Do you often ask, “How can I make my child pay attention when I try to teach the alphabet?” 

Well, there are two main reasons why young children fail to pay attention when adults try to teach them about the alphabet. For some children, the task seems abstract — why learn all those letter names anyway? Other children appreciate that learning the alphabet is very important and this can make them anxious about their ability to succeed. There are other reasons a child won’t pay attention, but fortunately they all have one very easy solution: make learning time playful, easy, and short!

Devote just a few minutes to alphabet learning time, 5 minutes is plenty. Pick a good game to play that focuses on just one or two letters. Don’t worry about any mistakes your child makes. Rest assured that the more you play, the less mistakes a child will make.

Here are some simple letter games you can play anywhere:

• Write the letter A on three Post-its and the letter B on another set of three Post-its. Tape them securely to a wooden or linoleum floor. Have your child stand on one of the As. He has to jump from an A to a B and then back to an A and then to a B. If this is fun and easy, try adding the letter C. You can take a turn, too. If you miss a letter, it just adds to the fun.

• Challenge your child to go find three letter As in the supermarket! You can also do this in other places, like the waiting room at the doctor’s office or on the bus.

• Write the letter A on six index cards or Post-its. Hide the cards in a room and let your child go on a find-the-letter hunt.

Instead of A or B, you might begin with the letters in your child’s name. This will give extra meaning to the games. Stop playing before your child is bored. It is far better for a child to complain that a game is ending than want to stop because it has become boring.

Let us know how this works for you and feel free to share any videos or pictures on Instagram, of your little ones enjoying these letter game. We can’t wait to see!