# Does your toddler know the ABCS, shapes, numbers?



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Just curious...at what age did your toddler start naming and identifying letters of the alphabet, shapes, and numbers?


----------



## Yo Becca (Apr 17, 2005)

Singing the ABC song...about 20 months, maybe earlier.

Recognizing letters..began around 24-26 months, probably not 100% accurate for all 26 letters until 30-32 months. She probably recognized her numbers a few months earlier.

Knowing the sounds each letter made, probably not til 3 or so.

Being able to write the letters - between 3-3.5


----------



## elyag (Mar 2, 2006)

This is one I'm very proud of so I hope it doesn't sound as if I'm coming off as bragging.....







: but my DD could recognize by sight and say all of the alphabet at 17 months.

We bought her some sponge alphabet letters and numbers for her bath and we were so shocked at how quickly she picked them up.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elyag* 
This is one I'm very proud of so I hope it doesn't sound as if I'm coming off as bragging.....







: but my DD could recognize by sight and say all of the alphabet at 17 months.

We bought her some sponge alphabet letters and numbers for her bath and we were so shocked at how quickly she picked them up.

Wow. That is amazing! My little one hadn't even said a first word by 17 months.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Yo Becca* 
Singing the ABC song...about 20 months, maybe earlier.

Recognizing letters..began around 24-26 months, probably not 100% accurate for all 26 letters until 30-32 months. She probably recognized her numbers a few months earlier.

Knowing the sounds each letter made, probably not til 3 or so.

Being able to write the letters - between 3-3.5

Wow! That is really great!


----------



## Romana (Mar 3, 2006)

Dd taught herself - she became interested at a couple of weeks past her 2nd birthday and taught herself the whole alphabet in 2 weeks. The next week she taught herself numbers. She learned upper case alphabet first and lower case was in week 4 or something, lol.

I was pretty stunned but she's the type who when she wants something, she does it, kwim? I say she "taught herself" because one day when we were looking at the *one* book she would sit still for 10 seconds for (because I made humorous animal noises), she pointed a the letter K and said, "K!". Suddenly she was pointing to letters and saying "Whazis? Whazis? Whazis?" relentlessly, 24/7, until she knew them all.

She's just voracious but it's always on her terms! Goodness forbid I attempt to "teach" her anything - hahahahaha!

She's 2y4mo now and is trying to write the letters - she can get a scrawl that looks sort of like a "C" or "M" and she'll point at it and exclaim what it is . . . sometimes you can't read them but I go along with her.









It was a relief to see her suddenly so interested in letters because she was 100% pure energy until 2 yo, a very physical toddler, and only had a few words. That changed very rapidly after she turned 2.


----------



## AfricanQueen99 (Jun 7, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elyag* 
This is one I'm very proud of so I hope it doesn't sound as if I'm coming off as bragging.....







: but my DD could recognize by sight and say all of the alphabet at 17 months.

We bought her some sponge alphabet letters and numbers for her bath and we were so shocked at how quickly she picked them up.

My daughter, too. She had them down by around 16-17 months - would point and say the letters. Ironically, she didn't start verbalizing with words until after two.

I am *positive* that she really learned her letters from Super Why! (on PBS) and practice at home.

Anyway, brag away, momma!


----------



## kittyhead (Oct 28, 2005)

my son just turned two and can recognize and name about ten letters... nothing i taught him, he learned them from this obnoxious leapfrog toy that he loves.

elyag, thats amazing! my son was barely talking at 17 months.


----------



## Norasmomma (Feb 26, 2008)

My DD sings the ABC song and has since 17 months or so, but the letters sometimes get jumbled. She is recognizing and verbalizing letters and she's 22 months. I also think that she's learning much of it from Super Why, she loves that show(and so do I). She's really starting to count now and knows that when her birthday comes she's going to be "TWO!!"


----------



## ann_of_loxley (Sep 21, 2007)

My son did things backwards - I have yet to meet another child to do it this way! lol

Most kids can count and sing the ABCs. Not my son...

He learned to recognise the written letter and number far before he could count/sing ...and he learned to understand what a number meant (I have three grapes for example - except he still couldnt count - at least not out loud becuase if I showed him 5 things of something he could tell me there were five there but he could not count them out to you) and letter sounds (combinations as well - Ch/Sh/etc) even far more before he could count/sing. (hes not much of a talker either - I guess this is one of the thigns I am really proud about as well - despite I had nothing to do with it! lol)

I still dont think he knows his ABC song - but tbh, its not really a song we sing!!! So fair enough there. After two he learned how to count in order...1,2,3,4,5.... etc

He could recognise his numbers hmmm...You know, I cant really remember - I will say around 17 months. And recognise his letters shortly after after that...about 19 months maybe.

Maybe its because we read a lot and go shopping a lot - no idea! But I never sat him down and said 'this is this and that is that'. He sort of took be by surprise with that one - and as I said, backwards to the way most children learn it!!! lol

Now at nearly three he can recognise some words - 'house' was his first recognisable word as there is a sign engraved in stone on a walk we take often - he often runs his fingers along it...you see he is very hands on learner so I think it stuck for him! - and just this past week I have noticed he is starting to figure out what words are by their first letter.... small words - and yeah there are pictures to go along with it, but hes pointing to them and sounding out the first letter and then 'guessing' the rest which is usually correct lol


----------



## KarmaJoy (Jan 25, 2006)

My dd will be 3 in September and just doesn't seem at all interested in her letters or numbers. She can sing the ABC's and count to maybe 14 (since 2 and a few months probably). She is very bright and articulate but that learning to recognize them doesn't interest her. She knew every shape I know by the time she was 18 months so I thought she would be interested in letters/numbers since shapes were so fascinating to her, but no. She doesn't watch any regular TV so she has no where to pick them up except from me and I won't teach her until she shows more interest.


----------



## Hippie Mama in MI (Jan 15, 2008)

I was amazed that my son started saying letters along with "Dr.Seuss' ABC Book" (which we read almost daily to him), when he was 18 months old. He knew almost the whole alphabet by the end of a week trying, and after a couple of months the only letter he couldn't "get" was X (he called it 'K').


----------



## limette (Feb 25, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *elyag* 
This is one I'm very proud of so I hope it doesn't sound as if I'm coming off as bragging.....







