Your toddler’s almost three, and you’ve noticed that they aren’t as quick at reading as some of their peers. You start worrying that they’re behind and wonder whether they should be developing more quickly. It’s as if it threatens their whole future, and the fact that the kid from next door read two more books than your little one last week is making you slightly anxious. Your worrying mind tells you: eek! Is my child doomed?

It’s normal for parents to worry about how quickly their child is developing, especially as there’s been a significant shift towards academics in early childhood within the last two decades. But with such a huge focus on ‘making kids smarter’, children are being pulled away from deep and valuable learning (which we’ll explore later).

It seems that the goal for our kids today is academics. The belief is that the more we pump them with information, the more successful they’ll be when they’re older. And as parents, many of us have been led to believe that learning the ABCs and 123s are the most significant developmental milestones in a child’s life. We’re told that if they are not academically competent from a young age, their futures are done for.

This simply isn’t true.

We can’t stress this enough: there is so much more to early childhood than academics!

We’re going to share with you a few home truths when it comes to academics.

Things you need to know about academics:

Learning the ABCs and 123s is simply about memorising. It’s no different than learning the names of colours, animals, and people. For some reason, we put learning the ABCs and 123s on a pedestal and use them to measure how well our kids are doing.

Your child’s success does not depend on how quickly they learn how to pronounce a symbol (like a number or letter). These skills are just about memorising and are in fact, basic low-level skills.

While learning the ABCs and 123s are necessary to a child’s education (someday), it isn’t something you need to worry about in the early years.

As well as this incessant need to teach kids low-level memorising skills is the equally incessant need to teach them these skills as early as possible. Instead of honouring our child’s natural pace, there is increasing pressure on our little ones to learn quickly.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter at what pace your child learns their ABCs and 123s. Look at it like this; do you think the child who learns to walk at ten months will be better at walking later in life than the child who learns to walk at 15 months? No. The pace at which your child learns their ABCs does not determine your child’s success later in life.

Unless your child has a learning disability or underlying condition, it really doesn’t matter when your toddler learns their ABCs. Be OK with your child’s pace of development.

You wouldn’t force a six-month-old baby to walk because you know they’re not developmentally ready for that yet. Respect your child’s pace of growth and development. They will learn new skills when they are ready, not when you or someone else wants them to be ready.

Academics will happen. It’s inevitable. But remember, your child needs a foundation of understanding before they can learn these skills. For example, you can’t teach your child the letter ‘T’ for ‘tree’ until they fully understand what a tree is.

Academic skills grow at their own pace. It is no different from learning motor skills. It’s important we value them in the same way without trying to rush our little ones.

So what are the skills to focus on?

Social and emotional skills
Playtime and imagination
Discovery and experimentation
Art and creativity
Taking risks
Questioning
Empathising
Problem-solving
Curiosity
Relationships with others
Communicating
Self-regulating
Having self-control

Should I be worried about my toddler and academics?

Unii examines if a toddler’s academic potential should cause concern?