Charlotte’s Blog
Understanding the concept of age –
“Oh no, I will never be older than her!”
Tomorrow it’s the birthday of my eldest son’s best friend. She turns 6 this year. Luckily my son has
finally started to understand the concept of age and that it will just take a couple of months until he
turns 6 as well.
Three years ago this was not the case. We were all ready to go and celebrate his friend’s birthday. She
turned 3 that year and my son was still 2. From the moment he understood that we were going to
celebrate the fact that she turned 3 that day I had to deal with the biggest tantrum ever! Why was
she already 3 and he wasn’t? It was the most unfair thing on earth! It was clear to me that he
understood the value of 2 and 3. He clearly understood that 3 was more than 2. How relieved he was
when he finally turned 3 and they were the same age again. We arrived so late to the party that the
cake was almost finished.
The next day brought more disillusion. He would never catch up with her, next year it would be the
same, she would turn 4 before him! Luckily, he realised he was taller than her. Every time they had
a discussion it was decided that she was older and he was taller, clearly showing an
understanding of mathematical concepts: bigger – smaller, older – younger.
When he finally turned 4, he had to overcome the next disillusion. One month later the first child in
his class turned 5! How on earth was that possible? He still thinks it is so unfair that his birthday is in
December because he has to wait the longest in the class.
When he turned 5 slowly acceptance started to kick in. The fact that he was taller than most helped
a lot, and that he knew his birthday would come soon. But then the realisation that his friend’s
mother was older than his mother? Again, more tears! Trying to explain that at a certain age you
don’t mind being younger, that you actually like to be younger, was a bit too complicated.
As a mother and an Early Years professional I love to see how children develop their mathematical
concepts, especially when it’s very important to them and they are trying to figure out how things
work. I often see that maths becomes really interesting for them when it relates to them. My son was
not interested in the number 10 until he understood the value of 10.
Maths is not only counting numbers, shapes and colours, it is everywhere in our daily lives. If you
find out the interests of the children in your class and you connect the mathematical concepts with
these interests, you will notice that you get your children on board and lots of active learning will go
on.