4 year old refuses to recognize ABC's & 123's

[Sunil42]

My son is 4 1/2 and he is in LKG Class.  He will be in preschool 1 more year due to his birthday and the school cutoff age.  

I can honestly say that I have been trying to teach him his ABC's and 123's for about 2 years now.  He knows the Poem song and can count to 20. But when asked if he can find a certain letter or number, he usually does not know.  He does recognize numbers 0-3 and maybe about 10 letters, but that is it.  He is not interested.  While teaching him, I have used puzzles, books, workbooks, DVD's, number and alphabet charts, Leap Frog hand held games as well a v-tech.  I have also used a reward system with m&m's, tossing a ball for every correct answer, making a big deal about it, telling him how proud I am, etc.  He is just not getting it and I am at my wits end.  It took him about a year to learn his colors...and that was a nightmare.  I know this is not normal, and I don't know what to do.  I was hoping to get more information on what may be wrong.  Thank You

[RockRose]

I would say just let him be,  but in our school district if a child enters kindergarten without knowing colors,  letters and numbers,  he's behind and he will know it immediately.  Most kinders at our elementary school are reading when they enter Kinder.  If he's in LKG,  AND you're drilling him with rote information a lot,  he may just be bored out of his mind with that kind of teaching.  What does his LKG teacher say?

[AnnieBrooke]

If his pediatrician at his next well-child visit says he seems delayed, that is one thing, but it really sounds more like you're pressuring him out of your anxiety that he do well, and he is reacting to your anxiety by blowing the whole thing off, a healthy reaction in my mind.  Just read books together and for heaven's sake, relax.  Time will tell if there is really any problem.  Life should not be you testing and quizzing your child all the time.

[This_Dood]

I'd take a little bit of time to sit down with him and say if he recognized a letter he would get like a chocolate chip or a cracker but after a while make it to were he needs to recognize more to get some so I hope this works out for you