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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
wildflower75
member
How much learning is too much learning?
wildflower75
member
Hi there, hopefully I express this accurately without sounding totally AW...
My 16 mos old seems to be advanced (or maybe not... I think most parents think their kids are advanced).
She has 90 words in her vocabulary and last week she started counting to 10 in both English and Spanish and like most toddlers she repeats every word you say.
My question is should I look for more ways to encourage her learning (worksheets... etc) since she seems to be taking off or just continue doing what we have been doing? We talk with her a lot and read a lot of books (per her request) and play with learning toys, she also goes to the park, library story time, baby gym and swim class.
As a FTM (that works full time) I often feel like I should be doing more... in many areas.
Is there something extra that we should be doing (letter or word of the day type of things, workbooks etc...) or would that be too much/ overkill at this stage?
My 16 mos old seems to be advanced (or maybe not... I think most parents think their kids are advanced).
She has 90 words in her vocabulary and last week she started counting to 10 in both English and Spanish and like most toddlers she repeats every word you say.
My question is should I look for more ways to encourage her learning (worksheets... etc) since she seems to be taking off or just continue doing what we have been doing? We talk with her a lot and read a lot of books (per her request) and play with learning toys, she also goes to the park, library story time, baby gym and swim class.
As a FTM (that works full time) I often feel like I should be doing more... in many areas.
Is there something extra that we should be doing (letter or word of the day type of things, workbooks etc...) or would that be too much/ overkill at this stage?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: How much learning is too much learning?
Your child has most of their life to be stuck in school and work. Let them be a toddler and have fun. Incorporate some natural learning in as you go but don't go all worksheet and rote learning as you risk turning them off of learning at way too young an age. I've worked with numerous gifted children in the school board.
I also caution you to ensure you keep up with the social learning. Truly gifted children often have trouble interacting with their peers and need help there. Don't put pressure on the child, don't focus too much on what she does/doesn't know as it'll create stress and fear of failure later in life. Keep in mind that many, many toddlers have these spurts in language and then plateau and soon are on level ground with their peers that only had 3-4 words at the same age. Just go with it. My daughter just started her word explosion less than a week ago and has a good 4-5 new words a day right now. It won't last forever and odds are she'll level off with her daycare playmates soon enough.
I'm all for tracking and counting the first words but at 90 words, stop counting. My 16 month old knows over 30...I figure by 50 we won't bother tracking as there is no benefit to the child. My goal with her has always been life skills though. She knows to put her toys on the shelf and go get herself into her high chair at meal times. She gets her shoes and hat and brings them to the door when it is time to go outside etc. She can also play independently and self entertain.
Best bet is to ensure your child knows self help skills (dressing, feeding, teeth brushing, cleaning up) and how to play independently. As a teacher I can confidently say that it doesn't matter how book smart a child is...if they can't follow routine, problem solve and play independently they are no better off then the children lagging behind. Spend more time on these skills than worksheets and such. Of course, read as much as you can...keeping it fun.
Have fun!
Oh and I found packs of flashcards at my local dollar store, much cheaper than anywhere else I checked. I actually got some packs of Your Baby Can Read flashcards at thrift store. The word is on the front and you can slide the card and it shows the picture of the word. Those are my son's favorite so might be worth trying to find some similar to those.
In short, it's learning an abstract concept that is out of context. We know that children, ESPECIALLY toddlers learn best through hands on learning (ie through play).
I have worked with many children in schools that can read pages upon pages from books but when you check their comprehension they fail. They can read many words, speak many words...but can't grasp the meaning behind those words. Children NEED hands-on learning, they NEED playtime to later be able to understand and comprehend.
Worksheets hold very little value later in life...and zero value in toddler years. Schools are moving away from worksheets because we know children need hands-on practical learning. Flash cards are rote learning...rote learning has a place in school but it is a very small space. It has no place in a toddlers day.
Doing such an activity for 5min once or twice a week is fine...but spending chunks of time everyday really just has no place in a toddlers life. Work on a puzzle...give them some crayons and paper...go for a walk and label everything you see...this will set your child up for success.
In short, it's learning an abstract concept that is out of context. We know that children, ESPECIALLY toddlers learn best through hands on learning (ie through play).
I have worked with many children in schools that can read pages upon pages from books but when you check their comprehension they fail. They can read many words, speak many words...but can't grasp the meaning behind those words. Children NEED hands-on learning, they NEED playtime to later be able to understand and comprehend.
Worksheets hold very little value later in life...and zero value in toddler years. Schools are moving away from worksheets because we know children need hands-on practical learning. Flash cards are rote learning...rote learning has a place in school but it is a very small space. It has no place in a toddlers day.
Doing such an activity for 5min once or twice a week is fine...but spending chunks of time everyday really just has no place in a toddlers life. Work on a puzzle...give them some crayons and paper...go for a walk and label everything you see...this will set your child up for success.
Well I don't spend chunks of time everyday doing flashcards, but every other day and its usually for 5-10mins. It's just one activity out of many he does, including tons of play and hands on activities. I highly doubt this is going to affect him negatively.You can definitely learn through play and teach with fun things. She still speaks a lot better than most 3 year olds but her peers have caught up to her significantly. I know with my oldest, the gross motor skills were not as developed (she walked at 14 months), so I try to encourage that as well through stuff like gymnastics. I was happy that we were able to skip a lot of the terrible 2s since most of that is just from not being able to communicate as well.
As a mom of another wordy child (I too tried to start writing them down at 16 months, lost count after 100 and don't try tokeep up anymore) I understand how you feel and basically have tried to follow DD's lead at this point.
Like your LO she loves to "read" so we play with many books and I am constantly just talking to her and she picks up so much just from interacting and playing. I try and choose my language to her so she hears similar words and phrases ("Do you hear the bird? What does the bird say? The bird flies in the sky, etc."). We have "flashcards" per say but it is just a game to her. She takes them in and out of the box, likes to point to the pictures that she knows and points and asks, "this?" for the ones she doesn't and we tell her. I think it is less about "teaching" as more about exploring at this point. I try to expose her to fun activites and other kids and we talk about everything we do. Some kids are just super verbal. For us it was a blessing, she is so much less frustrated being able to communicate. You caring enough to worry about it means you are doing enough. Just play with her, enjoy her, teach her all you want but follow her lead and just enjoy how much she soaks up.