: but my DD could recognize by sight and say all of the alphabet at 17 months.

We bought her some sponge alphabet letters and numbers for her bath and we were so shocked at how quickly she picked them up.

Same here. We had stuffed letters that a friend got her. She was obsessed with them. Whenever we'd go to the mall she'd yell out the letters on all the stores signs.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KarmaJoy* 
My dd will be 3 in September and just doesn't seem at all interested in her letters or numbers. She can sing the ABC's and count to maybe 14 (since 2 and a few months probably). She is very bright and articulate but that learning to recognize them doesn't interest her. She knew every shape I know by the time she was 18 months so I thought she would be interested in letters/numbers since shapes were so fascinating to her, but no. She doesn't watch any regular TV so she has no where to pick them up except from me and I won't teach her until she shows more interest.

Wow. Knowing shapes at that age is very good, too. I'm impressed all of your children are so verbal.

I honestly don't know if my little one knows shapes, letters, numbers, etc. I have an extremely non-verbal child.

My guess is that my little one doesn't know these things, but I can't be sure.


----------



## sacredmama (Dec 27, 2007)

DS could sing the alphabet a little before 3 and is starting to ask me what letter is what and wants me to write names of things a lot. He's pretty non-verbal, as are his dad and I.


----------



## hannybanany (Jun 3, 2006)

Around 17 she was able to recoginize about 10 letters, and by 22 months she knew them all. She knew all the letter sounds by 2.5.

Shapes were the same. She picked them up fairly early. But numbers... not so much. She still doesn't recognize numbers by sight, but can count objects and counts to 20. I really don't know what "normal" is...


----------



## fritz (Nov 9, 2005)

Right around 3, DS just sponged the alphabet song over a few weeks (dramatic improvement in pronunciation). Once he mastered that, he was on to learning the individual letters, and can now easily recognize them, and spell out any word he sees (although he isn't reading whole words yet). He's also started to learn some sounds of consonants from some youtube videos he found. DS is 39 mos now. And he's been counting to 20 since around 3 as well, but now he can go up to 100 (but needs a prompt at 20, 30, 40, etc). This is all self-directed.


----------



## Limabean1975 (Jan 4, 2008)

Random letter recognition here and there before 2, but just after his second birthday, I suddenly realized he knew all the letters. As in really suddenly - someone gave us Scrabble for Christmas (so I could play real Scrabble, not just online! hee.), and he got into the box and spilled allllll the letter tiles on the floor. While we cleaned up together, he kept handing me tile after tile after tile, naming the letters. I was kind of shocked.

eta: I never sat down to "teach" him letters, just pointed them out on occasion in books or on signs, and answered his "Whaddat" questions for our fridge letter magnets, etc.


----------



## TefferTWH (May 13, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Hippie Mama in MI* 
I was amazed that my son started saying letters along with "Dr.Seuss' ABC Book" (which we read almost daily to him), when he was 18 months old. He knew almost the whole alphabet by the end of a week trying, and after a couple of months the only letter he couldn't "get" was X (he called it 'K').

My son loves that book too! He can sing along with the alphabet song (we sing it while soaping up hands for washing) and recognize individual letters and knows their sound. It's not solid yet, but it's there. He's the least verbal of all of his friends who are very verbal, but he's also the most physical and athletic, as well as the most social, so he's gaining in other areas.


----------



## Norasmomma (Feb 26, 2008)

My DD is another Suess ABC fan, we have 2 versions the "real" version and the board book(which is not as good IMO). My DD is also extremely physical and social, she is either climbing, running, kicking or asleep. I cannot get the girl to stop saying "Hi" to everyone, she also sings the ABC song(or her hybrid with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star) in the store. The girl is a go-go kiddo, and I am a tired mama. The funniest thing she said "book" in her sleep last night, that was so cute, she dreaming about books.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Norasmomma* 
My DD is another Suess ABC fan.

We read that book all the time, too. My little one likes the verses and points to objects, but hasn't learned the alphabet from it.


----------



## Logan's Mom (Mar 2, 2006)

Our son recognizes most letters and he is almost 2.5. Amazingly enough he doesn't know/get his colors which typically comes first. According to EI colors are typically a 3.5 yo skill and according to his developmental pedi, colors come before letters and I think she said letters was a 4-5 yo skill.

HTH


----------



## SunShy (Jul 7, 2008)

My son is 23 months and he doesn't recite the alphabet or recognize letters...and he only talks about one number "two"


----------



## katheek77 (Mar 13, 2007)

No letters or numbers yet (24 mos), but she does have one-to-one correspondence down. She loves to count, it's just that every object is "two!"







. Knows some shapes (the odd ones...oval, star, octagon...but not circle, square, etc.), all her colors - she had colors before she could really talk. She has NO interest in letters, so far as I can tell, but has a lot of reading readiness skills already (I am an elem. teacher, and my educ. concentration was reading.


----------



## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Do you want to know at what age *MDC* toddlers (a small nonrandom group,) or at what age *most* toddlers know their ABCs. If you want to know the average look here at the PBS site.

If your interested in when MDC kids learned them my DS knew them sometime before he was 2. I'm not good at keeping track of exact dates but I mentioned it to his Dr at his 2 yo WBV.


----------



## Kiernan (Jan 17, 2007)

DS started reciting the alphabet just before he turned 2 last month. This month he started picking up numbers and can almost count to 20 ... he usually skips a number or two though, or repeats one.

He doesn't recognize any letters except the ones in his name.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eepster* 
Do you want to know at what age *MDC* toddlers (a small nonrandom group,) or at what age *most* toddlers know their ABCs. If you want to know the average look here at the PBS site.

Thank you for this!







I will take a look. This has been very informative.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eepster* 
Do you want to know at what age *MDC* toddlers (a small nonrandom group,) or at what age *most* toddlers know their ABCs. If you want to know the average look here at the PBS site.

I just took a look at a few of the categories and my little one doesn't do any of the things listed in the age category.







I knew development was delayed but not to this extent.


----------



## erin_d_a (Jun 27, 2007)

DD knows all her letters by sight and can tell you what they "say" She knows her numbers by sight, but has no idea what they mean. She can't give you two goldfish or whatever. I think she knew all her letters around twenty two months, and the numbers in the past week or so.


