When is the best time to teach your child the alphabet, numbers etc ?

I was at Target yesterday and saw this mountain pile of learning materials on sale. It was located at the dollar spot section and you take half off of everything, so everything were .50 cents each! Nobody can beat that!. So I was grabbing stuff as fast as I can! I was trying to show my 17 month old son  Zach everything I got for him. I want him to learn at an early age like some kids I see on youtube that can point which President of the United States is in the picture. I just want him to be a cool kid like that! While I was looking around and placing stuff in my cart, I suddenly saw my son munching on one of the flash cards and saw that there is something in his mouth! I though we were over that stage, well he ate a piece of paper again!
Then I realized, is he ready for all of these? Will I get his attention pointing where in the map is California? Questions that made me think that maybe I'm just forcing him to learn at this early stage.

So I made a research. According to Judith Hudson, a developmental psychologist from Baby Center.
"Most children begin recognizing some letters between the ages of 2 and 3 and can identify most letters between 4 and 5. This means that you can start teaching your child the alphabet when he's around 2 — but don't expect full mastery for some time. What's more, toddlers learn differently from older children, so don't pull out the flashcards and audiotapes just yet. Instead, rely on visual aids such as colorful alphabet picture books — your child will have a great time pointing out the letters he knows, as well as colors, shapes, animals, and other objects in the book."
"If he seems interested, feel free to continue helping your child learn more letters. But if he's under 4 and shows no interest, it's best to let it go for a while. No evidence suggests that very early alphabet learning is related to more advanced reading skills later on"( Quoted from Baby Center Page, Whats the best way to teach my child alphabet)

So there you go! No rush for him and we will take it one at a time. At least I already got the learning materials. The important thing is, I will support and guide his interests and things that will make him happy. Of course as long as it's a good one and will make him a better person.



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