3yr old and letters and numbers

[rosalux]

DS2 who was 3 in January, seems to have no grasp of or interest in recognising letters or numbers. He can count up to 10, sort of, and say various letters from the alphabet song, but completely guesses when asked what a letter or number is; except for J - which his name begins with. DS1 was able to recognise and recite the alphabet and numbers up to 20 by this age and has since been identified as gifted.I'm wondering if DS2 is developmentally behind or just normal. His speech is excellent and always has been - he was talking in sentences by 18mths and by 2 you could have proper conversations with him. He's adept at puzzles and clearly bright, so I don't know if I'm just worrying about nothing and he'll get there in his own time.

My 3 year old can count a little bit, and knows some numbers. I have not shown him any letters, so he's clueless about that. My son has speech delay, though he seems to be just as intelligent as other kids, if you look away from the delay (lies in my family, but family is fairly intelligent, and I am considered "gifted").

I think your child sounds perfectly normal. Don't worry about letters now, he can learn them at school - at least he won't be bored there!

Sounds completely normal to me!

DD1 is about the same age and she can recognise a few numbers and some of the letters. Her friends are similar from what I can gather. Seems normal to me. Check the EYFS outcomes if you're worried.

It is totally normal not to be interested in number and letter recognition age 3 (and even 4 or 5). More useful would be to practise actual counting with him.

Feeling much better after reading all your posts. Will just try to relax a bit and encourage his love of books and play.

Completely normal. My dd is a summer baby and starts school in September and knows numbers up to 13 and the letters in her name. She's not really interested in either but will do a bit of counting. They all learn at their own pace. I was told the most important things for school are going to the loo independently, getting dressed and undressed and more social things than academic. No hurry.