My Child Can't Tell Time - Where do I Start?

While there is no magic method for teaching children to tell time, the methods outlined have been successful for many years. The best advice is start early, take it slow, and stick with it.

(PRWEB) December 6, 2005 -- Remember that blissful time in your life when you couldn’t tell time and it didn’t matter? For a child, learning to tell time is a milestone in early education. Learning to tell time can be a fun or painful experience depending on how it is approached. Children learn in different ways, so there is no right or wrong way. When teaching time, or any subject, try several different approaches. Look for the method that the child responds to best. It is helpful to understand what works for the child being taught. Remember also that children are not all alike. The most important things to remember are to give the child information at a pace he or she can handle and praise them when they get it right.

When is a child is ready to learn to tell time? A good indicator is the child’s ability to count. When the child is able to count to at least 60, they are definitely ready to learn to tell time. Obviously, the magic number is 60 since there are 60 minutes in an hour. It will also be helpful if the child can count by 5’s or at least by 10’s. It will be faster for them when they learn to count the minutes. If the child can count to 10 or 20, learning to tell time may even help them learn to count higher.

A good starting point is to use everyday events to introduce the child to telling time. If naptime is at 2:00, show the child on a clock in your home what 2:00 looks like. Choose a clock with Arabic numerals rather than Roman numerals. Children are more familiar with Arabic numerals. You can use a Roman numeral clock once they understand an Arabic numeral clock. Do not use digital clocks until the child can tell time on an analog clock (the kind with a face and hands). The reason for this is that analog clocks are everywhere. Digital clocks are less common, especially in schools and public places. Explain how the little hand points to the hours and the hours are the numbers on the face of the clock. Next, explain how the big hand points to the minutes and the minutes are the little marks between the numbers. Teaching the minutes is a bit more tedious and will require patience.

Remember to take it slowly! Start with the hours showing and explaining how to identify the hour of the day. Chiming clocks such as grandfather clocks or wall clocks can help with the process. Since these clocks chime the hour and the half hour, they will “tell” the child the correct answer.

Cuckoo Clocks work for this also and are more fun for children. When the child understands this concept, start breaking the hours into smaller pieces. Remember to explain that the big hand moves with the little hand. For instance, at 2:30, the big hand is half way between the 2 and 3 and so on. Then go on to ¼ hours and repeat the process. Incidentally, this will lay the groundwork for the concept of fractions.

Now the really fun part – teaching the minutes! This will take the longest, and is where patience will pay off most. Show the child the little marks between the numbers. Explain that these are the minutes and how there are 5 marks between each number. One hour is 60 little minute marks. Let them count the marks on the clock out loud. This way you can answer any questions or correct them if they make a mistake. Remember to teach them to start from the 12 when they count the minutes. If the child can count by 5’s this process will be shorter, if they can count by 10’s, it will take a little longer. Pick a time where the minute hand is not on a number like 4:12. Show the child how to count the minutes by counting the minute marks. You can introduce the concept of before the hour and past the hour. It will be easier to count backward to 9 minutes before 1:00, then to count forward to 12:51. Be careful not to confuse the child however. It will be important to tell the child when counting in this fashion that the way to read this is 9 minutes before 1:00.

This brings us to the finer points of telling time, how to word it. You can get fancy once the basics are down. Show them that 12:51 and 9 ‘til 1 are the same time. Work with them on the different ways people identify the time, like half past the hour, quarter to the hour, etc. When the child is able to tell time on an analog clock, a digital timepiece can be introduced. Having learned the analog clock, the digital clock will be more understandable for the child.

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