One of my current dilemmas is how to actually teach my children to tell the time, its something i’ve been struggling with for a while as its a really important life skill which they should really have mastered by Year 2. There are loads of resources out there; wipe clean books with blank faces, iPad gadgets and so forth. However, nothing beats getting them their own watch.
If you want to help your children learn to tell the time, you might be looking to buy them an easy-to-read timepiece and with the likes of Tic Watches selling a wide range of child-friendly designs you won’t be short of choice. What’s more, some watches are specifically designed to make time-telling a lot easier, its a good idea to have a look for these ones. The principles here can also be applied if you are looking for a great clock for their bedrooms or playrooms.
- Watches with labelled hour and minute hands
Sometimes, children find it hard to distinguish between the hour, minute and second hand of a watch. Choose a watch with clearly labelled hands so they don’t have too much to remember? The Time Teacher kids’ watches from Timex, for instance, are clear, concise and will make learning fun.
- Watches with the time written around the edge
Many watches these days also come with an easy-to-ready dial and popular times written around the edge such as five past, ten past, ¼ past, 20 past, 25 past and ½ past. This then changes to 25 to, 20 to, ¼ to and so on to help children read the time correctly. Watches of this kind are available from well-known brands and often have fun, family-friendly characters on the front like Peppa Pig.
- Watches with big numbers
When teaching kids the time, forget numberless watches or those with only key times such as noon, three, six and nine and instead buy something which has a big clock face and sizeable numbers from one to 12. There are many styles out there but O clock watches are renowned for having an easy-to-read display which is great for little ones who are trying to learn the complexities of time keeping. Once you’ve nailed the basics you could even try making your own clock with super big numbers to help assist with your child’s understanding.
- Colour-coded watches
You can also get hold of watches that are divided into two colours (typically red and blue) which help a child to recognise when to say XXX past the hour and when to say XXX to the hour. So, for instance, if the minute hand is pointing towards the blue section on the right hand side of the watch, the child knows to say a time past the hour. Similarly if the minute hand is pointing towards the red side on the right, the child knows to say it’s to the hour.
- Shatter-proof watches with comfortable straps
Kids won’t wear anything that’s uncomfortable, so look for child-friendly watches with soft leather, plastic or fabric straps. You should also buy something that’s shatter-proof, waterproof and resistant to scratches as this will enable your youngster to be a kid without worrying about damaging their watch.
There are many ways to teach children the time in this day and age including a wide variety of apps, however, buying them the right watch can make the learning process a whole lot similar and allow them to put their newfound skills to the test wherever they go.
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