Learning to Tell the Time 🕰️: How I Helped My Daughter Overcome Time-Telling Struggles
When it comes to learning how to tell the time, it can be a huge challenge for some children. My daughter, for example, had countless meltdowns when we tried to teach her. She tried so hard to understand where each hand went, but it didn’t seem to make sense. We tried everything—from buying watches in different colours to watching every YouTube video we could find—but nothing seemed to work.
After a lot of research, we uncovered something that changed everything: the psychological issues surrounding maths anxiety, and how humour plays a huge role in breaking down the barriers that some children face when trying to understand time, numbers, or any math concepts.
The Problem:
For my daughter, concepts like “past” and “to” simply didn’t make sense. Why does the big hand point to the minutes, and the small hand point to the hours? It felt totally illogical to her. Why is “twenty to seven” the same as 6:40? Who invented this crazy system? (Apparently, it was Aristotle, but since he’s long gone, there’s no use getting upset with him!)
The Struggles:
You may have heard your child say, “Mum, I’m confused and don’t understand!” or seen them storm off in frustration. It’s tough for a child living in the moment who would rather play outside or read a book. But, trust me, I’ve been there.
I struggled with telling the time when I was younger too, and I could see how hard it was for my daughter. My mum was exasperated with me, and I felt like a failure. So, when my daughter experienced the same challenges, I knew exactly what she was going through. But what could I do to help?
The Discovery:
After hours of research, I realised the main barrier wasn’t the numbers on the clock—it was the language. The order in which information was presented made a huge difference. And, I found that if children were laughing, they absorbed information much faster and with far less stress. When the fear of learning something complex faded away, my daughter and I could focus on the fun parts.
The Solution:
Solution 1️⃣ : Make it Funny Humor is a powerful tool when teaching something challenging. If children are laughing, they forget they’re supposed to be stressed or confused, and they actually open up to the information. When learning feels like fun, the fear disappears.
Solution 2️⃣: Soft Testing Instead of a red cross for wrong answers, rewatching funny cartoons ensures children understand. When my daughter got an answer wrong, we wouldn’t say anything and simply show her our funny cartoon that explained the concept again. This kept her engaged and encouraged her to keep trying, even when she didn’t get it right the first time.
Solution 3️⃣: Set Small Goals (Quests!) We set small, achievable goals, like 5-minute tasks each day. If she reached her goal, she earned a reward—whether that was a toy or a cuddly treat. These mini-milestones helped her push through difficulties, and of course, the fun and funny cartoons kept her coming back for more.
The Result:
After all the research and experimentation, we finally struck gold with Clever Clocks. We developed a method to teach every child how to tell the time in a way that feels effortless and fun. And the best part? No child has ever felt stupid or like a failure. It’s been a complete turnaround!
By using humour, positive reinforcement, and a structured approach with small goals, my daughter not only learned how to tell the time, but she did it with confidence and a smile on her face and I can confidently say that every child can do the same!
