Your toddler doesn’t have to learn how to add or count to 100. The goal at this stage is to introduce vocabulary around math like counting, size, shape, time, and distance – this is collectively called “number talk”.
The more “number talk” a toddler hears, the stronger their math skills in preschool. Research has found that these early math skills are linked to math ability in fifth grade – and potentially even longer. It’s like a domino effect. When a child has strong foundational academic skills, they’re equipped to take advantage of their learning environment and concentrate on learning more complex concepts.
There is a huge gap in how much “number talk” toddlers hear. Researchers tracked toddlers for over a year, starting at 14 months, to find out how much “number talk” their caregivers used in everyday interactions. What they found was striking.
While some parents used an average of over 30 number words per hour, other parents only used 1 number word every 2 hours. This means that over the course of a week, some kids heard as many as 1,799 number words while others only heard around 28 number words.
Even after the researchers accounted for other factors like family income and how talkative parents and kids were in general, their results still held up.
Number talk can be SIMPLE and can be incorporated into your everyday routines. Here’s what you can try:
Compare Sizes. Pair words about quantity and size with gestures (“tiny” – show them with your fingers) or changes in your tone (“faaaar away”) to reinforce their meanings for your child.
One more!
This one has less.
Taller, shorter
Close, far
Small, big
Over, under
Count Objects. First, your toddler will memorize how to count through lots of repetition. Then, they will learn to connect number words with their meanings.
Let’s count each stair together. One, two, …
Sing counting songs and read books that incorporate counting.
I have two eyes, one nose, one mouth, two arms, and on and on and on.
Describe Shapes. Point out shapes in everyday life, and describe their characteristics.
This is a triangle. It has three pokey corners. One, two, three!
Your Cheerios are circles—they are round. They have an even smaller circle inside! What does it look like if you bite it in half?”
Talk about Time. Time words, like tomorrow, after, and yesterday, are very tricky to grasp! Young children are still developing their mental timeline. To support this, talk about past and future events.
You were five-months-old here (looking at pictures).
In ten minutes, we’re going to the park.
We’re going to grandma’s after you take a nap.
Levine, S.C., Suriyakham, L.W., Rowe, M.L., Huttenlocher, J., & Gunderson, E.A. (2010). What counts in the development of young children’s number knowledge? Developmental Psychology, 46(5), 1309–1319.