----------



## veganf (Dec 12, 2005)

All 3 have learned all their letters before age 2.


----------



## AllisonR (May 5, 2006)

DD is 19 months and she doesn't know her alphabet. She knows "letters", but they are all the same to her. And all numbers are "number four"!









I'm editing here. Actually, she knows her O, L, K. Her mother is obviously forgetful though.

DS is 3.5 and knows all his letters and numbers, but he is a fan of an abc website. Most important, he knows our house is number 10 and Carla's house (his girlfriend) is number 17. There is a sign at the grocery store that says "Open from 10-17) so DS says "Look, that's my house and Carla's house."

OT: Ann of Loxley: sounds like your LO is a very VSL - visual/spacial learner.


----------



## milehighmonkeys (Apr 13, 2006)

Before 2, although I don't remember exactly. By 2, she could tell you the names and sounds of all the letters of the alphabet. We also did not do formal instruction of the alphabet. I've always been one of those moms that babbles on endlessly to DD about anything and everything she sees. She was also exposed to Between the Lions on PBS. That was her favorite show for a long time. She would still watch it if I put it on for her.


----------



## GradysMom (Jan 7, 2007)

ds 23 mo can't really identify letters... but likes to start singing the alphabet song a.b.... oousdgue;rbp eiru









He is a damn good climber!


----------



## liam's mom (Jun 18, 2003)

ugh, i wish i hadn't opened this thread. it's depressed me and made me nervous.


----------



## Carma (Feb 10, 2006)

Our DD knows the ABC song and she can count in Dutch, Spanish and English







But I don't think she recognizes letters and numbers yet. We didn't really focus on learning those type of things yet. She does know some colours, but not all. A lot of colours are still yellow. She is 35 months now.

Carma


----------



## mytwogirls (Jan 3, 2008)

She knew them by heart by 20 months old.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *liam's mom* 
ugh, i wish i hadn't opened this thread. it's depressed me and made me nervous.



















I think I know what you are saying.

I'm pretty depressed reading this and it makes me very nervous, too. That is why I posted the question to begin with.

My child is much older than most of the ages mentioned here, and has less skills than eveyone has mentioned.

I am STUNNED, and I'm not using that word lightly, when I read that 24 month olds and younger can recite letters or the full alphabet or know shapes and can count to 10.

My little one can't even verbalize these words.

I am really depressed when people say Dr. Seuss's ABC book taught their child the alphabet, or Super Why, or puzzles or shape sorters.

We have those books and those toys, and we play and read all the time. My little one just doesn't play with them the way most children play. Yes, there is interest and enjoyment, but not recitation of any letters or shapes.

I know children develop at many different stages and in many different ways. But my child's developmental milestones are always significantly delayed, and I know that I'm doing all the same things that other parents do but with no results.








:


----------



## Julia'sMom (Mar 12, 2007)

My dd (2 yesterday!) can sing the abc song, kind-of. She doesn't recognize letters individually at all. She can count to 11, but doesn't grasp the concept of the numbers. I really credit the abc song to daycare, since they tend to push the learning more there while I just follow her lead. Kids are all different, but almost everyone grows up to know their abc's.


----------



## limette (Feb 25, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *liam's mom* 
ugh, i wish i hadn't opened this thread. it's depressed me and made me nervous.









here's the thing, ultimately the majority of these kids are going to know all this stuff by the end of kindergarten. it is completely irrelevant if they learn this stuff at 18 months, 2, 3 or 4. the range of normal for a lot of infant/toddler development is huge.

so don't worry about it. there's no need to put any pressure on yourself or you child.


----------



## liam's mom (Jun 18, 2003)

oh, i know...thanks.


----------



## MamaPyratekk (Jun 22, 2008)

My 20m old tries to sing the ABCs....but you can only recognize the "G" in it. Right now recognition wise he can recognize (in capital form) the vowels, plus G, D, M, and B, and then lower case e. And he knows the sounds for D and M. It caught me really off guard the first time he pointed at an O and correctly identified it...I had him repeat it like 12 times to make sure I wasn't crazy lol.

Quote:

here's the thing, ultimately the majority of these kids are going to know all this stuff by the end of kindergarten. it is completely irrelevant if they learn this stuff at 18 months, 2, 3 or 4. the range of normal for a lot of infant/toddler development is huge.
Glad to see someone posted this


----------



## liam's mom (Jun 18, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *That Is Nice* 









I think I know what you are saying.

I'm pretty depressed reading this and it makes me very nervous, too. That is why I posted the question to begin with.

My child is much older than most of the ages mentioned here, and has less skills than eveyone has mentioned.

I am STUNNED, and I'm not using that word lightly, when I read that 24 month olds and younger can recite letters or the full alphabet or know shapes and can count to 10.

My little one can't even verbalize these words.

I am really depressed when people say Dr. Seuss's ABC book taught their child the alphabet, or Super Why, or puzzles or shape sorters.

We have those books and those toys, and we play and read all the time. My little one just doesn't play with them the way most children play. Yes, there is interest and enjoyment, but not recitation of any letters or shapes.

I know children develop at many different stages and in many different ways. But my child's developmental milestones are always significantly delayed, and I know that I'm doing all the same things that other parents do but with no results.








:









how old is your little one?

my younger son is 26 months and he is extremely verbal, but even so doesn't recognize the letters of the alphabet (maybe a couple, but it's unreliable). i read to him, of course, but have not worked to teach him anything. i kwym when you say you are stunned reading some of these replies. i did some googling and i do not think knowing the entire alphabet by sight is typical by age 2. it appears that most kids learn this by age 3 or 4 (which is much more in line with when my older son learned the alphabet, too).


----------



## maliceinwonderland (Apr 17, 2005)

Ds is 14 months and can consistently recognize about 5-10 of the magnet letters we have on the fridge. He spends a ton of time playing with them while I'm cooking though, so that's probably why. He is no where near singing his ABC's though. He can count to two..lol


----------



## St. Margaret (May 19, 2006)

Yeah, my 14mo DD knows several letters (like, she'll see one and name it or make the sound) but we sit and read a LOT b/c she is obsessed with books. So we've done our fair share of alphabet books....


