How old should a child be before they can count ?

Question

I had twins. My one daughter can count to three with no problem with objects or without. My other daughter who is three is having a hard time counting too two with objects. Im a little concerned that she might have a learninig problem. She will be four next month.

Answer 1

Counting rote (memorizing the order of the numbers) comes before one-to-one correspondence (counting a number of objects to match the word). Twins can have a varying degree of abilities... I would just keep working on the skill with her. She'll get it- it just may take a little longer for it to process.

Answer 2

My daughter will be three in September and she can count to 13. She also recognizes numbers 1 - 10 when written as well as most of the alphabet. Maybe your daughter just needs a little extra time or help. My husb and I used to count and sing ABC's to our daughter constantly ! If you are really worried definately talk to your pediatrician. You may find you are worrying for no reason.

Answer 3

I would not worry. All kids develop at different rates. My son just turned 3 and he can count up to 5 objects and can count to 10. However, my niece only learned to count objects (up to 10 now) when she was 4 1/2. So don't worry.

Answer 4

I have a two year old grandson, he can count to 10 and say his abc's. So if your child is having problems at 3 I would have them checked. But on the other hand some children learn slower then others. I also have a 2 year old nephew, which is about 2 months older then my grandson and cannot say one letter of the abc's and cannot count one number.

Answer 5

Istarted to count things with my children before they turned 1. My daughter is 3 and counts to 20. If your child is having problems and will be 4 I would talk to a doctor.

Answer 6

It really depends on the child. I woudl say no later than 5 years old for kindergarden. My daughter 3yrs old now can count to 10 with or without objects, but they say shes really advanced (shes been doing it since 2). I didnt do so well on counting untill I was 4yrs old my mother says. It depends on the child. I found that Whinnie the Pooh's dvd 123's helped my daughter alot she loved pooh, they have abc's too they are fairly cheap (i think roudn $10 ea at walmart) try them, or baby einstien! its never to late to start those videos.

Answer 7

My godson counts to ten since he is 2 and a half, now he is 4 and he can count to 20 with no problem.
Maybe you daughter doesnt like counting, make it more interesting, more fun... but they can count to 10 easily, just have patience, teach her songs with numbers, when she is in the swing count how many times she swings, she will learn.

Answer 8

WOW you really need to work with her. My little sister could count to at least 3 when she was about 18 months and now she is 26 months and she can count to 14. But I think she is a little advanced.

Answer 9

I would be very concerned my 3 yr old counts to twenty and when she was 2 she counted to 10.........Some areas have low cost or free programs to help children before they enter school!

Are they in a day care or school --or at home all the time? ...if at home Maybe they need outside stimulation!

Answer 10

If you're practicing quite often with her and she's not progressing you should bring this up to your pediatrician. My SS was counting to 12 by time he turned two (12 steps to our condo), we didn't practice for a while and he forgot how to count above 6 until he was 3.