Every child always has a huge curiosity to know the time, especially when parents set limits for daily activities. When I was a child it was a strange feeling to know what time to eat delicious food or play, but it was also funny the time to study. It didn’t matter if it was a simple alarm clock, a wall clock, or wristwatches.
Each one caused an expectation of knowing more and more about time, it was a way of power, of controlling however strange life is. And those clocks with roman numerals were funny because for a small child the numbers were “monsters”, the I, II, III, IV, and others left ours heads totally tangled with each different information. Below we present some curious information about the invention of the clock and some comparisons about how it arouses the curiosity of children.
Children and time – a fun relationship
Time is an essential part of a human being’s life. All of society is governed by the time that goes from the alarm clock, to the time of computers, classrooms, airports, schools, etc… With all this use, we have to consider the best time to teach children to recognise the time on the clock. We are facing a decisive point: what type of watch should I buy for my son, nephew, etc.? Is it a wristwatch or a digital watch?
To solve this problem it is crucial to base yourself on the information that the age of the child will indicate the best watch to be used and also what will be the techniques to teach him/her how to use this device, because a younger child will present a greater difficulty than a child who already knows how to read and write. Below is some information that will make all the difference for a child to recognise the time:
- One of the most recommended points is to teach the child from an early age to recognise the letters and numbers around them, in other words, teach the child that each thing or being has a name and also a very important function in society;
- Teach that there are several different models of clock for the most different kinds of needs, that is, a wall clock is more suitable to be placed on the wall of a house or establishment and clearly show the time to everyone around, while the wrist clock is a personal object, in which each person should keep his/her own. Also in this case explain that there are waterproof watches and others that require greater care not to be damaged (in the case of younger children it is more appropriate to use those that are placed under water, especially when they live playing with liquids). Don’t forget to explain the digital watches that are the most modern versions, besides showing the hours, minutes, and seconds in detail;
- When the child knows addition and subtraction it is easier to explain that the smaller pointer represents the hours while the larger pointer has the function of showing the minutes;
- Another important thing for a child is to explain that in addition to the minutes, the hours have seconds and that they are composed in the following way: 1 hour has 60 minutes and each of these minutes has 60 seconds;
- As we have several different clocks, the children’s wall clock is a great example to explain the difference between each pointer, that is, the spaces between the numbers in which the larger pointer (minutes) rotates from one number to another means that the values correspond to 5 minutes each, that is, on the clock the numbers are described from 1 to 12 where they are in the following proportion: 1 corresponds to 5 minutes, 2 to 10 minutes, 3 to 15 minutes, etc., until reaching 12 which corresponds to 60 minutes or just the change from one hour to another;
- As has been pointed out above, always reinforce, especially for younger children, that when 60 minutes have elapsed it means that an hour has been completed. In this case, it is also interesting to use a toy clock at the beginning or even those that need to be completed with some drawings to awaken a greater desire of children to know the time. These clocks always explain that to spend a whole day it is necessary for the hour pointer to make two complete turns;
- In addition to these examples, there is another way to learn about time: draw a clock on a sheet of paper, place the numbers, draw the pointers and place them in specific positions together with the child so that it becomes more familiar with hours and minutes;
With all these tips it is easier to teach children about how fun it is to recognise the hours, minutes, and seconds and to use this important information not only for their well-being but also to maintain a healthy social life.
