My Child Gets Confused with the Alphabet and Numbers. Is this a Cause for Concern?

Alarm bells start ringing for a lot of parents who are used to tracking the milestones of development in their children and notice that their child is not good with numbers or is finding it difficult to recognize the ABCs at a certain age.

The ability to recognize letters and numbers is a milestone of early child development that might vary from child to child because of many factors. It is important to know that children start to show more interest in numbers, letters, reading and writing between the age of 5 to 8 years, according to the Early Childhood Development (ECD) milestones published by UNICEF. If your child is unable to recognize alphabets during this period, you must also consider some other milestones for children in this age bracket. Children between the ages of 5 and 8 will start recognizing shapes and colours, while exhibiting general curiosity about people and how the world works, start using words to express feelings and playing in a cooperative manner.

Widespread prevalence of learning disabilities in India, such as dyslexia, among children, is perhaps one of the most important reasons why parents worry when their child gets confused with letters and numbers. In fact, as many as 10%-15% children in India suffer from some sort of dyslexia, as per the Dyslexia Association of India.

Rely on Visual Aids and Storytelling

One good way of training your child in the alphabet and numbers is by way of using a visual medium, such as a colourful picture-based book. This will be a fun and interactive way that will encourage your child to identify various shapes, birds, animals, letters and numbers from the book. Reading is another best practice for early child development. Try narrating a short story and then pause to highlight the various elements of the story through letters and numbers. For example, you can point at a house from the story book that you are reading to your child and then emphasize on the fact that house starts with the letter 'H'.

A good, balanced diet, which includes the essential nutrients, also plays a key role in ensuring timely development in children. You must therefore introduce your child to a wholesome diet as soon as they are onto solid food. From the age of 2 years, which is when the most crucial brain development occurs, consider adding a fortified milk powder, such as Enfagrow A+, which includes a balanced proportion of various vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients, considered good for the development of critical brain functions. 

It is never a good idea to unnecessarily worry over missed milestones of development Introducing good food habits right from the start and out of the box thinking can help bring back your child on the path of development.