Is 2 to Young to Learn Abcs

In my experience 2 is not too young for them to learn their alphabet, especially if they show interest. Get him the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom or a fun toy with the letters.

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IF he is interested, then work with him. If he isn't, then wait until he is. When my younger daughter was 15 months old (NO LIE) - her older sister was in Kindergarten, and she would come home, plop Hannah in front of the fridge, and hold up the alphabet letters. She would go "Hannah - this is a P - Say P, Hannah" and Hannah, who could speak almost perfectly would obediently say "P". Well at that point, I was just happy to have them both entertained at the same time. Lo and behold that little child was absorbing it, and by her 2nd birthday she knew every single letter. She couldn't say them in order, but if you asked her to show you a "Q" she'd go get it, and if you pointed to anything, she would tell you what it was.

I would suggest just working it into every day life. "Look, Joe - there is an R on your shirt!" or "Wow! see that big W?"

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No too young, especially if he has an interest. Kids develop different skills at different rates and ages. Some kids at age 2 are interested in climbing, running, etc.. others want to talk and know what everything is called.

I don't know if I would go with flashcards necessarily. There are plenty of good books out there that you can read together that are more fun than flashcards and less of a drill. Try Dr. Suess ABC, for example... They get to hear the letter sounds and see the uppercase and lower cases letters.

Shape sorters and puzzles are great for 2 year olds. Whatever you do keep it fun for him.

We sing the ABC song every time we wash hands with every kid. Sometimes they can't talk yet, but they are still hearing and learning.

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Encourage him, answer his questions, let him pick out an alphabet book if he wants, but don't get him flash cards or drill him. Let him take the lead on learning and you'll do fine. Basically, foster the interests he shows, but don't push things he isn't interested in, and don't go beyond the point where he's having fun.

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forget the flash cards...go for the foam letter/#s....especially the bathtub ones!

I have a 2yo boy in my daycare who's been singing the entire ABC song since 18 months. So I say, go for it!

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Not too young, just keep things fun an loose. We sing the ABC song for washing hands.

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Not too young, my 18 month old does it. Dana that is too funny, I have not run across anyone else who does the ABC song for washing hands, but that is what my mom taught me to do, and of course I taught my 8 year old who sings it every time she washes her hands.

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Not at all! My 2 year old knows his clearly and is into pre-school workbooks already! Always encourage learning whenever possible. If your child is ready to learn---make it possible for them! GL

M

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Please don't get your son flashcards! I love that you are being intentional about what he is learning but keep on doing what you have been doing! Children learn in the context of play-- that's how he knew all the info. already!! He picked it up from conversations that you had with him while playing and reading. He's doing great-- you are doing great-- why ruin a beautiful thing!!? There are some cute alphabet puzzles, you can hide letters in colored rice for him to find, etc. He is egocentric by design so point out things that are most important to him-- the letters of his name to begin with. Again, do this while you are playing or out and about.

Learning letters happens in three stages 1. knowing the letters (eg alphabet song) 2. recognizing the shape of the letters 3. Relating sounds of the letters to the shape. I am guessing he already knows his alphabet song and any time you are helping him differentiate items through play (eg. sorting by color or vehicles in one pile, animals in another) you are helping him get ready to differentiate between different letters.

Have fun and enjoy!! {I train on the subject of Early Literacy so I promise I am not just making this up :) }

Heaven's no! Never too early!

Sounds like you have an eager learner on your hands! Kudos to you! My 18-month-old can point out letters, colors and shapes as well. From day one I made everything a learning experience, from counting the stairs (more for me so I wouln't trip) to pointing out colors in the store (as a distraction so I can shop) and books, books, books galore.

When the suns starts to set, DD will go "hello night. Moooo(n) star(s)."

I say embrace his willingness to learn, keep that little mind open and enjoy. I know I am :-)

No, not too young at all. I didn't read all of the other responses, just skimmed over them, but just wanted to add that I bought my daughter the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD at about that age and it teaches them the phonic sounds for each letter as well. It's an awesome video! You can read reviews online for it - it is WELL liked & reviewed by many.

He will never cease to amaze you with it... just try not to make other mom's feel bad if their child doesn't. My son shocks me non-stop but I've learned the hard way with my foot in my mouth when other moms say "oh, well my kid can't do that yet, should I worry?" The answer to them is "No" but then you just look like a bragger :)
I say if he learns it, he's not too young :) It does come to them much quicker with fun. Try getting him a Leapster.

