Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion when did your gifted child learn to tell time

I really don't remember with any but one of my kids. Her experience stands out for me because I had no idea she knew anything about telling time. When she was 3.5 I gave her the CAT5 assessment for kindergarten. She easily answered all of the time telling questions in the math section, indicating that somehow she had figured it out on her own. I'm pretty sure the questions were to the hour and half hour only, but still, I was impressed.

We never pushed time with DS6. He knew how to read a digital clock at age 4. He's now learning the regular clock in 1st along with his other classmates. But I will say, they just started maybe 2 weeks ago, and he's grasped the concept so extremely quickly and is leaps and bounds ahead of what he is supposed to know (they are only teaching :00 & :30, DS can tell you pretty much down to the minute, i.e., 4:17).

My PG older brother learned everything early and I wound up getting a bit of anxiety about everything he did early that I didn't understand instantly and early. My mom didn't think he was PG, she thought I was slow. I panicked whenever asked the time, although I could figure it out quickly enough if it was just for me.

So, I got all panicky about time telling until perhaps my sophomore year of college, long after I learned I was gifted, too. Similar problems with telling right from left (mastered answering R/L questions in middle school) and reading large numbers aloud (mastered post college.) In each of these situations, I was okay figuring out something silently, but not if someone asked me a time, left/right, or big number question.

My son (not tested) is now 4.6.

He can tell time to the minute.

It was an ongoing process starting when he was just turned 3. First he told time to the hour, then the half hour, then the quarter hour. At about the same time, he had learned each number represented "counting by 5's", and he caught on to telling time in 5-minute increments.

One of his favorite "toy" requests since he turned 3 has been clocks. He adores them and would buy a new one every time we're in a store if I let him.

Analog came after digital. He had digital down pat at a little after three; approximately the time he was able to recognize numbers past 60.

One way I taught my son to pay attention to the time was to tell him we were going to do something he wanted to do at, say, 3:00. I would then tell him to come get me at that time. He was motivated that way. When he got that down, I told him to come get me at 3:15, and so on. I "whittled" it down to the minute.

I strive to teach real life skills in a real life setting.

That's a great idea. My son likes to point out when I'm late, too.

DS had analogue sussed by early 2s. He was desperate for a watch and had to wait until his sister was born (2.5) for her to bring it for him. He was irritatingly pedantic about it until about 3.5 when he finally came to accept that 'it's about half past three' was not lying when it was 3:27. I was very impressed because I remember struggling to get it sorted when I was about 8.

Digital clocks, certainly in the 3s for both kids. Analog time-telling was one of the few things DD actually learned in K and 1. Frankly she still doens't have it down 100%. The spatial skills it draws upon are not her strengths.

However, we also have no analog clocks in the house--not even one!

DD10 was three when she was able to tell time on the analog clock. She refused to learn with digital clocks until she turned five because she didn't like the "funky numbers."

DD8 was six or seven before she could recognize all the times on the analog clock. She could tell time on the digital clock at age five (she had a lot of fun setting the alarm for various times on her digital alarm).