Sponsored Post – The importance of time – teaching children to tell the time

As the boys have reached an age where they can understand the concept of time we have started teaching them to tell the time.  Having a routine that we stick to has helped with this to a degree especially for the younger children.   We have used teaching aids from magnetic clocks that stick on the fridge to clocks around the house too.
Last summer we reached a mile stone with Luc and the need for him to be able to tell the time became more important than previously.  He hit the ‘can I play out’ age and we started to have his friends calling for him.  We realised that he would need to have a watch of his own as well as being confident in telling the time if we were to let him go out without us.  The whole concept of ‘playing out with friends’ was something we had to get used to as we felt it was important that the boys were able to spend time with friends once they reached a suitable age.  The only solution we could think of was to buy Luc his own watch and teach him how to read it.  

In some ways it was quite good timing as this all happened around his birthday.  So my parents kindly decided they would buy Luc his own watch.  I spent some time looking at various watches available on websites and shops with my parents in order to find a suitable one.  One of the websites we spent some time looking around was The Watch Hut 
I had heard of them previously via a friend so thought it was worth looking.  Both myself and my parents were pleasantly surprised at the range of watches available and also the prices.  

In the end my parents opted to buy the a Casio watch for Luc from The Watch Hut, we all felt he needed a watch that would last him as he got older.  This watch seemed to fit the bill with its small clock face and a face that stands out, it’s also water resistant which my parents thought was a good idea if he was playing outdoors.

The look on his face when he saw the watch on his birthday was priceless.  We explained that if he wanted to go out with his friends he would need to be able to tell he time so that he would know when he had to be home.  At nine years old Luc quickly picked up reading his watch.  I spent some time with him asking him to tell me the time if the ‘big hand points’ to this number and the ‘small hand points to’ this number.  As well as asking him to tell me what the 15, 30, 45 and 12 meant on the watch face.   It also provided the opportunity to teach Trystan about reading a watch as he was very interested in learning.  

The first time Luc was allowed out with his friend, I did the whole clock watching thing when it reached the time he was due home.  But I needn’t have worried he was home within a minute of his given time!  Luc now even wears his watch to school which I think is a good thing as it means he has got into the habit of telling the time and practice makes perfect after all.

I think this also made us aware that we should be a bit more proactive about teaching the other children about telling the time.  After all it is something that they will need to be able to do as part of becoming independent. Be that for getting to after school clubs or college on time and eventually work.    Trystan and Rowan show a lot of interest in Luc’s watch so the next step for us is to look for watches for the other two boys.


This post has been sponsored by The Watch Hut however the content of the post, the opinions expressed within it are 100% my own. 


 

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