DH wants to teach our DS set theory. DS is 17mo.

[Herrena]

His exact message:
"Should I teach DS about sets or jump straight in to counting?"

Personally I don't understand why DH isn't happy with teaching DS to count like everybody else, but then my grasp of mathematics is - as he cheerfully informs me - minimal.

I think he's mad. He thinks I don't understand.

Any advice out there?!

[Blatherskite]

What is set theory?

[CecilyP]

Basic set theory is very simple, and fundamental to the understanding of many areas of mathematics, great thing to start off with.

Do you think a 17 month old would have the language skills and logical thought processes to be able to cope though? I think he may even have trouble drawing a Venn diagram.

[CecilyP]

I would just agree and just let your DH get on with it. Then you can either stand back and be impressed or amused - whichever is most appropriate.

[HumphreyCobbler]

piprabbit has got it spot on imo

that is what I tried to do with my DS

[Herrena]

CecilyP - I probably will I'm not averse to it, it's just that since I am not a mathematician myself I find the whole idea a bit incomprehensible!

[UptoapointLordCopper]

Personally I favour geometry. :) Parallel lines and perpendicular lines and shapes are everywhere.

[AMumInScotland]

Children can pick up all sorts of "complicated" things - let your DH have a go, so long as he's a reasonably patient person who isn't going to lose his temper if DS doesn't "get it".

[CecilyP]

Herrena; if your DH is able to present it in a way that is understandable to a baby, you might as well sit in as it shouldn't be incomprehensible to an adult.

[MMMarmite]

Alternatively you could teach him practical calculus and parabolic trajectories (throwing his toys across the room).

[KittiesInsane]

Wonder what your DH would have made of DS1? His version of counting, say, five cars in a row was to point at each one and say, very earnestly 'One... one... one... one... one'.

Which was true enough. Each car was indeed one car. Had me a bit stumped for a while!

[EBDTeacher]

Isn't set theory at toddler level just 'put all the red things together'?

Not that tricky- probably easier than 1-1 correspondance (sp?).

[DeWe]

He's setting his sights a bit low. I expect him to be going for solving Navier-Stokes wave equations.

Or maybe if he starts early enough they can work out the reasoning behind Fermat's last theorem.

They can be very interesting to discuss with a child whose speech is at the "daddy, boo" stage

[RugBugs]

We started DD on sets/numbers at about that age, mostly just playing and repetition but it did work. ELC have some coloured blocks with numbers/letters on them that are well used, when she stopped gnawing everything in sight we got a few pairs/matching games too which are very popular.

[pointythings]

Actually I think your DH has a point - counting and understanding sets can really go hand in hand and Venn diagrams are a good place to start, They can also be explained in terms a very young child will understand. As long as your DS is enjoying it, it doesn't really matter that he is getting a head start on mathematical concepts and theory - it just has to be fun.

[Herrena]

DH is pretty patient, so I don't think he will get frustrated. I don't see any reason not to give it a go; I will be doing all the generic '5 little ducks' songs and stuff like that, so I assume he'll at least pick up the names of the numbers from me.

RugBugs - nice to hear that someone else has already tried this!

I will keep you all posted - if DH is successful with DS1 there will undoubtedly be some crowing

[bitsofmeworkjustfine]

i think that you are all being 'up yourselves'

You all talk about sharing it with a child 17 months old, but none of you will expalin it to me!

[AMumInScotland]

I'm totally not an expert, but basically set theory is about how things can be grouped together. The example of that most people have seen at school would be Venn diagrams - like this - but there's a lot of complicated maths involved too in how you can study all the possibilities.

[nlondondad]

The participants in this discussion are divided into two sets: those who know what set theory is, and those who do not.

Does that help? (it also provides a rigourous enough to be getting on with definition of "two" "one" and "addition")

[UniS]

nowt wrong with learning about sets. DH can call it what he likes, the skill is fundamentally useful and a mathematical skill that your/ any DC will use for life.

Your DC won;t pick it all up at once and may frustrate your DH by going freestyle on him. The set "things I can chew" is possibly not what your DH has in mind when he starts splitting toys into sets.

[UnderwaterBasketWeaving]

Fuck counting, we're sorting tomorrow! will not be beaten in pfbness

It's "Set theory", yeah? so I can boast

He's 19mo already, how did we get so behind?

[MordionAgenos]

Set theory is definitey the way to go.

[Durab]

I used to get DSs to sort the socks out for me - I thought it was slave labour, now I realise I was teaching set theory! Surely parents have been doing this for ever, don't all children have to put the smarties in sets before they're allowed to eat them?

[MordionAgenos]

In fact, casting my mind back to the learning type books we got DD1 when she was a toddler, there was a lot of basic set theory in them (in fact it was all pretty much set theory, at a basic level obviously).

[beanandspud]

See, I love set theory and sorting. Even when he was little DS liked sorting stuff and still does. If DH wants to call it 'set theory for babies' I would suggest that he gets on with it, absolutely no harm done.

[RandallPinkFloyd]

DS is a couple of months younger but I'd like to get an early start.

Will a "simple venn diagram" help him work out where his nose is?