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *liam's mom* 







how old is your little one?

my younger son is 26 months and he is extremely verbal, but even so doesn't recognize the letters of the alphabet (maybe a couple, but it's unreliable). i read to him, of course, but have not worked to teach him anything. i kwym when you say you are stunned reading some of these replies. i did some googling and i do not think knowing the entire alphabet by sight is typical by age 2. it appears that most kids learn this by age 3 or 4 (which is much more in line with when my older son learned the alphabet, too).




















Oh, after reading your post here, I feel much better for you. If you have a verbal child and he's only 26 months, give him time. I think having an older child who learned the alphabet, etc around age 3 is very encouraging as well.

Someone provided a link earlier in this thread about a very helpful PBS website on child development. I looked at it last night.

You would find it comforting. These skills we're talking about are for 2 year olds approaching 3 years of age. It's a range. Take a look at that site...it might be helpful for you.


----------



## liam's mom (Jun 18, 2003)

thank you. i will!


----------



## eepster (Sep 20, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *liam's mom* 
ugh, i wish i hadn't opened this thread. it's depressed me and made me nervous.









I posted a link to a PBS site earlier, b/c the ages being listed here are *not* typical. To begin with IME MDC kids tend to be early on literacy stuff. These are the children of mommies who choose to spend their free time typing to each other after all. Then you have the self selecting nature of this thread, most of the moms with LO who don't know the ABCs yet just won't bother to post, this will skew thing to very young since this thread was posted in _toddlers_. One would get a more typical _MDC_ (which would still be skewed low) range if one either posted in the childhood years or parenting issues, or if the thread asked "*does* your LO know the ABCs yet?"


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *eepster* 
I posted a link to a PBS site earlier, b/c the ages being listed here are *not* typical. To begin with IME MDC kids tend to be early on literacy stuff. These are the children of mommies who choose to spend their free time typing to each other after all. Then you have the self selecting nature of this thread, most of the moms with LO who don't know the ABCs yet just won't bother to post, this will skew thing to very young since this thread was posted in _toddlers_. One would get a more typical _MDC_ (which would still be skewed low) range if one either posted in the childhood years or parenting issues, or if the thread asked "*does* your LO know the ABCs yet?"

All good points!







Thanks for that link. I took a look last night and found it very helpful.

My little one isn't doing the things the PBS site says either, but then I knew we weren't meeting developmental milestones on time. Sometimes it is still helpful to check in and find some perspective from other parents.


----------



## laohaire (Nov 2, 2005)

I'm perfectly thrilled with my DD's progress. She's 34 months. She has hardly outshined the kids in this thread, but it's not a contest, and I'm just proud as I can be of her.

She does not recognize any letters or any numbers, but she can tell a number from a letter, if you know what I mean. She'll point at a big "3" in a book and say it's a "1" - but she won't say it's a "G." Likewise a large letter she'll announce some letter, rarely the correct one. I have no doubt she'll master this by age 7, and probably long before (and if not, no problem!)









She can sing the ABC song, and probably has been able to since maybe 26 months. It wasn't a song I pushed down her throat; other songs captured her imagination before that one.

Colors and shapes, maybe 20-24 months for basic shapes and rainbow colors.

I know she could count to 10 alone and consistently in 3 languages (English, Spanish and Chinese) by the time she was 24 months. That impressed people, but honestly it didn't mean anything; it just captured her imagination. I recently thought to refresh myself on counting in Swahili and she picked up the numbers to 10 pretty quickly. She just likes it. Other kids like reading letters, and she doesn't. She also walked late (17 months).

Things just capture a kid's imagination at different times.


----------



## AllisonR (May 5, 2006)

I agree with eepster. If a DC is not doing this, the parent is less likely to respond to your inquiry. So that will affect results.

However, you posted for a reason, and if you feel your child is having a lot of developmental delays, then perhaps you should research this further. If there is something, then the sooner you find out, the more you can help your DC. For example, my son had severe ear infections that affected his hearing to a huge extent. It was no obvious to me until he was 2.5. I kept thinking "he has two languages, he is a boy, his father is quiet..." I wish I had realized earlier and I wish someone else had pointed it out to me, though it is always bad to be the one doing the pointing, kwim? I will always regret that I didn't intervene earlier. He has ear drains now, but still has hearing and speech issues.


----------



## ZanZansMommy (Nov 8, 2003)

DS knew his letters at 20mos; shapes at 2.5 y.o. & he's still working on numbers & colors. Also he does know all the sounds to the letters of the alphabet.

DD4 knew all of the above at 18 mos.

ETA: My DS learned the alaphabet by watching "They Might Be Giants Here Come the ABC's" & as for the sounds DD taught him with our aphabet puzzle. He has a really hard time with colors which I thought would be the easiest thing of all.


----------



## GoBecGo (May 14, 2008)

DD is 27 months. She knew her colours at 22 months (the GP made a fuss of it when i was with her in his office to have my thyroid levels routinely checked, she was telling him all the colours on his multi-coloured parrot-distraction-toy), so she must have known them for a while by then (because she knew them all) but i'm not sure for how long - i remember her being 17 months and NOT getting the difference between a red brick and a yellow brick though.

She can count. I'm not sure how far. I have HEARD her count to 36, but she gets to 29 and says "what's next irty?", and equally can be unreliable in her low teens, so i guess she has gotten the concept of decimal counting but not memorised the numbers themselves?

She can find about 10 letters of the alphabet if you ask her "where's d for dada" etc. on her drawing board (which has the alphabet moulded into the plastic framing), but if you ask "what's that?" while pointing to a letter she knows them all. She can recognise a few words, principally ones from favourite books like "cow" "moo" "baa" "Ferdinand". She "reads" books to me, either the story, if she's very familiar with it, or just nonsense chatter if she's not. She "read" the "Tesco book" to me on the way home from the supermarket yesterday - a leaflet on Tesco Life Insurance i'd given her to keep her from grabbing off the shelves (she was in the meitai) LOL! She can sing the ABC song but thinks "elemenopee" is one word









She's very verbal and talks clearly in sentences. I rarely have to "translate" for her. She has to be very chatty you see, because her mama never shuts up! 

