To think this is the most frustrating thing anybody ever had to teach a child!!

[Lunar1]

Teaching DS1 to tell the time! We'd got o'clock, half past and the quarters. He was consistent so we moved on to twenty past and to. Again really good, and this was over the last year so not all crammed into a week. 3 weeks ago we started looking at minutes.

He has lost all concept of the time, says bizarre things when I ask what time it is. Even when it's an o'clock! I know it will just be processing the new information, but it's worse than toilet training!!

AIBU to think this is the most frustrating thing on earth. No ds1 it's not 80.1 o clock!! Maybe this is one I should leave to the school .

I couldn't tell the time till I was 12, I used to get really embarrassed and then one day it just clicked. I did well in everything else I just couldn't grasp it. Don't stress.

Yes I always explain that and get a clock down to show the children.

Those that really struggle but are good at addition: put sixty beads on a piece of cord and break it down that way. Especially if you can thread two colours in five minute intervals. Then they can do half and quarter that way plus counting in fives.
I also do lots of fractions with fruit and refer to half past and quarter past. They find quarter to more difficult.
Yes, some of the top table find it difficult to grasp this concept.
Those watches with the five minutes on are good. My children all had them and no problems. They were about five or six when they got them.
I also have several time games like dominoes and they learn quickly to match analogue and digital because they want to win! I have about three time games at school so do try a game.
Timetables: it is because we don't use them much so use the holidays to show them and work out bus and train journeys. Take a journey instead of the car. Means you can relax too. Some of the old station clocks are wonderful. By the end of year three they should understand half past, quarter past, quarter to, five minute intervals and sixty minutes makes an hour. Then the 24 hour clock in Year 4 and be able to change from one to the other. Have fun!

Teaching time invokes a lot of new language - parents generally say bed time - rather than its bed time in 12 minuets - at quarter past 8 - get the language first time second.

They use drawing a clock at a particular time to test for the progression of Alzheimers - apparently its a good test because theres so many layers of different information that have to be interpreted, like "big things are usually the most important, but the hour hand is the important one here, even though its the smallest", its way more involved than youd think for the brain to process!

toptoe you've missed out 1a, when they have the motivation but lack the developmental readiness so they just spend a lot of time raging in front of the offending article because it won't do what they want.

My DD is 12, she's only been able to consistently tell the time for about 6 months. We started when she was 4! It's been painful to say the least. I've got two other DC and I feel traumatised so I'm not even going to attempt it with them until they're a bit older.

It's definitely one of those things that just 'clicks'.

Even though my DD can now tell the time, it still takes her a few seconds to work it out, and the 24 hour clock is something I'm letting her work out for herself .

She's an average all-round girl, she just could never grasp telling the time.

Dd didn't click with clocks until she was 8. She would say things like "25 past... err ....36?" Dh and I were banging our heads against a brick wall. It suddenly clicked.

Telling the time is a very complicated concept, which is hard to appreciate as an adult who finds it second nature. In fact, losing the ability to tell the time from an analogue clock was one of the first signs that my grandfather had dementia and apparently it's a common tool use by doctors to check the links in the brain.

It's because there are multiple layers of information not limited to:

• The number of minutes (in a base of 60, when most children these days only ever use a base of 10 because of the metric system)
• The hour which can be 12 and 24 hours
• The concept of 15 minutes being a quarter of 60
• The little hand being the one you should refer to first and not always pointing at the right hour.
• Storing all those pieces of information in your head before working out what it is.

I'm a TA and I do groan a bit when it comes to teaching time. It's interesting that the children are divided into groups that have no bearing on their usual "table groups".

It's very rewarding to see the "lightbulb" moment though!

I thought I was good at telling the time, until I started learning German - they do half to the hour, unlike our half past, so halb acht (literally half eight) is 07:30, not 08:30. That melted my mind for a bit.

I've also never been sure whether "a quarter of four" means quarter past or quarter to.

Working in an international company, I have got in the habit of writing times in 24 hour digital format - usually with a time zone, so currently, it's 12:54 BST. It's okay as an invitation, as most mail programs do time conversion, but I've had conversations about meetings at 15:00 should be fine - then I realise they mean EST, not BST, and I'm less keen on joining meetings at 8pm my time.

I'm also in the habit of writing months as words, not numbers, so on Monday, it will be 1st August, no risk of confusion with 8th January. (This isn't an issue once you're past the first half of the month.)

So I don't think time ever stops being confusing, even when you're an adult.

