Name Recognition in Young Children
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Has your child started responding to her name? Congratulations! That’s the first step towards name recognition. Next, look for the best way to teach a child to write their name. These fun ways will come in handy in making a 21-months-old learn how to know when she’s called.
For children, learning their own name is the first step towards self-recognition. It’s indeed a joyful moment for parents when they realise that their little one has started responding to name calls. In time, your child will understand that her name is exclusively hers in the whole family. As a mom, you can encourage your child to reach this important milestone of name recognition merely through interaction and creative activities.
The Toddler Milestone: Name Recognition
1. Greet your Child
Greeting your child every morning by mentioning her name helps in establishing a quick relationship between a 21-months-old and name recognition. Soon, she’ll know what her name is and will, most likely, start referring to herself using her own name. You can make a group of children sit in a circle and call each child by their individual name too. This will help tots understand that they all have different names.
2. Tag their Belongings
Make nice name tags(with large and colourful fonts) for the things that your child carries regularly, such as bags, water bottles, lunch boxes, and so forth. Show a name tag and point out the way in which the letters form her name R.A.K.H.I. This method of teaching a toddler to recognise his name works quite well. With constant exposure, kids aged 21 months will start differentiating between their name and that of others.
3. Write Her Name and Show it to Her
When sending out invites or season’s greetings(say, during Christmas) with your kid’s name on it, show the same to her. Explain how you’ve written her name starting with a capital letter, followed by lowercase letters. By observing, she will get familiar with the letters that go into the making of her name. This is one of the most effective name recognition activities for toddlers.
4. Fun Art Work
The best way to teach a toddler to write their name is through art work. To make the process fun, get a large sheet of paper and write your child’s name using a white crayon. Give water colours to your kid and encourage her to paint the paper. Don’t miss the delight on your child’s face when she sees her name magically appear through the colours!
5. Writing Names in Sand
An interesting way of helping children write their name is by taking their index finger and assisting them in to write in sand or on a tray filled with paint. Repeat the process frequently till she knows how to write her name on her own.
These five ways of teaching a toddler to recognise their name are not only effective but a lot of fun too. So, reflect on them, implement, and repeat. Soon, you will find yourself adding a new development to your kid’s scrapbook: Today, I wrote my name for the first time!