She is NOT an average child. She is exceptionally advanced in many areas. I was exactly the same, i am in the top 0.11% on the IQ %tile charts. I wouldn't be too surprised if she turned out to be in a similar place (though i don't care if she isn't) when and if she ever tests.

She walked late (14months, nearly 15), she still can't use a spoon that well (could be willfull mess-making now though







), in motor development is is bang on average.


----------



## lolar2 (Nov 8, 2005)

DS sings "D, D, D, D, D, D, D" and counts "three... three... three... three...."


----------



## Avarie (Sep 8, 2004)

nak

by age 2, spencer knew all of his ABCs by sight, could sing the ABC song, count to 10, recognize 0 - 10, name colors, and shapes. he's very interested, so i follow his lead.


----------



## jjawm (Jun 17, 2007)

My dd is 21 months. She can sing "abc", but ends there. She says "three" after I say "one, two... (long pause for her to answer). All circles are 'balls'. She doesn't know her colors. And she won't sit still for books if they're wordy.

So for those of you who are worried, don't be. My daughter is happy. We read to her often. I point out letters and numbers. We sing and dance. She'll point to the letter B and say "E". She'll see a letter L and say "E". But she knows that letters make up words. At least, I think she does. I'm confident that she'll eventually know her letters and numbers and be able to do calculus. All in her own time.

I was always so worried about her development, from before she was born (is her head the right size? her leg?) She smiled later than other babies, but now she smiles all the time. I try my best not to compare her with other kids, because it just makes me aggitated and concerned. I'd rather be enjoying her on her time schedule.


----------



## Logan's Mom (Mar 2, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *That Is Nice* 








I'm pretty depressed reading this and it makes me very nervous, too. That is why I posted the question to begin with.

I know children develop at many different stages and in many different ways. But my child's developmental milestones are always significantly delayed, and I know that I'm doing all the same things that other parents do but with no results.








:

Oh, don't be sad. Like I said in an earlier post, early intervention and a developmental pedi both said these skills are for preschoolers not toddlers. You can also guess that we are in early intervention and have a developmental pedi due to delays (gross motor and speech). So I TOTALLY understand.

FWIW -- my aunt who has a grand daughter just 6 weeks older them my DS tells me (I live 3k away) that her grand daughter knows her ABCs (this was like months ago) come to find out she can sing the ABC song, but she does not *know* her ABCs.


----------



## amandaleigh37 (Jul 13, 2006)

My son is 20 months now.

He started learning letters by sight at around 18 months. Now he knows around 20 of them. Some he knows the name and the sound it makes.

He's not very verbal though. Just really started using words recently.

He points to and says Circle and Oval. Other shapes he knows if I ask "where's the square?" he can point to it, but can't say it.

The only colors he can say are orange and blue. Other colors he can point to if I ask, but doesn't say them yet.


----------



## amandaleigh37 (Jul 13, 2006)

Quote:

Originally Posted by That Is Nice

I think I know what you are saying.

I'm pretty depressed reading this and it makes me very nervous, too. That is why I posted the question to begin with.

My child is much older than most of the ages mentioned here, and has less skills than eveyone has mentioned.

I am STUNNED, and I'm not using that word lightly, when I read that 24 month olds and younger can recite letters or the full alphabet or know shapes and can count to 10.

My little one can't even verbalize these words.

I am really depressed when people say Dr. Seuss's ABC book taught their child the alphabet, or Super Why, or puzzles or shape sorters.

We have those books and those toys, and we play and read all the time. My little one just doesn't play with them the way most children play. Yes, there is interest and enjoyment, but not recitation of any letters or shapes.

I know children develop at many different stages and in many different ways. But my child's developmental milestones are always significantly delayed, and I know that I'm doing all the same things that other parents do but with no results.

I didn't read the thread before I just posted my reply...

But to the OP








I know how you feel. Not very long ago I was reading threads about all the words other kids were saying, much younger than my DS. He just recently had a word explosion though. He seems to have picked up the letters very easily, but there are still many things he doesn't do that some of his younger peers do.
And like others have said: Seeing a thread like this makes us (me included) want to chime in because we are proud of our DC's accomplishments. But every child is different, and where one seems to be "ahead", it's usually is in certain areas.
If you look at the charts that say developmental milestones for certain ages... it seems every chart is different, but they all say "there are wide ranges for these milestones"... Try not to worry mama







If you're really concerned you might check into it but most likely he will explode in these areas soon enough, that's how it was with my DS and talking... I was so worried then it just seemed to click.


----------



## Viola (Feb 1, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *limette* 
here's the thing, ultimately the majority of these kids are going to know all this stuff by the end of kindergarten. it is completely irrelevant if they learn this stuff at 18 months, 2, 3 or 4. the range of normal for a lot of infant/toddler development is huge.

so don't worry about it. there's no need to put any pressure on yourself or you child.

Good post! Plus I think children have different things they excel at at different times. My child can't read, but she can roll a joint like a real pro!


----------



## felix23 (Nov 7, 2006)

DD will turn 3 in Nov. and doesn't recognize any letters or numbers but can get alot of shapes. To be honest I don't think I've ever sang the alphabet song to her and she is totally not interested in the alphabet and number magnets. I don't push it and figure she'll get them eventually. She can sing the Oompa Loompa song though, and that has to count for something.


----------



## pumpkinyum (Mar 27, 2007)

dd read The Great Gatsby at age 4, and ds is already reading the daily papers at age 2. They both count to 1,000 and have delved into geometry.


----------



## mightymoo (Dec 6, 2003)

I think its important to remember whenever you ask a question like this, the group that answers is self-selecting. The folks whose kids did these things early are more likely to speak up. Those whose kids didn't are less likely to comment, especially after reading about so many doing it early.

Each child is so different. My DD did so many of these things earlier than average, DS just isn't interested the way she is. I think she knew her letters by 2 years at least, he is 3 and only knows a handful.


----------



## loitering (Mar 27, 2006)

Ds knew the ABC song a few months ago but never actually knew the letters. Then I got him this toy which would probably make MDC'ers cringe, but I needed something to keep him distracted in the kitchen because he was driving me mad. He pretty much immediately learned every letter. I agree with posters that say it doesn't really matter *when* they learn them, but sometimes non-crunchy toys like these can actually be helpful because they make it so interesting.