It sounds like you have a great approach to teaching....let the child's interest lead you to what to teach next....rather than force certain topics. I'd consider some books that focus on the alphabet..Wocket In My Pocket byt Dr. Seuss was a favorite of all my kids. If it is a passing phase, then no harm done, and you've encouraged an interest. If the learning sticks, then you're ahead of the game. Sounds like you have a bright little guy, and have a really loving and nurturing parenting style! Good for you! Best wishes

Every child is different. If your child is showing an interest now do it now but don't expect every child to be the same. If this is your first child, your next child may not show the same interest at this age. The problem today everyone wants a one size fits all for everything. We are all wired differently so that is impossible. That is why schools are failing. You are being a good parent by recognizing where your child is and wanting to know what to do. As long as you don't push him he may end up a person who loves to learn. And I know that is what I want for all my kids. Never compare your kids to other kids. D o what is right for your individual child.

Never too young to teach them if they want to learn. Kids learn to sing the ABC song when they are beginning to talk! Just don't push the issue and upset him by expecting he learn it quickly and on your terms. Start with his name, kids love to learn how to spell their names and then the rest of the letters seem to make sense and they associate the letters with what they are for and will get excited to spell other things too. Magnetic letters, or foam letters are more fun than flash cards and they learn the shapes of the letters easier when they can handle them. My kids loved the fisher price portable chalk board - they had magnet letter, chalk, and templates to spell words with chalk or the letters.

No. DD has long known her ABCs, numbers, colors, etc.If the kid picks it up, go for it. Since he's interested, why not get him some magnet letters for the fridge (like the leapfrog set) and see what he does?

I dont' think you're ever too young. Keep it fun. He is very young. Don't have high expectations but if he is learning now and retains the info it will make it easier for him once he starts attending preschool..kindergarten etc...You have a smart kiddo on your hands..Enjoy :)

No it's not too early. My daughter knew her colors and shapes at 2 as well as the alphabet. If he is willing to learn teach him.

Both of my kids learned their alphabet by age 2 by watching Leap Frog's DVD "The Talking Letter Factory." I've seen it at our local library, and both our kids loved it! Plus we had simple alphabet books we read to them. Good luck!

I'm not a "flash card mom" either, lol (love that term Michelle C.) but I wouldn't see anything at all wrong with encouraging him in fun ways. What we did with out daughter (who was just a SPONGE for knowledge like this) was get several of the hard copy "I Spy" books. If you are not familiar with them, they are picture books that have rhyming 'poems' on them that tell you what to look for in the pictures. The pictures are generally themed on something, and there will be all kinds of images imbedded in it. For example, we have one that is called "School Days" (the book title) and one set of pages is a green chalkboard (the entire page) and the chalkboard has items drawn or written on it in colored chalk. There are letters, numbers, hopscotch sketches, clouds drawn and colored, etc. The poem at the bottom of the page tells what to look for. Or it will be a page with a white background that has what appears to be a bazillion miniature toys dumped out and scattered. And you are supposed to search for items (a car, a bike, a sweet treat you'll like; a five, a dive, a buzzy beehive) and the "toys" you will eventually find in the picture are a matchbox car, a bicycle, a lollipop, the number 5, a plastic toy man on a diving board, and a plastic bee stuck to a plastic beehive, or something like that...
We did these as part of our bedtime reading (she LOVED books) and I'd read the list (until she could read on her own) and we'd look for items. It really helped expand her knowledge of things we would never see in our daily routines (a trombone, unicycle, old phonograph players, for examples). The "School Days" one is very focused on letters and numbers, so it was very helpful with letter and number recognition--but was ALL FUN. NO Work or "flash card-y-ness". Loved it!

http://www.amazon.com/Spy-School-Days-Picture-Riddles/dp/...

ETA: After Riley's response, I wanted to add to her list: bathroom stalls. My daughter was reading fluently by age 4, and when I would take her into the bathroom in public places, she would read out LOUD what was written on the stall doors/walls. UGH!

I personally am not a "flash card" mom and think learning should be fun for them at this young age/ not so structured. I think he will learn his letters quickly by keeping up with what you are doing. My son has those foam letters/numbers for the tub that he loves. At 2 he would put them on the sides of the tub, wall etc and do the same as your son, "what is this?" It did not take long at all and this is the primary way he learned his letters. He was just having fun in the bath. After a while, he would ask "what is it?" (even though he knew) and instead of telling him, I would say, "what letter do you think it is?" and he would proudly answer and I would clap and say good job. So my short answer, no he is not too young, but I recommend keeping it fun.

NOPE!..thats the ringtone on my phone, when my baby was barely over 2 she was singing the abcs into a microphone and i recorded it in my phone. Its the cutest rendition EVER.

..........now knowing what all the letters mean, how to say them and recognize them at 2.....well id be applying for a genius grant.

It is never too early, but don't "expect" anything. My daughter knew all of her letters, numbers to 10 and shapes at age 18 months, but that isn't typical. We didn't use flash cards (and I wouldn't). We had blocks with letters on them and toys with numbers. We would talk about what color things were as she played with them and whenever she had those blocks out, I was asking her about the letters on them. Puzzles are also great for this. You can find books that talk about all of these things and they are, in my opinion, way better than flash cards. Buy him the game Candy Land. He can learn colors that way, even if you don't play it "correctly" every time. Count Cheerios or pretzels or whatever other snack he's eating. These methods of learning are so much more age appropriate and he won't even realize he's "learning".....he'll just be having fun! Leap Frog also has a toy called "Fridge Phonics" that has magnetic letters that when put into the player, tell the letter and it's sound. My kids both love these! They also sell a "Word Whammer" version for spelling words as they get older and it uses the same letters. They even have a lower case set of letters so that they can learn both cases.

