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174483 tn?1327625477

any tips on teaching an 18 month old the basics? (colors ect.)

hello, i dont think ive posted a question in this forum yet, so ill give a little background, i have a 18 month old, healthy baby girl (my first) so im new on teaching her the basic things, im trying everything but thought it would be nice to get some tips that may have worked for all you moms out there,

im trying to introduce colors, and sounds and such, but shes a late talker and only says a few words clearly, so im not sure if im doing things right

she absolutly LOVES her books, ive got a few books on colors and numbers and animal sounds and shapes but i think im probably confusing her with too much at once, whats the best to start out with?  

i know all kids develop at their own rate, and i really want to  believe shes smart already, for example if i say "go get lucky the ducky book" or "go get your baby" she understands perfectly, but a few of my friends and family have kids her age and a little older and they are all talking away, and they are always on my case about why im not working with her, and that she should be talking up a storm by now, i really dont know what to say to that, i really do work with her, some family members (my grandma for example) thinks shes  "slow" because my cousins baby just turned two and can recite her ABC's already

so i guess id just like some suggestions on how to "teach" her these things, are books a good choice? DVD's ?
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189897 tn?1441126518
COMMUNITY LEADER
    Very good advice.  Thanks for sharing!!
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Avatar universal
I'm a mother of four, grandmother of 1 ( so far ). I take care of my 18 month old grand daughter every day while her mommy works part time and have been since she was 8 months. At 18 months now, she knows all her colors, can count to 20 and recognizes those numbers, can recognize more than 100 written words ( that she knows from her own vocabulary ), can organize colors into groups and is now reading two and three word sentences love every single moment of it, too! She also does well on the piano and is grasping melody and how we can create it with in many different ways. That little one just LOVES to learn. She can't get enough! Ok...so here are my tricks ( btw - all my children were taught this way ).

Always speak clearly and intelligently with your child. Respect their intellect because while doing that they are developing self-respect for what they can learn in a very short time. They will be and sound intelligent if that's how we treat them.

Spend a LOT of one on one time with them. Reading, explaining, showing them how to use and play with things, watching videos, exploring outdoors, listening to ALL sorts of music, playing instruments and teaching your child to respect all those things.

In the past I have found very FEW videos that are actually beneficial for teaching effectively. Baby Einstein is very entertaining and even hilarious at times, but it lacks repetitive learning, vocabulary, and explanation of everything going on. Sometimes I feel they assume children will already know. Not true. So I don't favor BE for learning, but they're great for entertainment once in a while. Now, what I DID find very helpful was the all annoying Busy Beavers videos. My grand daughter loved them to death! She learned so much from them in such a short time and I didn't even subscribe! Always watch *with* them. No TV. Just carefully selected learning videos here and there. Repeat what they say in the videos and elaborate when you have time. Sing the songs with them or with the video. Smile, be happy, enjoy being there to witness your child's development. Children sense when they are loved. They also sense when you're not interested. The sad part about that is it makes them feel inferior and worthless.

Kids love when stories/songs/lessons/books are on repeat. That's because they feel comfortable with familiar things.When they are grasping the information and realize they have learned it, there is an enormous burst of pride that comes straight from their soul. Self-confidence is the key to insure future learning, too. So when they know something they are proud of themselves you will need to further boost that with a lot of positive praise also and ignore what they haven't learned yet or find hard to grasp slipping it in once in a while to "try". Trying and doing our best is just about all we could EVER as of someone. That and of course, good manners - and the sooner you start with those the better! My 18 month old grand daughter ASKS to be excused from her highchair when she wants down. If I think she's eaten enough I will "excuse" her and help her down, wash hands, etc.

Always always always focus on the positive and how much they have accomplished so far, That way your child will always look forward to learning and will have the confidence to learn new things with you - especially when they have your TRUST. That you will be just as proud of them as they are of themselves. That you will never pick on them or laugh at them. It really is all about trust, because when we trust someone, we let our guard down and seek more knowledge because we're not afraid to be judged!

