Age specific questions from about 3 years to about 5 years. Yonger: toddler. Older: primary-schooler.
31
votes
13answers
2k views
As an atheist, how should I explain theism to my children?
I have two competing interests here and I'm not entirely sure how to handle this. On one hand I feel that the short answer, to questions about gods, of "some people believe that, but it's not true" is ...
27
votes
3answers
705 views
How to prepare children for impending death of a parent?
My wife has been told that she has a limited amount of time left due to an illness, the average life expectancy is 7-8 years after onset, of which we have used up 7. With excellent management, and ...
17
votes
8answers
485 views
How do we teach a pre-schooler about money and shopping?
When I go to a store with my four year old son he wants to buy a lot of stuff he sees. Also he constantly claims that he needs a new toy. How do I explain to him that we can't buy everything we want?
17
votes
4answers
536 views
How to deal with others' children who do not respect my authority?
What are good strategies to deal with children (not my own ones, but children I'm meeting in the kindergarten) which
do things to me or to my son which they should not do like throwing things etc.
...
15
votes
5answers
2k views
At what age can/should a child be able to clean themselves after bowel movements?
How can parents find the right time to encourage a child to clean itself after bowel movements?
Our son is nearly 4 years old and it is still difficult for him to get to the toilet early enough (see ...
14
votes
10answers
5k views
My 5 year- old daughter is constantly defiant!
My 5-year old daughter is very defiant.
It started getting bad about 6 months ago. She doesn't do what she is told, and any time she hears the word no she throws terribly over dramatic fits screaming ...
14
votes
4answers
210 views
What should I do with my daughter on Take Your Child to Work Day?
I'm a programmer and will be observing Take Your Child to Work Day with my four-year-old daughter, Thing1, on Thursday.
I'm planning to get us dressed up, take her to breakfast and then bring her ...
13
votes
7answers
3k views
At what age does a toddler stop being a toddler?
I just told someone on parenting that a baby becomes a toddler when it starts moving around. The question which came back was "what age does a toddler stop being a toddler?".
That got me searching, ...
13
votes
5answers
3k views
At what age should opposite-sex siblings stop bathing together?
When should I stop bathing my son and daughter together? What signs can I watch for that would indicate that they should be separate? Also, what are the average ages in the US and other countries and ...
13
votes
4answers
1k views
How can we potty-train our pre-schooler outside the home?
We're having problems with our 3.5 year-old boy concerning potty training:
Since his birth it seems, that being cleaned is much more unpleasing to him than running around with brimful diapers for ...
12
votes
7answers
6k views
Why does my child eat so slowly?
When we have a family meal, the middle daughter will always take her time. I mean up to 2 hours, to finish a meal, especially if its not her kind of food. She'll get very easily distracted, sing to ...
12
votes
4answers
182 views
How can we prepare a pre-schooler to manage his asthma?
Given: a 5 year old kid with what is believed to be false spasmodic croup. Once in several months he experiences a sudden asthmatic fit in the middle of the night - specifically he has a mild spasm in ...
11
votes
10answers
926 views
How can I get my 4 year old to clean up toys without a battle?
Multiple times during the day, we have our 4 year old take a break from playing to clean up her toys. It's a huge battle every time. Usually, she ends up on the ground saying that there are too many ...
11
votes
4answers
356 views
How to get a child to stop pretending to choke on foods he doesn't want to eat?
I have a 4 1/2 yr old. We're at the stage where he's definitely finicky over foods. The issue is not so much that he's finicky, but that he expresses it by taking a bite and then mock choking. I am ...
11
votes
5answers
161 views
How do you say “not now”?
Sometimes children (say 3-5 years of age) want you to play with them, but for whatever reason, you cannot participate.
How do you say "not now" without hurting their feelings or making them feel ...
11
votes
2answers
205 views
How can we help my pre-schooler get over his initial shyness when we have guests?
My four year old is always extremely unsettled whenever they first interact with a guest.
It doesn't matter if it is another child who has played with many times before or an adult.
It also doesn't ...
10
votes
10answers
415 views
How can I help my pre-schooler to relax and fall asleep?
