Education at home vs at daycare

Read more books. They will pick up everything up better through stories. If they won't sit still for more than 1 or 2 books, read "at" them as they play. 😅

@Bonny we read a ton! He actually loves books!

So daycare isn't school. Daycare workers don't need to be teachers so it's not like they sit down and do all the things you're doing. What you gain from at daycare is seeing children the same age for extended periods of time but at this age they aren't meant to play together, rather they parallel play. There's some research that says boys say less words than girls when they first start talking. So it's not fair to compare kids against each other, especially when they're on track with their own milestones. Someone will always be ahead and someone will always be behind but where you are is what matters. I love that I know I can give my child undivided attention and cater what we "learn" to her interests.

First of all, take a breath, Mama. I think you're already doing great! Most children don't start that young learning all of that. And remember, each child is different and learns in a different way. Please don't let yourself compare your baby to the ones in daycare. Each one has their own strengths. At 16 months all, they learn best through play. Some look up cool little games you can do together 😊 Try reading "How Children Learn" by John Holt. And enjoy the process with your baby!

Then you're fine. It might just have more with how talkative he is. Some just are just more quiet or chatty. Other kids might have siblings at home and have to speak up to get what they need so they get a lot of practice. You can encourage him to practice by not immediately giving him things when you know he wants something (but before he asks) and adding details when you describe things.

There is no developmental benefit of socialising under the age of 3 and surely he can learn more under your constant loving guidance which extends throughout the day

From personal experience I kept my son home till he was 2.5 and then started him in “preschool”. All pretty much play based with lots of outdoor nature walks etc. Hes a very active little guy! He also met all his milestones but his speech was just not as quick as some kids. We had signed up for speech therapy around the same time but its only once a month. Anyways hes been in preschool for 3 months and doing amazing! Can communicate so much better and enjoys all the connections hes making. (We also did this for social aspect as we dont know many people or have much family). Overall I am very happy we did this but also we waited till 2.5 as by then he was really clearly craving that interaction etc. I would suggest just be conscious of how and what you say. Narrate as much as possible, fun voices or exaggerations etc! I am sure will come along

If you want to enrich his home environment to be more developmentally educational, I recommend looking into Montessori Toddler or Montessori for the home. As someone with an education background, it sounds like you’re doing fantastic. The best place he can be during this age is with you❤️Reading books for fun every day honestly is enough at this age, there’s over 50 benefits