Those are my secrets to opening a world of endless knowledge and experiences for your child, Believe me, once you gain their trust and see your pride while feeling their own? The world is your oyster and there are no limits to what they can learn. But YOU are their guide. I think that's the greatest honor anyone could have.
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757137 tn?1347196453
I never did any of that stuff. I let my babies be babies. That time was precious to them. I felt  that letting them develop on their own when they were very little was more important than memorizing stuff that they could pick up in a week when they started school. Sure there were books around, and, yes, we talked about everything under the sun, but nothing was structured, and I purposely turned my back on the head start approach,  So are my four grown children flipping burgers at MacDonald's? Hardly. They all graduated from top tier universities and have satisfying careers.
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Avatar universal
how did you teach your kid all those stuff?
that's wonderful
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Avatar universal
my 18 month old son knows the entire alphabet. in order too.

and also knows all the body parts. plus other words.
also knows all the animals!

can point to all numbers to 20 and can say couple of them.

he is been interested in books for the past month and a half.
i was told that i learned all these ate age 3-4 . lol.
my kid is outsmarting me.
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286098 tn?1191019973
V-smile is a great tool too.  But generally I think your child is fine and if you try to incorporate colors and shapes and things into your daily conversation just as you would talk to another person, she will pick it up eventually.  Just keep a line of dialogue open and it will happen.  Even if she's not saying it, I bet she's getting it.
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Avatar universal
wow I have read everyones advice and i have to say it really helped me out and encouraged me, i am in the same boat as taysmommy, my daughter is 18 mths old and does'nt really speak yet,though i have tried everything I know to do to help her to speak and learn shapes and colors. Thanks so much. She seems to know her shapes as far as putting them in the matching holes, also seems to how to get what she needs by holding my hand and taking me and pointing to what she needs, I think I am going to get some of those baby einstein videos, thanks so much. Any other advice any of you could give would be greatly appreciated.
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174483 tn?1327625477
thanks everyone! great suggestiongs, i think the best suggestion yet is not to worry so much about her, so all made me feel so much better about her development so far, i thought when she was younger she was going to do everything early, she crawled at 4 months, walked well at 9 months, so im thinking her motor skills are what shes early at, and the talking and such will come later,

personally i never thought an 18 month old should be talking up a storm just yet, im just going to have to tell everyone who asks that shes talking like and 18 month old should, i think others like to "brag" about how much more their child does then mine sometimes, i really dont see why they would want to do that, i dont see what they gain, but i guess people are just competitive by nature and i just need to shrug it off, truely great advise ladies! i hope once my kids are older i can be as much help as you all are :)
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154929 tn?1196187738
Great ideas for learning.  My boys loved the baby Einstein videos when they were little--my almost three year old still likes some of them--not to often to sit and watch though.  Yes, in every day life start giving her the options of say the blue bowl--or the red bowl--and then see if she can pick either the matching cup or silverware--gives her some control in life and also helps with the colors at the same time.   For the videos if you don't mind buying used go to HALF.COM and purchase them there.   Saves you quite a bit of money.

