer a question? Or because, as I suspect, we are a really, really competitive parenting culture that focuses on this and other milestones as signs that we are successful parents and that we will have successful children?

There is no simple question. The questions we ask remind us who we are, as well as our eagerness to answer.

Lol, Baby book poster here. The reason I know DCs age when he could count is because I wrote it in his baby book (and yes, there is a space for this "milestone"). Just like I know exactly how old he was when he took his first steps. If the OP had asked that question instead, would you all accuse me of implying my child will be the next Olympic track star because he could walk before his first birthday? If that's the case, my DS could also sing "twinkle twinkle little star" before he was 2, NASA here we come

Sorry if I seem overly sarcastic, I just don't understand why this question has hit a nerve for so many people.

it depends on your child's interest, level & maturity. dont sweat on it. expose your child to books, give him/her the freedom to explore. give your child different textures to touch, places to move around, songs to listen, dance & sing to, give your child the chance to be a child.

zamlearningcenter@gmail.com

Anonymous wrote:

The irony is that, despite these early efforts, Americans are notoriously bad at math. Even smart ones, and even those with technical degrees are usually many steps below similar Europeans.

In which country's education system did you learn to make statements like this?

The ABC song is just that, a song. I don't think it counts for "knowing the alphabet."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS could say the alphabet and count to 20 around 19 months. At almost 2.5 he can recognize some numbers and letters individually, but cannot count objects.

Shrug. It's something cute to write in their baby book, no one here is claiming our early counters are child geniuses. Calm down pps.

THIS! I haven't seen anyone here claim their child is ready for Mensa. I think most of us realize counting and ABCs as a young toddler is simply a matter of memorizing not comprehension. How did we go from answering a simple question to debating how poor education is in the U.S. compared to Europe?

There's a lot of projecting going on this thread....

But if it's just something cute to write in their baby book, why do MANY people immediately post online exactly what age their child was? Just to answer a question? Or because, as I suspect, we are a really, really competitive parenting culture that focuses on this and other milestones as signs that we are successful parents and that we will have successful children?

There is no simple question. The questions we ask remind us who we are, as well as our eagerness to answer.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS could say the alphabet and count to 20 around 19 months. At almost 2.5 he can recognize some numbers and letters individually, but cannot count objects.

Shrug. It's something cute to write in their baby book, no one here is claiming our early counters are child geniuses. Calm down pps.

THIS! I haven't seen anyone here claim their child is ready for Mensa. I think most of us realize counting and ABCs as a young toddler is simply a matter of memorizing not comprehension. How did we go from answering a simple question to debating how poor education is in the U.S. compared to Europe?

There's a lot of projecting going on this thread....

Because some posters mentioned that in their European country, parents generally do not teach toddlers to read, and reading instruction doesn't start until first grade. And then some other posters pointed out that somehow the early reading doesn't seem to give American kids an academic edge in international comparisons. Therefore, early reading might not be as beneficial or important as many parents around here think.

^should be "no" idea above.

I have a DD that was a very early reader--was reading 1-2 hours a day at a fourth grade level before turning five. It took very little exposure to ABCs. I think it was around age two. My point is that it does not need to be a big deal, and yes, I agree with a lot of the PP's that it is probably harmful to emphasize the rote learning at a young age. I have to say it is weird reading a bunch of responses from parents of still very young children. "My 3-year-old can read 'ball'" etc. You have know idea how little that means. Not many responses from parents with elementary aged kids so thought I'd at my 2 cents.

Anonymous wrote:DS could say the alphabet and count to 20 around 19 months. At almost 2.5 he can recognize some numbers and letters individually, but cannot count objects.

Shrug. It's something cute to write in their baby book, no one here is claiming our early counters are child geniuses. Calm down pps.

THIS! I haven't seen anyone here claim their child is ready for Mensa. I think most of us realize counting and ABCs as a young toddler is simply a matter of memorizing not comprehension. How did we go from answering a simple question to debating how poor education is in the U.S. compared to Europe?

There's a lot of projecting going on this thread....