Stuborn 3 Year Old

My daughter is 2 1/2 she does thesame exact thing someitme she will repeat them back to you the correct way but when shes counting by herself she does the same thing its usually all mixed up.

I have kind of a different view than some. He's three, so who cares if he feels like saying his numbers correctly. You say he knows them, so just keep practicing counting with him in ordinary situations. He has the rest of his life to be tested and recite things he learns over and over. I think many people have lost sight of the fact that although they need to be socialized and taught, 0 through 4 is the time for it to be fun. Everyone is so concerned with what their child needs to know by kindergarten that they stuff as much info in as possible. We have forgoten that children LIKE learning at this age, and MOST of them will absorb the necessary info.

Hi Hun, I am also 23 year old mom with a 3 year old boy and a 1 year old boy and 5 month pregnant. My son is the same way. They just like to mess with us i think. It's good that he knows them this early it will help him in pre-kindergarten. If you still feel uneasy about it you could try to get him in a head start program. I'm not sure if they have them in va beach but i know they had them in new york. It's a program for 3 - 5 yearolds to help them get ready for school. I just moved here and am going to do this for my son. I think he will enjoy it and it will help him socially before he goes to school.
Good luck! - - - N. S.

Don't stress it. Not only am I a mom, but I have also worked in Day Care with 3 and 4 year olds. Its normal He is just messing around. But don't pressure him into being correct. He will have plenty of "learning pressure" when he starts school. Sit back relax and laugh with him!

Of course he knows his numbers 1-10 in the right order...It's just more fun for him to see your reaction to saying them wrong!...Welcome to 3!!! If he hasn't already, he will probably start telling you "no" whenever you tell him to do something....Since turning 3, my son has suddenly started doing the opposite of what I tell him...(i.e.--"Come here" causes a running away and laughing reaction. ...."This too shall pass."

Hi N.,

Sounds like he's making a joke! When my kids did that, when they said 1, I'd say 2, then we continue on. Then, I'd say 1 and let them say 2 and continue on. Different game, same result. They don't call it the "trying 3's" for nothing!

Good luck!

Dear N.,
Don't stress... he is 3 years old. Now, if he were in kindergarten for awhile. You would probadly have something to be concerned about. (Please let your children be children) We are taking childhood away from our children fast enough. We are stressing them out early wanting them to perform. When he gets in school he will learn his numbers ( saying and reconizing them) Enjoy! your children and don't worry about the little things. They are only little for just a short time. What is he doing? Being a child Where should be be? With his loving mother (family)

My son is five and that sounds exactly like him!! He did that alot starting around 3 years old. I thought he was simply a jokster. But, what I've learned so far is that it is the maturity level of the child not matching his intellect if that makes sense to you. When I was told it was his maturity level, I thought WHAT...maturity...he's 3 for goodness sake! But I have found that I understand this more now and agree. I think, in retrospect, I could have socialized him more as a toddler which they say helps give them more confidence as an individual.

Relax. He's doing it to mess with you, and apparently it's working pretty well. Try doing it back at him. For example, say, no, I think it goes 10,7,4,2,1, and see what he does. He's just playing around. He wants you to play, too. 3-year-olds shouldn't "work" at anything!!! (Moms shouldn't, either!)

I know how you feel. My son is 2 1/2 and used to substitute 'bubble' for numbers. 1,2,3,4,bubble,8,9, bubble. It was the weirdest thing. I think it's probably just a phase. When we're not paying obvious attention, we've heard him count normally. But when we try to count with him, it's always 1,2,10 or something and then he laughs. Could just be their early weird sense of humor! I always just laugh with him and tell him he's crazy - which he loves.

Relax, he'll be fine. Don't push to hard, it will only frustrate the both of you. When he's ready he'll be spouting off more than you know.

Dont worry my now 5 year old use to do that with me but would say them correct for everyone else...I think they know they are being a pain and like it!

My daughter did the same thing when she was that age but eventually stopped doing it... she is now almost 5. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Try not to make a big deal about it... he knows he is testing you and you know he knows how to count properly. You also have a lot going on right now with just having had a baby a year ago and now getting ready to have another one. He may just be doing it for some extra attention. If he still does by kindergarten then you should worry but for right now you can simply count to 10 yourself to show him the correct way but don't force him to do it himself. Hope this helps.

I'm not an expert in the least, and since my son is only 1 I'm not thinking too much about numbers and when they should learn them, but something came to mind when I read your request. As a music teacher I have had to use techniques to help students through hard passages and this may help. Sometimes it's as simple as creating a muscle-motor memory. For instance, maybe try saying 4,5 over and over to get him over that hump. Then 7,8 to get him through the next hump. Then 8, 9 and 9,10. As you repeat have him work it into a larger string of numbers. I definitely wouldn't drill him on this or he will get turned off to learning, but maybe you could sing it around the house. He might start doing it too....especially if you encourage him to join you. Otherwise, I really think he's just young and will get there soon enough.

N.,
I also have a 3 year old little boy who one day knows everything and the next hardly knows his name! But I also keep kids for a living and combined expierence of day care children and my own I have relized that all children do this and I am almost positive if you ask his day care teachers they would tell you at school he does fine. All kids are different for their parents, I know I can be so excited all day to tell a parent their baby learned a new song and then .. then parents get there and the child acts like I am crazy! your son is probley seperating school with work and home with play and thats why he isnt being serious with you my advise is to just talk to his teachers about your concern and see what they are observing in class then just relax and let him play at home.

Hi Nikki!
My son (who is the oldest), as your son is, did the same thing. I encourage patience! My son seemed somewhat slow in his progression toward learning his numbers (and now his letter recognition - he is 5 yrs old). You will notice that your second child will pick up things much faster. I do not think there is a "normal" time for all children. They are each so different and have their very own timeframes for us to watch them grow! Hope that helps! A.

N.,
I know how difficult it is to work full-time and be a good mom too. You sound like the kind of mom that spends quality time with her kids. I wouldn't worry too much about your son leaving numbers out. I am a teacher and I think this is pretty common at that age. He sounds like he is having fun by doing that and seeing you get frustrated probably makes it more fun. Maybe you should have a special treat for him when he says them all correctly and really praise him. Or tell him as soon as your daughter is a little older he can help teach his numbers to her.

R.

Now you'll get widely divergent philosophies of life LOL I'd bet you'd learn a lot by reading books on childhood development, particularly since you'll soon have 3 preschool or younger children. You may also find Family Focus (free) classes to be of help, if you can fit them into your already full life. (Grafton's # is ###-###-####).

Now here's my opinion (and you know what they say about those): why does a 3 year old need to say his numbers in order, when he does not yet have the concept of numbering. He'll get them, Mom, when he needs them.

He's playing with you but he's lost interest in the game of counting, is all. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Start working on other number games, like sorting things into piles of 1, 2, 3, etc. When he gets bored with that, it's ok, just move on to something else. He sounds like a really bright, fun little boy, nothing for you to worry about.

At 2 my granddaughter decided she wanted to get on the computer, we got her the Jumpstart series and in about 3 months she was on the 5-8 year old ones - without ANY help from us. If you don't mind sharing your computer (Angelica would come up to us and say "nanny, is it MY turn yet?")then this is another learning tool you can include. We limited her time to about 15-20 minutes, but the games are really good and sometimes she was wanting to play more.

That's the trick really, not to let them get bored with whatever, but leave them wanting more.

Enjoy your children and the time you have with them. Don't stress over the small stuff. Your son is doing fine and so are you!

Have a beautiful week

R.:)