----------



## milehighmonkeys (Apr 13, 2006)

Each kid has different interests. They will learn the alphabet, their colors and numbers. It's not like you're going to send them off to college without knowing these things. My kid read early, but she's not very physical. It doesn't interest her. We know a kid DDs age that can tell you all sorts of facts about planes, but doesn't read yet. That's what interests him. Do what interests your child and the rest will follow and what doesn't get picked up will eventually be taught either by you or the school. I wouldn't get too worried about it.


----------



## pumpkinyum (Mar 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *loitering* 
Ds knew the ABC song a few months ago but never actually knew the letters. Then I got him this toy which would probably make MDC'ers cringe, but I needed something to keep him distracted in the kitchen because he was driving me mad. He pretty much immediately learned every letter. I agree with posters that say it doesn't really matter *when* they learn them, but sometimes non-crunchy toys like these can actually be helpful because they make it so interesting.

Great toy! I love non-crunchy toys.


----------



## Peony (Nov 27, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Viola* 
Good post! Plus I think children have different things they excel at at different times. My child can't read, but she can roll a joint like a real pro!









:

DD2 is 20m and barely talks forget about counting or learning shapes/letters. DD1 is 5.5 and doesn't know her ABC's and can't count past 12. It wasn't something I worried about until 4.5, even then I was watching, but didn't get overly concerned until she was 5 and it was apparent that she was struggling to learn even basic things. We have a diagnosis or two now, I'm not convinced that there are not other issues we are not aware of yet. We'll know more this fall when she goes though another round of evaluations. I just wanted to speak up as a parent of a child that is delayed that even in hindsight, and with DD2, I still would not be concerned at at a toddler age.









And yes, this is usually a type of thread I would skip because rarely do i want to say that my child still doesn't know those things. I would suspect that I'm not the only one....


----------



## boingo82 (Feb 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *That Is Nice* 
Wow. That is amazing! My little one hadn't even said a first word by 17 months.

Don't feel bad. Mine knew all 26 letters of the alphabet before he had more than 10 words. Both of my kids have speech delays. We were so glad when DS1 learned his letters at 2 and started reading* at 2.5. Keep in mind his receptive and expressive speech was a full year delayed, so we were delighted to see that his brain was working hard, just not on the stuff the books said.

*By "reading" I mean that he was able to recognize a group of letters as representing an audible word, but not able to understand that the word represented an idea or thing.


----------



## gretchikin (Mar 12, 2008)

We've kind of lazily done the Glenn Doman (I think that's his name) "Teach Your Baby to Read" thing where we don't really go over the ABCs or numbers.

My DD will be 18 mo. next week, and for a couple months now, she can read "Nick" (my brother--loves him), and Daddy and Mommy and teeth and Noah (her cousin) and toes, and bellybutton and bubble and moo... she's known her body parts since before 12 months, not able to say them of course, but would point to them when she was in the mood and asked. Now she LOVES "reading".. even on the travel size magna doodle.

She knows her colors and is constantly pointing out "Boo" and "Geen" and "Pinct" and "Ellow" Her talking is mostly identifiable but not as much to people who don't know her, but hey, she's not even 1 1/2 yet so ?!?

I don't know many little kids so I don't know what to compare her to, she just LOVES learning and absorbs everything in the land.







(She also loves the Dr. Seuss ABC book).

For numbers, we kinda lazily do the "Teach Your Baby Math" thing with dots and she knows quantity and some of the numerals she's absorbed from Playhouse Disney and her happy baby 123 books.








Fun topic.. going to look at more toddler threads...









Gretchen in MO


----------



## becoming (Apr 11, 2003)

She's been singing the alphabet song since 16 months or so, but we're just starting to work on identifying letters by sight. She's got A & B down so far, but that's it.

She does know the basic shapes--square, circle, triangle, and sometimes rectangle.

She just recently identifies all the basic colors, but I actually think she might be color blind, because she calls red and green both "green" and, if I hold out a red object & a green object, she thinks they are both the same color.

She is 33 months, BTW.


----------



## finn'smama (Jan 11, 2006)

My 3 yo doesn't know the alphabet, can say numbers although not necessarily in order







(although, he can identify how many of something there is) and knows two shapes for sure, circle and star. He has his colours down though!
He does not recognize individual letters but knows what a letters are (if that makes sense).
My 14 mo does not do any of these things, but he can say banana and apple and Sponge Bob!







:

I'm not worried about either of them


----------



## AfricanQueen99 (Jun 7, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *liam's mom* 
ugh, i wish i hadn't opened this thread. it's depressed me and made me nervous.









I'm sorry the thread has gotten to you.

Don't worry, it's not a contest. Sure, my kid can recite all her letters, but at 27 months can't even say her own name. And, believe me, I say her name *way* more often in a day then I look at a B and say "B!" But, whatever, we had her evaluated and is in the lowest range of "normal language development" so my school district is off the hook, I suppose.

To whomever posted about it...we have fridge phonics, too. My daughter really liked them at first. Now she doesn't touch them but the dog will hit it with her nose and I'll hear the song from a different room. It's quite comical.


----------



## Jenivere (Aug 4, 2003)

I don't think my 2yo knows any letters, numbers or shapes but I can't say for certain. She talks very well and has full sentences plus I've heard her copy us when we count. But I don't think she can do it on her own yet. Not at all concerned, she is an active bright little girl who follows basic directions. She'll figure it out in time.

My 4 1/2 yo girl I knows her shapes and colors but I have no idea about letters and numbers since she only talks on her terms. Quizzing her will get you nowhere. My son at 6 1/2 I am sure knows all of it but if you quizz him he will often give you wrong answers on purpose because he's stubborn like that.


----------



## riverscout (Dec 22, 2006)

My daughter is 32 months. She does not know the alphabet and can't identify letters individually by name. She does identify them all as letters though. She can recognize a couple geometric shapes, I think just circle and triangle. I think the only number she recognizes is 2. She can count to 10 though.

I'm totally comfortable with her development, and I think she is doing great. Whatever she has learned so far has just happened organically, and thats what I feel is most appropriate at this age.

