When Do Kids Learn the Abc's?

It varies. My son was really into colors and shapes, knew them all at 15 mo, sang his ABCs & counted to 20 shortly after, but only now is starting to recognize letters, numbers, and words. But he can jump, run, walk up & down stairs, throw a ball, walk on the balance beam, etc. really well, is potty trained, and does chores around the house, at 3!

Kids are truly amazing. The best thing is, now you know she has an affinity for letters! What about picking up a LeapPad for her to play with? As far as words, they will come, but a vocab of 50 is awesome for that age.

Just keep loving her for who she is, and she'll continue to blossom. You're doing a great job!

sounds like fun!
do you have the leap frog Word Wammer?
or the leap frog Letter Factory dvds? these are GREAT for continuing to encourage her exploration!!

HI,
My daughter is 2 now, and she has been saying her ABC's for about a year now. She learned them very fast, she can also count to 20 with almost no help.
But I also know some kids around here that are a little older than my daughter, that don't know the ABC's as well. So, I guess my opinion would be to practice everyday, and if she picks it up...great!
Hope this helps,
S.

My daughter was the same way. At 18 months she could do things like load one of her learning games into the cd drive on my computer, push "start" in the menu, and navigate through the game. That was very shocking the first time I realized she was doing it all by herself!

I never tried to push my daughter, but I always tried to create plenty of learning experiences for her, even if it was just watching insects in the backyard (she still loves insects, lol). The fact that she loved books really helps. She is now in the gifted program at her school and is particularly gifted in reading. She is 8 and reads on an 8th grade level (books like Harry Potter and the like).

So have fun, children are such amazing things!

I think all kids are different. My daugher (who is now 3 1/2) knew most of her letters, all of her shapes & colors and #'s to 10 before she was 2. Now she can spell and write her name. However, her friend (same age), who did not know all of these things at that age was much more verbal than my daughter, speaking in full, gramatically correct sentences well before she was 2. Eventually, I think it all evens out. Regardless, take advantage of this opportunity and continue to reinforce her learning and introducing new concepts with shapes, colors, letters and #'s. Lots of reading, puzzles, talking, "I Spy", etc. You never know when your going to have a genius on your hands.

Good Luck.

S.,
I know what your going through because @ a year & 5 months my daugher knew her entire alphabet & numbers in spanish & english. She's not even two years old and she speaks in both languages and amazes me everytime. She tells you colors, alphabet, numbers, she even knows that 1+1=2,etc. While i'm driving and she's in the backseat she's always calling out numbers from Speed Limit signs or she'll see the color yellow and call it out.
What I did was Stace, I took advantage of her advancement and put her in a daycare and her knowledge has trippled.
I try not to compare her to other children, but I'm truly blessed to have a daughter that's so advanced. What did it was the time I spent with her and made sure that I taught her as much as possible and I read to her both in spanish and english. I'm researching sign language. They're at an age that they can pick up anything and everything so I want to take advantage of it.

The behavior is abnormal in a good way. My advice to you is take advantage of it. Teach her as much as possible.

Be Blessed!

THE 18 MONTH OLDS IN MY CARE ARE STARTING TO SING THE LETTERS WITH THE SONG(INSTEAD OF HUMMING). tHEY ARE ALL ON DIFFERENT LEVELS, BUT CAN NAME A FEW LETTERS (BY MEMORY OF COURSE.)
DEF LOOK ONTO LEAPPAD PRODUCTS, THEY ARE AWESOME.

Hi
Sounds like you got yourself a smart one! I had a similar experience with my first daughter too. Usually when they start out that way it continues .My first born child Christina was flipping through books very early and speaking early and read books at four--the letters/sounds/numbers recognition is intriging to your child and has sparked an interest that she enjoys right now-encourage her.I know that the first borns and girls usually show the most progression such as this... But of course that is a basic rule not a written rule anywhere for sure...Sometimes the last born child turns out the brightest-hey after all that's what I am.lol ha ha-Girls are traditionally very fast verballly as well--------there are always exceptions though----------

Hi S.,

I think your daughter's progress sounds about right with an edge towards being somewhat advanced. My daughter was pretty close if not the same as your daughter in terms of timing and knowledge of ABC's. Your daughter sounds as if she can identify letters a bit better than my daughter did at her age. Perhaps it's time to start looking into a preschool that accepts two year olds or younger. How does she compare to other kids in daycare, playgroup or other activities she participates in? If she is far more advanced perhaps you should go to the next step. As you said every child is different. I've seen kids who have amazing hand/eye coordination and are great at sports but can't talk. :-) Good Luck.

thats great she's taken such an interest in learning. all i can say is keep it going. my oldest son was the same way when he was little. we'd be in a store and he would start pointing out the letters on signs, etc. people were always amazed that he was just one year old. i could tell with him at an early age he was smart. he did everthing earlier than most others. he learned how to read on his own before he was in kindergarten. i read to him everynight before bed. he loved that. i know they have so many things to use now-a-days. but i used the dr. suess books. they have so much repetition in them. thats how he learned to read himself was with those books. after in elementary i think in 3rd grade they wanted him tested for gifted. he passed. he's 12 years old now. but my 3 year old is in speech therapy, just now trying to learn letters. but if he cant speek them it hard for him to say them and learn. my 18 month old is trying to speek more than when my 3 yr old was that age, but i think he's behind because he's around his brother that doesnt talk. they all learn at different levels...keep it going

GREAT job of exposing her to the world of learning!! I have two year(26 months)old b/g twins and they both learned the alphabet and sounds at 20 months old. They are fast learners since they learned the whole alphabet in a week. Now we are working on putting their letter/sounds to make words. They know all the simple three letter words in the -at family. We use alphabet letters while taking a bath. They always tell me, "Make words Mommy!" We also read the Bob books. They are simple books that work on word families. I read to my two everyday for about an hour...half an hour before naps and half and hour before bed.They run to go get books for me to read to them. My two have always love to learn...knew all their colors by 15 months, saying 0-20 numbers by 18 months, and now recognizing all their shapes and numbers 0-10. All I can say is to keep it going and have fun!!

I wouldn't say abnormal is the word for your daughter...I'd say advanced! Nothing to worry about, I hope you aren't worried! She is advanced, I don't think most 18 month olds know their letters like that (though I have a friend with a son that was also very verbally advanced). She is advanced for her age and that's fantastic. Just keep encouraging her language abilities, don't worry about them and smile when other people comment on how remarkable it is. Each child has their own time and their own talents. Enjoy!

L.
STayin Home and Lovin It!
http://proud2be.stayinhomeandlovinit.com
mom to Noah, age 2

That's very young, in my limited experience. My 4 year old boy is just beginning to get good at recognizing letters and knowing the sound of each letter. Sounds like she really has an aptitude for learning. That's great!