I always liked to use the shape sorter that play school makes..it is the little tube with a cover that you sort shapes but also they are by color--helps there also.  Good Luck--everything is really a teaching opportunity and if you are spenidn quality time with your daughter then don't worry too much about the talking.  She may just be a late bloomer or just doesn't have that much to say.
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164559 tn?1233708018
I agree with Rock Rose and Cleveland.  Your daughter is doing fine.  Resist the urge to allow other people to put their expectations on you and your child.  Play, play, play, that is how children learn.  She has her whole life to be in school and have structured learning.  Let her be a preschooler, don't shorten her childhood.  I am sure she is a sweet, bright, delightful little girl and that is all the matters.
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Avatar universal
Your dtr. is doing fine.  By 18 months, toddlers should be able to use 3 words and should be able to point to what they want i.e. a toy, sippy cup etc.  This is a good age to use board books for reading time.  Go to your local library's children's area, there are many good books there that are designed to introduce young onces to the basics colors, letters, numbers, counting, etc.  All children truly develop at their own pace and its best not to push development or learning on them.  Resolve now not to stress about what your child's cousins, neighbor kids etc. are doing or not doing in comparison to your dtr.  Just enjoy her, focusing on other kids development will rob you of fully enjoying your own wonderful dtr.  I agree with the others that you should be very judicious in the use of television with your child.  In fact, many experts recommend that a child your dtr.s age not view television at all.  You should talk to your pediatrician re: television viewing and your dtr.  Best wishes...
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Avatar universal
In response to Rockrose, I did not suggest to put a video in and leave. You need to put the video in and sit on the floor with your child and interact while video is playing, For example, point out to different things and tell your child what it is.
Taysmommy- you can get those videos pretty much anywherel, like Target, Walmart, Babies r us, etc. I do know that Sams club has a dvd set with about 1o different videos. Also, just talk to your shild while you are doing things. Like if she is pointing for more juice and you know exactly what she wants, still say " Do you want some juice" or I am now pouring the juice in the cup. Good Luck
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Avatar universal
If shes a late talker you can teach her some basic sign language. Thats what I did and it helped her communicate a lot easier. You can get any kind of learning toy really. Flash cards. Work with her on just saying regular day things, "your shirt your wearing is yellow". For body parts my daughter learned well from the "head shoulders knees and toes" song. Songs are good for that. Make animal noises. When your doing something with her make sure you tell her what your doing. "we're putting on your red socks.. I'm making you a grilled cheese sandwich" etc. It helps them learn colors and stuff and helps them connect with what they are.
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174483 tn?1327625477
thanks ladies! Ive been thinking of getting the einstein videos, where would you find them? Is there a package where you can get all the videos, or are they separate?

RockRose- wow that sounds like a great idea with the color cards! very creative, i stay home for now, im 6 months pregnant so im trying to get as much "me and taylor" time as i can right now, ill have to start back to school in the spring, but thats only for a few hours a day, im very lucky i get to stay home

you sound a little like me with the creative touches, ive tried painting index cards bright colors and telling her "red" and so on, but i agree thats a little much for her, she just cant wait to get her hands on the paper and rip it to shreads lol,

and i wanted to add im not a crazy person who thinks she should be carrying on conversations at this age, its just a little nerve racking having this little life who im responsible for teaching her about everything, i just want to be on the right track (and it kind of gets to me when people assume since shes not speaking in full sentences that its me whos not taking the steps for that to happen) but sounds like im going overboard and shes on track *sigh of relief*

and id much rather her be a happy kid then forcing her to grow up to early

thanks again
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13167 tn?1327194124
I didn't mean to sound like I was disagreeing with cardsfan - there are some great videos,  and computer games like Treehouse and Playroom,  very fun - if the einstein videos are based on fun,  and interaction,  that would be great too.
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13167 tn?1327194124
I wouldn't worry too much about whether she's behind her cousin in speaking fluently - are you at home with her?  If you are,  just giving her lots of attention will do it -

You can work things into the conversations.     There are a lot of classic toys - like the string pull see and say where it says the cow says moo,  etc.  It's fun and kids love it.

For colors,  I went to the paint shop and got a bunch of those little paint sample cards,  and cut them all up into individual paints.  We'd play "match the colors" and it was fun.  You could sort them into all the greens,  or you could make a rainbow with ROYGBIV,  or a pattern.  

Kids want to be with you,  and interact with you,  and if you have a fun game to play they want to play.  I wouldn't stress about making the teaching terribly structured at this point or it will lose its fun.

Best wishes.
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Avatar universal
The baby einstein videos are great!! Both of my kids loved them and learned all there shapes, colors, animals, etc from them!! They make great flash cards as well in the baby einstein. Enjoy!!!
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