Your 4-Year-Old: What Time Is It?

What Time Is It?

Today's kids learn to "tell time" on a digital clock before the analog (faced) type. Once they can recognize numbers, it's easy to rattle them off. Understanding what the numbers represent is harder, and usually begins in kindergarten. The first step is to have a sense of time — you can help by bringing up time frequently in conversation.
小馨對時間還是沒有概念。星期天下午從球池玩回家，上樓時她問我，「媽媽，現在是晚上還是星期一了」？
有時候下午要她午睡她不肯，因為她擔心「睡一覺起來就是星期一了」...也是啦！星期一總是讓人憂鬱，媽媽也很不喜歡星期一上班日啊！

Your 4-year-old now
You can help your child wrap his mind around that tricky concept known as duration — how long something lasts. Being careful with your own language is a starting place. Parents often ask kids to brush their teeth for "a minute," which is a relatively short time. Then we say, "Give me a minute," while we're on the phone. That "minute" can stretch into ten or 20. Giving more accurate estimates helps your child develop his understanding of time.
沒錯！我發現「1分鐘」對小朋友而言還是太抽象了，還不如教他數到60來得實際。舉例來說，小馨不喜歡吹頭髮，因此我就會讓她屬到70或80...這樣吹頭髮就會結束，而她也會很樂意配合這樣做！
Some other ideas:
Ask your child to predict how long an activity might last. "How long do you think it will take us to walk around the block?" Provide a stopwatch to keep track.
Use a timer for time-outs, but don't set it randomly. Explain exactly how many minutes you're setting it for. (One minute per year of age, or four minutes now, is the rule of thumb.) Use a timer to limit computer or TV time, too, letting your child help set it.
Issue fun time-related challenges. "How long can you hop on one foot?" "Can you find all the flags in less than a minute?"
Explain time intervals involved in cooking or baking. Set the timer and watch through the oven window to see how long it takes cookies to bake.

Your life now
Are your child's closets and drawers overflowing? Four-year-olds grow so fast that it's highly unlikely they'll be able to fit into their current wardrobe this time next year. At the end of every season, comb through his clothes, pack up items that are outgrown now or will be next year, and offer the ones in good shape to friends or charity. It will be easier for your child to get dressed with less clutter to sort through. Bonus: This will leave fewer weather-inappropriate choices to bicker over in the morning.