Edited to add: okay this thread got me curious so I sort of tested my daughter this morning to find out what she really knows. I was pretty accurate except apparently she also recognizes squares which I didn't know. I will be contacting Mensa later today.


----------



## FoxintheSnow (May 11, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *boingo82* 
Don't feel bad. Mine knew all 26 letters of the alphabet before he had more than 10 words. Both of my kids have speech delays. We were so glad when DS1 learned his letters at 2 and started reading* at 2.5. Keep in mind his receptive and expressive speech was a full year delayed, so we were delighted to see that his brain was working hard, just not on the stuff the books said.

*By "reading" I mean that he was able to recognize a group of letters as representing an audible word, but not able to understand that the word represented an idea or thing.


Same here. Ds was the same way. He knew his letters, numbers, shapes, etc by 2 but was extremely delayed in expressive speech.


----------



## Hoopin' Mama (Sep 9, 2004)

My child didn't do these things consistently until after 3.


----------



## nwmamas (Jun 13, 2008)

Ditto the lack of expressive speech and love of pointing out letters. This is exactly us too. DD1 loves to be quizzed...it's her preferred method of learning.







She learned upper and lower case and sounds instantly at Starfall a couple weeks before her 2nd b-day. She did all kinds of crazy shapes before that by pointing to them on her puzzle. Same with colors.

But had about 10 words that she had only ever said once.

Now at 3 she's completely ignored all of this stuff for a year now in favor of becoming a blabbermouth and silly girl. I'm certain that the phonics stuff is long forgotten, as is "parallelogram."


----------



## ryansma (Sep 6, 2006)

My ds could id all his letters by 22 months and started to learn the sounds for the letters right around his 2nd birthday. He could id circle, square, triangle, star at 22 mo as well. He can count to 16 right now, he is 27 months.


----------



## boingo82 (Feb 19, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *nwmamas* 
Ditto the lack of expressive speech and love of pointing out letters. This is exactly us too. DD1 loves to be quizzed...it's her preferred method of learning.







She learned upper and lower case and sounds instantly at Starfall a couple weeks before her 2nd b-day. She did all kinds of crazy shapes before that by pointing to them on her puzzle. Same with colors.

But had about 10 words that she had only ever said once.

Now at 3 she's completely ignored all of this stuff for a year now in favor of becoming a blabbermouth and silly girl. I'm certain that the phonics stuff is long forgotten, as is "parallelogram."

Same here! He's such a chatterbox now and doesn't remember anything that he hasn't still used - I mean obviously he still knows the colors, but by no means is he reading or obsessing as much.

During the time when he was obsessed with letters, he was very difficult to parent, because he'd hyperventilate in public and couldn't be around strangers at all. It really restricted us because we couldn't go to cookouts, the grocery, friends' houses, LLL meetings, anywhere really.

When his talking really started going, this was lost too fortunately, and he's now a much happier boy.

In retrospect I wouldn't be so braggy about such young kids knowing letters and such. They ALL learn them eventually, so it's not really a benefit. Meanwhile knowing them so young is a sign that your kid is likely not neurotypical (red flag for hyperlexia anyone?) - and if they do start acting more NT it's likely they'll forget all that stuff when they start interacting more.


----------



## JesseMomme (Apr 6, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *limette* 
here's the thing, ultimately the majority of these kids are going to know all this stuff by the end of kindergarten. it is completely irrelevant if they learn this stuff at 18 months, 2, 3 or 4. the range of normal for a lot of infant/toddler development is huge.

so don't worry about it. there's no need to put any pressure on yourself or you child.

Just wanted to reiterate the above.


----------



## stlmomof2 (Mar 30, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *boingo82* 
Meanwhile knowing them so young is a sign that your kid is likely not neurotypical (red flag for hyperlexia anyone?) - and if they do start acting more NT it's likely they'll forget all that stuff when they start interacting more.

Huh? What exactly is bad about a young child knowing letters/numbers/etc?


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *boingo82* 
They ALL learn them eventually, so it's not really a benefit. Meanwhile knowing them so young is a sign that your kid is likely not neurotypical (red flag for hyperlexia anyone?) - and if they do start acting more NT it's likely they'll forget all that stuff when they start interacting more.

Goodness, this is the second post I've seen mentioning hyperlexia. I need to Google it because I am not familar with it.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *boingo82* 
In retrospect I wouldn't be so braggy about such young kids knowing letters and such. They ALL learn them eventually, so it's not really a benefit.

Well, yes and no. It is good to keep perspective on this, I know. Most kids do learn it eventually.

Some don't, though. And some learn it but struggle with it.

I didn't post this thread to brag...I have a very late talker who has significant developmental delays, or what appear to be developmental delays anyway.

So, I worry about what the delay of or absence of these developmental markers like reciting the alphabet, etc will mean for the future, particularly when it comes to reading, reading comprehension, speech, and social ability.


----------



## GoBecGo (May 14, 2008)

Responding to a question on a discussion forum = bragging.

Kids learning letters slightly early = hyperplexia.

Gee, i guess i'll shut my bragging mouth and rush my chatty, sociable, flexible, just-happens-to-know-her-letters child to the doctor in case she has a newly-invented developmental syndrome.


----------



## MamaPyratekk (Jun 22, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *GoBecGo* 
Responding to a question on a discussion forum = bragging.

Kids learning letters slightly early = hyperplexia.

Gee, i guess i'll shut my bragging mouth and rush my chatty, sociable, flexible, just-happens-to-know-her-letters child to the doctor in case she has a newly-invented developmental syndrome.









You know, I tried to look up hyperplexia and found hardly any information about it. However, I think that some people have a misconception about what it entails. From what I'm reading hyperplexia is when a child is able to read even difficult text before age three.

A child being able to know all of their letters and some numbers at 25 months is NOT hyperplexia. A child picking up The Oddysey and reading it at 25 months would be. At least that's what I am perceiving from the very limited amount of information I can even find about it. Most things are saying that it's the ability to read difficult text text at a very early age, commonly prior to age 3.


----------



## riverscout (Dec 22, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mandymichel* 
What exactly is bad about a young child knowing letters/numbers/etc?

Nothing. Simply knowing letter and numbers at this age means nothing. Saying it s a sign of a problem including hyperplexia is a gross overstatement.