Our 5-year-old has trouble going to sleep at night. If we put her to bed at 8, she might not fall asleep until 10 or 11, then sleep in until 9 the next day. She'll lay in bed and try to go to sleep, ...
10
votes
4answers
339 views
How should I react if another child “attacks” my son by doing something he does not like (but not especially dangerous)
Recently I was in the following situation:
I wanted to pick up my son (4.5 years old) in the kindergarten and another child was throwing bark mulch at him.
I don't consider this especially ...
9
votes
3answers
366 views
When to pull loose teeth
My 5 year old is starting to have some teeth become loose. Specifically her lower two front teeth. I just noticed today that one of them is really loose. However, I don't know how loose it should be ...
9
votes
3answers
4k views
How do you teach young kids to defend themselves?
How do you teach kids to defend themselves, without becoming bullies? I'm talking about younger kids (1.5 to 3yo) who are not mature enough (or old enough) to take self-defense classes.
My son is two ...
9
votes
4answers
7k views
How can I help my kids to sleep comfortably (and safely) on an overnight drive?
Asking this one anonymously, I don't want the police coming round to arrest me!
In a few weeks, we've got a long drive to go on vacation. Because our youngest is pretty unbearable on long car ...
9
votes
3answers
230 views
How to mitigate the impact of other people comparing my children to each other?
My husband and I have tried very hard to show both of our children that they are loved and cared for, and to encourage their own unique interests and to be proud of the individuals they are growing ...
9
votes
4answers
279 views
How to respond when your kid is being ridiculed by another kid when the other kid's parent(s) are present?
Yesterday, while trick or treating, several of my 5 year old's friends were making fun his name in an unpleasant manner. The mom of these other kids were there but they did not notice this behavior or ...
9
votes
6answers
485 views
How can I make my preschool child brush his teeth, and similar mandatory tasks?
Most tasks and chores can be taught by letting the child experience consequences, because those consequences are mostly immediate and direct (e.g. not going to the playground if the child won't put on ...
9
votes
2answers
555 views
How can I help my child to stay still?
My 3 year old son is generally very well behaved and plays well with others. However, he just wont sit still when we need him to. He is good at staying still when he is focused on something, but as ...
9
votes
3answers
277 views
saving uneaten dinner for breakfast?
I'm sure some of you have either said or heard something like this before:
"If you don't finish your dinner, you can have it for breakfast the next morning"
We used to have problems (and still ...
8
votes
5answers
3k views
Our 4 year old won't fall asleep until 11pm
Our 4 year old doesn't like to sleep. I know that sounds like what every kid says, but let me clarify. She doesn't cry at bedtime, she just won't sleep.
We start to get her ready for bed around 8pm. ...
8
votes
5answers
1k views
What do we do if our children don't like the nanny?
So I just came back to work after a long discussion with our 4 year old. He complains (more to the effect, he had a meltdown) that he doesn't like our nanny, and would prefer to have our neighbour ...
8
votes
5answers
207 views
What are some age-appropriate tasks that my pre-schooler can do around the house?
My wife and I both work full time, this means when we are at home we are both quite busy with housework. This could be in the yard or inside.
As my son is an only child and he wants to spend more ...
8
votes
2answers
725 views
When to allow children to consume sugar/candy/sweets/junk?
We have so far not allowed our toddler (20-months) any foods that contain sugar (chocolate, cake, sweets, sweetened juice, etc.) on the premise that consuming sugar is not needed and only causes ...
7
votes
8answers
2k views
Help! My 5 year old just won't poop on the toilet
I don't know what to do. We have been trying to get our son to poop in the toilet since he was 3. He is now 5 and shows no signs of starting any time ever. He has done it once or twice but he poops in ...
7
votes
3answers
2k views
How do I stop my child from grinding his teeth while sleeping?
How do I stop my 4 year old son from grinding his teeth while he is sleeping?
7
votes
7answers
308 views
Free printable materials for children
My daughter (2.5) loves colouring books, but she uses pretty much one every day. Could someone recommend a decent free online resource of printable materials for children? (at 2.5 years of age these ...
7
votes
5answers
172 views
What techniques can keep a reluctant pre-schooler on a morning schedule?