Oh well done Op on attempting to teach your DS. I am a TA and work in year 2. I am amazed at the amount of children that have never even spoken about the clock before at home. I always suggest they get a watchinstead of an x-box and get used to looking at it. I did this with mine and they picked it up quickly. Some children really do just get it and others struggle. I would say as long as he gets the o'clock and half past securely at his age he will then be able to move on in yr 3. It's not until you start to teach it that it becomes complicated, especially with the words 'to' and 'two' as in quarter to two, some children get very confused! He will cover time in Maths every year so don't worry.

I agree that over the years I have seen the brightest children in Maths not get it and some others that struggle with number work just get it. I had one boy who was so used to being the top at everything,break down in tears of frustration because he just couldn't master it, a new experience for him. He got there by year 6.

EBearhug I live in Germany and that also does my head in with the "half 8" thing - even moreso because I'm from Glasgow where they say exactly "half 8" not "half past 8". A false friend!

We seem to have some progress! He has no bloody clue what hour it is anymore, despite that being rock solid before. But he (for the moment) can tell me the minutes past the hour.

I'm not getting my hopes up just yet, but there's a glimmer of hope. Loving everyone's stories, I thought I was patient until this!

DS managed the time ok but didn't crack shoelaces until he was about 11 and was about 13 before he could ride a bike! Didn't take to swimming either, but is in the top set for academic stuff. They're all different

You'll need a cardboard clock for this (well, unless you are like us and have an 18th century grandfather clock with only one hand) but I have found that the best way to do this is to do 1 hand at a time.

Take off the minute hand and do only the hour time: o'clocks are easy. But what time is it when it is half way between? Three quarters of the way between? Quarter of the way betwee.

Then introduce the minute hand as an extra helper to make you more accurate - because the hour hand only gets you so far. O' clock, halves, quarters, to the 5 minutes past, to the 5 minutes to, to the 1 minute past, to the 1 minute to.

Then put them both on - or look at a real clock - and get them to look at the hour hand first to 'estimate' the time, then use the minute hand for the fine adjustment of information. 'It's after half past 5 but it's not yet close enough to the hour to be quarter to six - ah, the minute hand tells me it's twenty to six'.

This avoids, IME, the errors children make with the placement of the hour hand when drawing time between the hours, and means that they have a clear idea of which hand gives them what information.

minuets

I'm sure people could spell 'minute' before predictive text came along.

The child might be dyslexic - I know a number of dyslexic people who can't tell the time using an analogue clock.

My ds is a maths wizz. I bought my ds a teaching clock at the charity shop for £1.50 when he was 2 years old.(the one that talks time.)

He was able to tell the time to the minute, both " 3:54" or 6 minutes to 4, when he wasn't even 3 years old.
He made a doctor's jaw to drop by saying, " mummy, it's 5 to 12. It's time for lunch soon."
Lost interest in the toy, forgot everything by reception.

We just left it as it was. We didn't think anything of it. He can tell time fine now, at end of year 3.

I still struggle with left and right at times. I'm great at maths(did further maths alevel) but telling the time baffled me for a long time.

I think the most frustrating is explaining "I'm, you're, me and you".

"I'm me"
"You're me"
"No, you Say 'I'm me'. I say you're you"
"I'm you?"
"No, you are you to me but to you you're me."
"Can me please fuck off and let you play with my Duplo now?"

I think we over complicate it when we teach kids quarter past/to, half past at a young age. They have no idea about fractions so it is just a phrase they learn. Then 5 minute intervals are introduced when some don't know the 5 times table. And the text books i've seen just focus on 5 minute intervals not say, 17 minutes.
I am convinced I could have taught my DC to tell the time in a couple of weeks. But you're stuck with just building on what has been previously taught by society/school.

12 minuets

as in the old musician's joke: 'Gone Chopin. Bach in 12 minuets'?

(You wouldn't believe how hard it can be to persuade a stubborn phone to accept that.)

YANBU. Although I would argue the most frustrating thing to have to teach a child is ANYTHING you say to my DD.
I am currently the victim of some serious phonics gaslighting: 'What is dis letter, Mummy?' 'That's p. For penguin.' 'No is NOT. Is d... For fish.' 'OK, sweetheart. I'll write to Samuel Johnson and let him know.'
I will be completely fucked the day she starts fractions. I have never to my knowledge been right about them.

Not that I enjoy others misery but I'm glad I'm not the only one trying not to grind my teeth as I fake smile and say, no ds, that's not quite right have another go.

Today he thinks he went to bed at 7.83. He did get it right a few times though.