So, bottom line, I would make it fun. No flash cards....he will get bored easily. My daughter likes them now for sight words, but at that age, it just isn't age appropriate. Have fun! Sounds like a bright little guy.

Teach him!!
there is no such thing as Too young to learn
My son knew his alphabet before he was 1.
He would point at a letter and tell you what it was.
my son is 3, knows his alphabet, counts to 50 by himself, knows all his shapes, colors, etc He is now learning to read.
He is also obsessed with Dinosaurs. He can tell you what kind of dino it is, what it eats, what family it is from, etc
I'm really not trying to Show off, I just want you to see that they are lil sponges. Teach him whatever he shows interest in.
Teach teach teach.
Everything you show him will help him.

It's never too early to learn anything! Yes, by all means, encourage his learning of letters and words and anything else. I read to my children from Day 1, colored, painted and did a lot of things in a very fun way so they didn't even realize they were learning. Even as toddlers, they would take a stack of books to bed with them every night. I always encouraged them to ask questions if they wanted to know how things worked, etc. I took on my Mother's philosophy of "there is no stupid question" and along with my own philosophy of "always do your best" they have grown into very intelligent young people, are both straight A students in high school and I couldn't be more proud. Good luck!!

Kids develop at different rates, so if he's showing interest you should encourage it. However, at this age learning should not be done through teaching; it should be done through play and everyday life - like your example with the shape sorter.

It's never to early (or too late) to expose kids to their world and foster their love of learning. If he's noticing letters, go with it! My son knew all his letters around 15 months just because he had a wooden alphabet puzzle (if it had been farm animals he would have known those). Remember that at this age there's no difference between everyday stuff like "this is a spoon" and academic stuff like "this is letter B."

I think two is a little young to stress about teaching him unless it's really important to you. If he's interested, get him some foam letters for the bath tub, an alphabet puzzle, or an ABC book of something else he likes. If he's interested, he'll pick it up, if not, you won't have driven anyone crazy.

Enjoy his curiosity.

T.

No. Just encourage him. Maybe get some kind of alphabet book that he would like (or try different ones from the library). Don't make an issue of it, but definitely encourage the curiosity.
My son was recognizing various letters before he was two (probably from watching Sesame Street and the like), but at about two and a half (maybe a little earlier), my son decided he was dying to read an alphabet book that had been on his shelves for a while (and that he was previously uninterested in). He wanted to hear it every night, and had all the letters memorized within two weeks. He now recites the book to me, and can recognize all capital and most lowercase letters.

you can try starfall.com it is a great website.. for litle ones..
teaches letters sounds all in fun the A for ant the ant marches..

yes.. he can learn all of these things... if he is interested teach him.. BUT... keep in mind.. when he gets to kindergarden.. they start by learning their shapes and colors.. we are 1 month into kindergarden and they are still doing 1 letter per day.. some kids come to kindergarden reading .. some kids come to kindergarden not knowing their name.. so once they get to school.. they will reteach all of the things you have done.. so dont try to cover everything.. too soon...

My daughter knew hers prior to 2. She likes puzzles so melissa and Doug has wooden ones with numbers and capital and lower case letters. That helped.

Personally it sounds to me like you should keep doing exactly what you are doing. Your son is having FUN and learning at the same time...GREAT job.

If you get anything then I would get him toys and age appropriate games, it has to stay fun or he won't want to do it anymore.

Someone mentioned the Leap Frog fridge phonics or whatever they are....they are pretty cool. Bath toys are always fun. They have a foam mat that has letters on it (it is actually like a big puzzle since the letters come out and can be put back in)...fun to play with and on. :o)

best parenting advice I ever got. Always always always do whatever is within your means to encourage what your children are interested in.

If he's asking about letters get some games, when he gets tired of letters and it's something else, encourage that. It's never to early or to late to learn something new or to learn to love learning.

Go for it but like mentioned, don't expect too much. He could pick up on some letters and numbers much more easily. I don't know if flashcards would be great at this age but maybe letter magnets, a letter puzzle that can be easily bought at Target for about $5 or so, going for a walk and pointing out letters on store signs and other things he already recognizes. My daughter learned the letter W from Walgreens.
Sometimes she likes to play and when I tell her what color or what letter, she will repeat "color" or "letter". And then smile and laugh at me.

My oldest could recite the alphabet a 26 months which I thought was amazing, then my youngest could recite it on demand at 19 months. Never too young to learn IMO.