Early starts at distant work make for alarm clocks and morning rush in our house.
A 4 year old child and two adults have around an hour to get washed, dressed and fed to leave at 7am.
To my son ...
7
votes
4answers
185 views
How do we keep kindergartners entertained while camping?
It's been a while since I've been camping and I never did so as a very young child. What types of activities and general camping prep would be appropriate for going with a kindergartner?
7
votes
3answers
268 views
Preschooler can't sing, but sings anyway - loudly!
My 3½ year old has never had any sense of music, rhythm, notes, or anything resembling the musical arts. (Motor skills is where he truly excels; he's a sports person, not a musician.)
Recently, he ...
7
votes
1answer
108 views
How to share embarassing story to another adult while your child is around?
My daughter is 4. When she had a tantrum, she sometimes scratches or hits herself. One morning she scratched too hard and left a mark on her forehead. I can tell clearly that she was embarrassed by ...
7
votes
2answers
101 views
Why did these two pre-schoolers swap their tantrum behaviour?
I have just noticed this in 2 boys, aged 3,4.
The 3 year old used to throw tantrums quite frequently over trivial matters (such as me holding the ball I'm throwing in the right rather than the left ...
7
votes
3answers
517 views
3 Year Old suddenly doesn't want to sleep
My 3 year old son has suddenly started fighting sleep at every opportunity. He is an absolute angel during bath time and getting ready for bed but will not settle. This has come out of the blue. In ...
7
votes
3answers
636 views
What are the (dis)advantages of putting a child in a nursery or pre-school even when one parent is at home?
It is something I have always thought about, but never asked. We have put our kids into kindergarten/nursery even though my wife doesn't work. We decided that the benefits for our children ...
6
votes
4answers
504 views
4 year old refuses to color
Our 4 year old is in junior kindergarten and we've received multiple letters from his teacher regarding his refusal to color in class. He also refuses at home when we try to encourage him to color. ...
6
votes
5answers
151 views
How much direction does a preschooler need while doing crafts?
My son just turned 4 and I'm trying to figure out how much direction I should give while doing crafts. He really enjoys to doing crafts but if I give him a specific 'project' to do (e.g. something ...
6
votes
1answer
465 views
Should I be concerned that my 3 year old is not able to pronounce an 'r' sound?
My daughter is turning 3 this December, she goes to pre-school with other kids who speak totally different languages. We're from a remote part of India, thus she shares her mother-tongue with no one ...
6
votes
2answers
155 views
Explaining a c-section scar to a toddler
Our 3-year-old son noticed his mother's scar from the cesarean section and wondered what it was. We didn't really give him an answer but diverted his attention instead. Now we're talking about how ...
6
votes
6answers
160 views
Moving with our bilingual child
We are two German parents and we are living in an English speaking country. With our child - who just turned three - we speak German, whereas all other people (our friends, his friends, the kids in ...
6
votes
6answers
433 views
How can I help when the parents don't acknowledge their child 's learning disability?
I am a pre-school teacher and in my school I have a four and a half year old girl who has problems. Her fine and large motor skills needs attention. She is not very agile in the outside area, and ...
6
votes
5answers
187 views
Is starting a small fire a good way to the explain dangers of flammability?
How can one teach a 5 year old that acetone, white spirit and other household solvents are not to be played with if he somehow manages to get a hold of them?
One idea is to go to the yard far enough ...
6
votes
3answers
295 views
Somewhat unemotional, destructive pre-schooler; shows no strong attachment to things. How can we help him?
My 5 year old pre-schooler exhibits some behaviors that have my wife & I a little concerned, but we're unsure whether there's a real problem or not.
I'll try to summarize some of his behaviors ...
6
votes
2answers
167 views
my daughter “forgets” her numbers even though she knows how to count
My daughter is 4 1/2 or so. She knows how to count to at least 10, possibly higher, and will do so unprompted.
However, we've recently tried to start playing some board and card games with her. In ...
6
votes
3answers
191 views
How do I figure out why my child no longer likes preschool?
I'm wondering how to figure out why my 4 year old son no longer likes preschool. He is quiet and doesn't say why he doesn't like school when asked about it.
My 4 year old son started preschool in ...