Quote:


Originally Posted by *That Is Nice* 
So, I worry about what the delay of or absence of these developmental markers like reciting the alphabet, etc will mean for the future, particularly when it comes to reading, reading comprehension, speech, and social ability.

I am assuming your child is a toddler, commonly defined as between 1 and 3, if you are posting here. Sorry if I missed where you might have stated his age. Not knowing how to recite the alphabet at this age is not a "delay," and reciting the alphabet is not a "developmental marker." Furthermore, knowing the alphabet or not knowing it at this age is not a predictor of future reading ability.

I understand you think you son may have delays, but I just don't see how this issue is a factor. If you have concerns about other more serious issues, I suggest getting him evaluated as other here have recommended.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MamaPyratekk* 
You know, I tried to look up hyperplexia and found hardly any information about it. However, I think that some people have a misconception about what it entails. From what I'm reading hyperplexia is when a child is able to read even difficult text before age three.

A child being able to know all of their letters and some numbers at 25 months is NOT hyperplexia. A child picking up The Oddysey and reading it at 25 months would be. At least that's what I am perceiving from the very limited amount of information I can even find about it. Most things are saying that it's the ability to read difficult text text at a very early age, commonly prior to age 3.









:

I looked it up, too, and that is basically the information I found, as well.

My child is definitely NOT hyperlexic. And I can't think of one child I know of the many I know who would even seem hyperlexic. It sounds like it is extremely rare.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *riverscout* 
Nothing. Simply knowing letter and numbers at this age means nothing. Saying it s a sign of a problem including hyperplexia is a gross overstatement.

I am assuming your child is a toddler, commonly defined as between 1 and 3, if you are posting here. Sorry if I missed where you might have stated his age. Not knowing how to recite the alphabet at this age is not a "delay," and reciting the alphabet is not a "developmental marker." Furthermore, knowing the alphabet or not knowing it at this age is not a predictor of future reading ability.

I understand you think you son may have delays, but I just don't see how this issue is a factor. If you have concerns about other more serious issues, I suggest getting him evaluated as other here have recommended.

Well, yes and no.

I looked at the link the PBS site on developmental stages and markers and I've seen similar hand outs from my pediatrician and developmental pediatrician, as well as our speech therapist and OT.

We have had several evaluations now. And they've concluded there are developmental delays.

I posted this because it is very confusing to navigate. In many ways, I see the developmental delays, and in many ways I do not.

There are signs, and then there are signs that the first signs were wrong. There are developmental spurts, and then some of the progress either stops, recedes , or goes backward.

So, I posted because I wanted to know what other toddlers were doing in this area so that I could take the information, along with all the other information I am seeking and getting.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:

They ALL learn them eventually, so it's not really a benefit. Meanwhile knowing them so young is a sign that your kid is likely not neurotypical (red flag for hyperlexia anyone?) - and if they do start acting more NT it's likely they'll forget all that stuff when they start interacting more.

Quote:

Simply knowing letter and numbers at this age means nothing. Saying it s a sign of a problem including hyperplexia is a gross overstatement.

Furthermore, knowing the alphabet or not knowing it at this age is not a predictor of future reading ability.

but I just don't see how this issue is a factor.
I just wanted to say that I think I see what you are both saying, however, you might be representing two sides on opposite or near opposite extremes.

Yes, most children do learn this by pre-school or early elementary school. But some do not. And some children will learn it but struggle with it.

I have read a lot of literature hand outs and such about developmental milestones and recognition of and understanding of letters, numbers, shapes and the ability to verbalize these things was a developmental marker.

Could a child be delayed, and then have a developmental spurt and catch up to or exceed what the average child knows? Sure. That does happen. Probably in most cases that is what happens.

But on the flip side, not meeting these developmental markers, along with other missed developmental markers, and other signs of something being not quite right may indicate a lot about the issues that will be faced in the future.

I'm not a parent who is flipping out because my 18 month old can't sing the alphabet. I have an older toddler who is not verbally much, and isn't recognizing shapes, letters, etc as far as I can tell. So I was looking for information.


----------



## riverscout (Dec 22, 2006)

This is from the PBS website mentioned several times:

"*There is no one like your child*
Every child's development is unique and complex. Although children develop through a generally predictable sequence of steps and milestones, they may not proceed through these steps in the same way or at the same time. A child's development is also greatly influenced by factors in his or her environment and the experiences he or she has. The information in this guide explains what child development experts consider to be "widely-held expectations" for what an average child might achieve within a given year. Please consider what you read in the context of your child's unique development."

from the section "*Literacy From Age 3 to 4*:"

"By the end of this year, many children (40%) can name 5-10 letters, some children (30%) know more than half of the uppercase letters, a few children (20%) can name virtually all uppercase letters, and a few children (10%) still know fewer than 5 letters. Many children confuse highly-similar letters, such as "M" and "W," or "E" and "F." Children often refer to numbers as "letters." Children often notice specific letters in environmental print (e.g. on road and shop signs)."

My point being it appears that not knowing the alphabet even by age 4 is not a sign of delay. It seems most kids don't.


----------



## That Is Nice (Jul 27, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *riverscout* 
This is from the PBS website mentioned several times:

"*There is no one like your child*
Every child's development is unique and complex. Although children develop through a generally predictable sequence of steps and milestones, they may not proceed through these steps in the same way or at the same time. A child's development is also greatly influenced by factors in his or her environment and the experiences he or she has. The information in this guide explains what child development experts consider to be "widely-held expectations" for what an average child might achieve within a given year. Please consider what you read in the context of your child's unique development."

from the section "*Literacy From Age 3 to 4*:"

"By the end of this year, many children (40%) can name 5-10 letters, some children (30%) know more than half of the uppercase letters, a few children (20%) can name virtually all uppercase letters, and a few children (10%) still know fewer than 5 letters. Many children confuse highly-similar letters, such as "M" and "W," or "E" and "F." Children often refer to numbers as "letters." Children often notice specific letters in environmental print (e.g. on road and shop signs)."









:


----------



## JayGee (Oct 5, 2002)

DD2 is 26 months. She can sing the alphabet song and count to 10. She doesn't recognize any numbers or letters that I know of. DD1 is 4 she still has trouble recognizing all her letters.


----------

