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Counting game

Count With Me

Takes about:
2 minutes to play
Good for:
Baby, Toddler
You’ll need:
just you, and something to count
Handy for:
nappy changes, bath time, out and about, waiting around

Toes at a nappy change, stairs on the way up to bed, ducks in the bath. Count whatever’s in front of you, out loud, touching each one, then say how many there are.

Your baby won’t count for a long time yet. That’s fine. This game is about hearing numbers used for real things, little and often, long before they can join in.

How to play

  1. Count what’s right there. Toes, fingers, stairs, the buttons on a coat, bath toys, buses going past. It works best with things your little one can see.
  2. Touch each one as you count. One number for each toe or step, nice and slow: “One, two, three…”
  3. Say how many at the end. “One, two, three, four, five. Five toes!” The last number tells them how many there are.
  4. Go past three. Count all ten toes, or seven ducks, not just “one, two, three”.
  5. Pause before the last one. Once your toddler knows how it goes, stop before the end, “four…”, and let them shout “Five!”
  6. Count them into action. “Three big jumps! One, two, three!” or “One, two, three… tickle!”

Why it helps

  • In a study that filmed 44 families at home, children whose parents talked more about numbers between 14 and 30 months understood more about what number words mean at nearly 4, even when the researchers allowed for family income and education. The study shows a link, and can’t show that the number talk caused it.1
  • Looking at the same families again, researchers found that the number talk linked with this was counting or saying how many of something the child could see. Counting bigger groups, from 4 to 10, mattered most. Talk about numbers of things that weren’t there didn’t show the same link.2
  • Children usually learn to say “one, two, three” well before they understand what the numbers mean. Understanding that the last number you say tells you how many there are can come before 3 for some children, while others are still working it out at 4.1,2
  • Babies notice amounts long before they know any numbers. In one study, 6-month-olds could tell a picture of 8 dots from a picture of 16, though not 8 from 12.3

As they grow

  • Baby: Count their toes at a nappy change, touching each one, and finish with “Ten toes!” Try “One… two… three… tickle!” with the same words and the same pause every time. In a study of 3-month-olds playing familiar song-and-action games, babies smiled and moved less when their mothers changed how the game went, which suggests they knew what to expect.4
  • Toddler: Count the stairs together, holding hands, and count jumps, claps and frog hops (try it with Animal Moves). Expect “one, two, five, eleven!” for a while: that’s normal. Older toddlers can try “Can you give me two blocks?”, and you can count them together to check.

Tips

  • Little and often. A few seconds of counting at a nappy change, on the stairs and in the bath adds up over a day.
  • Use your fingers. Hold them up as you count, so there’s always something to see.
  • Mistakes are fine. If they say “one, two, five!”, count again together, without telling them off: “One, two, three. Three cars!” The NHS gives the same advice for new words: say it properly, and don’t criticise.5
  • Count everyday things. Socks in the wash, spoons on the table, apples into the bag. Things you can touch are the easiest to count.
  • Calm counting for bedtime. For a quieter version at the end of the day, try Sleepy Countdown.
  • Phone down. Everything you need to count is already in the room.

Keep it safe

  • Count stairs holding hands. The NHS advises safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs until your child is at least 2, and never letting them go up and down on their own.6
  • Count big things. The NHS says to keep small objects, such as buttons, coins and small toy parts, out of your baby’s reach, as they could cause choking.6

About this game

Written with AI assistance. Written by Sam and Erin with help from Claude. We’re parents, not health professionals: if you have any worries about your baby’s development, talk to your health visitor or GP. For more on why games like this matter, see Why play with your baby?

Sources

  1. Levine SC, Suriyakham LW, Rowe ML, Huttenlocher J, Gunderson EA. What counts in the development of young children’s number knowledge? Developmental Psychology. 2010;46(5):1309–1319. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. Gunderson EA, Levine SC. Some types of parent number talk count more than others: relations between parents’ input and children’s cardinal-number knowledge. Developmental Science. 2011;14(5):1021–1032. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  3. Xu F, Spelke ES. Large number discrimination in 6-month-old infants. Cognition. 2000;74(1):B1–B11. doi.org
  4. Fantasia V, Fasulo A, Costall A, López B. Changing the game: exploring infants’ participation in early play routines. Frontiers in Psychology. 2014;5:522. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  5. NHS. Help your baby learn to talk. nhs.uk
  6. NHS. Baby and toddler safety. nhs.uk

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