Is It Too Soon To Teach My Toddler The Alphabet? - BabyCentre UK

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Is it too soon to teach my toddler the alphabet?Written by The BabyCentre UK Editorial TeamDon't worry too much about teaching your toddler the alphabet just yet. At this stage, it's more important to show your toddler how much fun books, stories, songs and rhymes can be. This is great preparation for when she's older and it's time for her to learn to read and write. Encourage your toddler to talk about the books and stories you read with her. Use different voices and encourage her to join in. When you've finished the story, ask your toddler what her favourite part was. Advertisement | page continues below From around 15 months, if you think she's ready, you can help your toddler to understand what a word is, by pointing out words around her. Wherever you go, you can show your toddler that words are an important part of everyday life. Point out words that she might recognise, including signs and logos. You could also show your toddler how to recognise her own name. For example, you could sign your toddler's name on her artwork and point out the letters. Or you could put alphabet letters forming her name on the door of her room, or buy a toy or puzzle personalised with her name. To start with, your toddler will recognise words by their shapes. Over time, she will learn to connect words and letters to the sounds they make. When talking to your toddler about letters, focus on the sound of the letter, rather than what it's called. So if your daughter's name begins with B, tell her it begins with a 'Ba' sound. When your child starts school, she will be taught to recognise the sounds that individual letters, and combinations of letters, make. This is called phonics. Drawing your toddler's attention to letters and sounds will encourage her to notice them as well. Knowing the letter sounds is an important first step in phonics teaching. Singing lots of songs and nursery rhymes will help your toddler to hear the sounds in words. Encourage your toddler to join in when you sing songs and nursery rhymes. You could also introduce an alphabet song. For example, "a is for apple, b is for banana, c is for carrot" and so on. Advertisement | page continues below Bear in mind that there's no need to push your toddler to learn the alphabet if she doesn't seem interested yet. Most children won't start to name and sound the letters of the alphabet until they are around four years old.Was this article helpful?

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