Change: Flipping the Switch—Literally and Mathematically

Check out this silly little video of my 3-year-old Jonylah (above).

Have you seen your child do this?  Are they similarly fascinated with flipping the switch to get the light to turn on and off?  Why is this so entertaining for toddlers? 

It’s because their brains have developed enough for them to recognize that their actions are causing the change.  Behold their power!

That’s why this tiny moment is a building block for mathematical thinking.  It’s the earliest sense of change: “I did something, and now the world is different.”  The concept of change builds on the two we explored in the last two posts: attribute and comparison.

Where else does change show up in toddler life?  When toys are put away, snacks disappear, or block towers topple. They’re building an understanding that things can be different than they were before—and they’re eager to explore how and why.

💡 Why This Matters

Before your toddler ever learns about numbers, they’re building the mental structures necessary for mathematical reasoning. Recognition of change requires the ability to hold a mental image of “before” in order to contrast it to “after,” and helps your child develop cause-and-effect thinking. When they hear your voice say, "You made that happen," the learning is even more powerful.

👟 Try It Yourself

Pick a simple moment when something changes—a snack gets eaten, a tower falls, water fills the tub—and narrate it.
Try phrases like:

• “It was full, then you poured it out and now it’s empty!”
  
  
• “You turned the light off—look how dark it is now.”
  
  
• “The pieces were scattered all around the room, but you picked them up and now they’re all in the box.”
  
  

You don’t need special materials—just curiosity, and a few words at the right time.

Ready to dive deeper? The parent mini-course Before Numbers: Math Building Blocks for Toddlers is packed with everything you need to grow strong early math roots with your child from toddlerhood—without adding more to your to-do list.   

 Explore the course →

When you start to see the math already happening, your toddler will too.