Introducing numbers through play is a great way to help develop your child’s language.
Point out numbers as your child plays, but don't force them to use them straight away. At this age, children will use numbers much like we use describing words.
Watch the video below to find out the best way to incorporate numbers into your toddler's everyday play.
Shall we build a tower?
(child exclaiming)
Hat!
Nice hat.
Have we got one more?
Oh, two more. Can you see?
Four.
No! Oh.
Falling down!
All falls down.
How many can we stack up?
One, two…Three…Four…
Oh, that's really careful.
Five. Five.
That's a massive tower. What numbers have we got?
Look, more numbers.
More numbers?
Let's just do a big, massive tower.
Do big, big, bigger, bigger, bigger.
A really, really big one. Really, really big one.
Yes. Really big one.
Ah, that one.
Even bigger.
Do you want this one? And then that one.
Ahh! Daddy make it bigger.
Oh dear! Lucky build the tower.
Why should you talk about numbers with a toddler?
- Counting through play is a great way to expand language and increase the words your child uses.
- Talking about numbers gives your child more adjectives to use.
- Playing with maths helps children understand concepts of size, like big and small.
- Understanding number vocabulary can give your child a head start at preschool level.
How to introduce numbers to toddlers
Numbers are often seen as a positive in language development but do not try to put too much pressure on your child to count from an early age.
Counting and understanding the concept of numbers is not expected until a child is around 3.
Before this age, if a child can count, they often learn the numbers like they learn a song. So they don't know which numbers they are saying or understand the meaning of those numbers.
But playing with numbers at this age is a great way to introduce this vocabulary and help their brain start to decode the basics of maths.
When you introduce numbers to your toddler, try not to make it a question. It's better to say, “you have three grapes” rather than asking your child, “how many grapes do you have?” This is because your child hasn't yet started to understand what numbers actually mean.
You can introduce numbers into play from a very early age with anticipation activities.
For example, when your child is at the top of a slide, you can try saying, “one, two, three”. Once you have done this lots, you can leave a pause after the “two” and see if your child adds in “three!”
By doing this you are helping them learn the sequence of numbers as well as the words for them.
Find out more about when and how children learn to count.
Want more? You can watch the full series of The Toddler Club on 鶹Լ iPlayer right now!
