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Original poster

18 month old can count to 14 - normal?

57 replies

empen · 26/09/2007 13:54

is it normal for an 18month old being able to count to 14 - the kid is not mine, rather someone we met in a pub who was showing off. DP was amazed and I could not remember how old mine had been.

OP posts:
Trinityrhino · 26/09/2007 13:56

surely the said 18 month old is just reciting the numbers
thats not actual counting
maybe speech is quite good to be able to say that many things clearly at that age but both of mine could speak tns and would have recited numbers if I made them

Nip · 26/09/2007 13:56

my 17 month can count to about 20... however every words is two, two, two, two, two, two!

sweetkitty · 26/09/2007 13:57

DD2 could count to 10 at about 18 months it's just repeatiton I think she couldn't look at 5 apples and say thats 5 apples.

Piffle · 26/09/2007 13:57

counting is just rote memory reciting numbers.
knowing/understanding the quantities is the very clever part

Beenleigh · 26/09/2007 13:57

don't believe it, my 23 months old can do it, but a bit like nip, it's along the lines of one...three...four...five...fourteen...tenteen!

Blandmum · 26/09/2007 13:58

At that age most children do not 'count' in a meaningful way, but simply 'chant' a sequence of words. For the vast majority of children who can 'count' up to 20 in they way, wouldn't be able to tell you how many knives there were on the dinner table, IYSWIM.

they know the word order, but they don't really know what they mean as yet.

Both of mine did this sort of thing at that sort of age. But they were not really 'counting' and more than dd was really reading when she memoried the words to 'Where's my bear'

janinlondon · 26/09/2007 13:59

Not particularly odd I'd have said. Unless its more than recitation.

Hulababy · 26/09/2007 14:01

If just reciting numbers then not that unusual. If actually counting objects then less common I would think.

DD could recite to 20 at 20 monhts. Ou lift was out of order so we counted the 144 steps in 10s and 20s as we wnet. She just copied - by the end of the 12 weeks she was reciting perfectly.

Original poster
empen · 26/09/2007 14:02

Thanks,

Have just had a flashback of my DD 'counting' when she was young (not that young) but she consistently missed out 16. It became quite the party trick and used to make us all giggle.

OP posts:
Egg · 26/09/2007 14:07

Blardy hell... I was really chuffed the other day when my DS said "two" after I said one . He is 19 months.

Hulababy · 26/09/2007 14:08

empen - just remembering now, DD missed out 15 for ages - infact until part way through reception, last year. When little she said fiveteen for a while, and then dropped it altogether.

Nemo2007 · 26/09/2007 14:13

dont know if its normal but Dd1 can count to 10 and is 21mths...however she can actually count things too so if I put 3 sweets in front of her and say how many she counts them.She gets a lot of it from DS though and just repeats his phrases

sweetkitty · 26/09/2007 14:14

DD2 (20 months) thinks everything is purple or blue, she just copies DD1 as well.

RosaLuxembourg · 26/09/2007 21:12

All three of my children have missed out either fifteen or sixteen when counting to twenty. Interesting that it seems to be fairly common.
(They can all count properly now though).

seeker · 26/09/2007 21:18

My dd was a very early talker and we realized that if you asked her any question involving numbers, she would always say "Nine". We makaged to amaze a lot of people with our amazing calculating 12 month old -"what's 81 the square root of 81, Grace?"

nell12 · 26/09/2007 21:20

I bet that child has 14 stairs in his house!!!

DD could count to 13 at that age (mixing up 7 and 11) because we had 13 stairs and counted them up and down

When ds was that age he could count to 15 because the house we were in had 15 stairs!

Bink · 26/09/2007 21:24

Counting to 14 - ds certainly used to do that b/w 18 & 20 months, because we were living in a house that had 14 steps in the staircase & it was one of his things to do. I don't think it indicates anything, really, apart from maybe circumstances & possibly preference for data over people - ds has some social issues - which is not necessarily A Good Thing.

So wrt pub person - I'd pretend to be impressed if you like them, & be completely blasé if you don't.

Bink · 26/09/2007 21:25

Cross post with nell!!

ChasingSquirrels · 26/09/2007 21:26

lol at 9 and Grace.
My 20mo can't count to anything - mostly constrained by the fact that he can't talk, the occasional mummy would be nice, never mind counting.
But I am sure that SOME 18mo would have a concept of counting, and they would be 'ahead' of their age group.
This is not to say that they will stay ahead of their age group (though they might).

Original poster
empen · 26/09/2007 21:27

I didn't even know the person in the pub so I acted completely unimpressed but DP could not contain himself and pub lady was very smug.

OP posts:
Bink · 26/09/2007 21:32

I did once know someone (very clever) who was taken to the dr at 18 months.

Dr said to mother "Hello! How old is your baby?"

and the baby said "I'm eighteen months."

Now that's clever.

Drusilla · 26/09/2007 21:32

My 2.5 yr old has decided that the number 5 is his Grandad. Everything he looks at, if he sees the number 5 he puts his finger on that number and says "Look, that's Grandad that is"! I'm at a loss...

RosaLuxembourg · 26/09/2007 21:39

PMSL Bink - that is truly gifted and talented!

ellehcim · 26/09/2007 21:39

DS1 could memory count to 13 at that age - again because we have thirteen stairs and counted every time we walked up or down them. He's only more recently (at about 24 months) started to count items properly and still gets it wrong more often than not.

SlightlyMadSweden · 26/09/2007 21:44

Crikey DD3 is 17m and can't even say 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 or even 14...I'm worried now

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