How Soon Should Children Learn Numbers & Math?

We all know how important it is to read to our children, but trying to build a baby’s math skills can feel like a challenging task, especially if we don’t have a positive association with math ourselves. 

 

The good news is, baby is encountering math everywhere, and nurturing a love of numbers is not as hard as commonly thought. After all, we are all born loving numbers!

 

In this episode, Jessica Rolph speaks with Gillian Starkey, a professor in neuroscience with an emphasis on children’s developing math skills. She shares some pointers that are going to score big with you and your baby, and might even make math into something you both look forward to.

 

Key Takeaways:

[1:22] What constitutes math for babies?

[2:45] Gillian shares why it is important to build basic math skills at home with our babies.

[3:51] What do babies know about math when they are born?

[4:49] Activities that you can do with your baby (0-12 months old) to build math skills.

[8:00] How do children’s understanding of numbers and what they represent evolve as they get older?

[9:01] Gillian explains how to engage toddlers in everyday math. 

[10:03] Baking is one great way to introduce mathematical concepts to toddlers.

[10:33] Shapes and patterns can be used to strengthen math skills.

[11:40] Gillian gives tips on how to deal with our own math anxiety.

 

Mentioned in this episode:

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Learn more about Gillian Starkey