Hot answers tagged pre-schooler
35
As an atheist, how should I explain theism to my children?
Treat all religions the same way: explain that they exist, and that you don't believe in them, but you do believe that everybody should make up his own mind on what to believe / believe in. As a non-believer, this can be hard to pull off without sounding dismissive toward the concept of religion ...
18
The /r/ sound is quite complex to produce and requires refined oral motor skills. It is often one of the last developing sounds in children. As a speech language pathologist, I work with many children who have difficulty with this sound.
Because it's a later developing sound, using another sound such as the /l/ for it at 3 years of age is considered ...
18
With our 3.5 year old son, we do this by making sure he knows that he won't get to do the next thing until he puts away his toys. Want to watch TV? Put away your toys. Want to eat some snack food? Put away toys. Play hide and seek (his favorite game) or get thrown onto the bed? Put away your toys. Once he believed us, that he wasn't going to get away ...
18
You should only let the child pull it out themselves (or leave it to fall out when it is ready if the child doesn't want to pull it). If you try to pull it out you may cause pain or injury to the child.
Edit to add: letting it fall out by itself is fine - what would be bad about that? The more ready it is, the less pain and bleeding there will be.
16
I don't think there's a universal definition.
Going by the American Academy of Pediatrics:
Baby = 0 - 1 year (Sometimes called "Infant" in other sources)
Toddler = 1 - 3 years (Some still consider young toddlers to be 'babies')
Preschooler = 3 - 5 years
Gradeschooler = 5 - 12 years (Sometimes called 'school age' in other sources)
Clothing ...
15
A few ideas:
Start with yourself
You're at your wit's end. You need to fix that as best you can.
You're not a failure. You may have lost some battles, but you're haven't lost the war.
Remind yourself that this phase won't last forever, and that you will get through it.
Look after yourself. Make sure you're sleeping, eating etc. properly and that you have ...
14
Same with my oldest boy lately, he can spend hours (if we let him) eating one bite. We just figure it's some sort of control issue or something with him and basically have just set a time for him to eat, if he doesn't want to finish or eat a lot then he needs to wait until the next meal. If he is really hungry either he can have water, or something healthy ...
14
One, no slapping. Besides being very unpleasant it is counter-productive and will make the problem worse. The reason your nephew is misbehaving this way is because he gets attention. You have a problem because there's little you can do yourself, parenting must come from the mother and father.
The problem is he's getting lots of the wrong kind of attention ...
13
One answer could be a serious reaction to mock-choking. What would you do if your child really choked on food? You'd probably act fast and not in an entirely funny manner. Also, you'd have a seriously concerned face. "This time it looked like you really were choking! I was afraid!"
The important point is to be serious, not mock-serious. Also, does he know ...
13
Refusing to play with someone is a very common behavior. Most of the time there is nothing alarming to worry about. A four years old child is a complete human being with mind and heart. Children always have reasons for their actions.
The first step is to examine the child’s relationships with others, children and adults. Find out if anyone has denied the ...
13
Yes, it's uncomfortable.
No, it's not a concern.
My personal experience (having traveled many thousands of km/miles in the summertime as a child) is that high temperatures while driving is not a serious concern. When you don't have A/C, then your best defense against heat is to be smart:
Passengers will be thirsty.
Bring lots of drinking water, but avoid ...
12
Time to buy a money box/'piggy bank'
We bought our son a Thomas the Tank Engine money box and we often randomly give him the small change from local shopping trips. He enjoys putting the coins into his money box and pretending to count the money occassionally.
Now, when we go shopping and he latches onto something he likes the look of, we simply ask "okay, ...
12
If it's a full-time nanny I'm assuming it's inside your own home.
You have to understand your home also belongs to your child and although in the real world we have to deal with all sorts of people we don't like to be around people we don't like in our own home. This can be a significant cause of stress and a reason that your child is reacting so ...
12
No, there is no way to safely do what you describe. Please keep your children in their seatbelts and child seats at all times. I understand what you're trying to achieve, but even if you find a working solution, the risks are immense.
Sitting upright with a relaxed head in a collision is safe. So to speak, if the head has already fallen forward before you ...
12
My son (now 8) also did not want to color! I think it takes a certain kind of personality to be able to sit there and perform all these small repetitive motions over a long period of time. My son was an active kid who was pragmatic in his own way: he would much rather draw pictures from scratch himself, whether it is with crayons or paint. He just didn't ...
12
My guess is that she has memorized the number sequence, but hasn't actually made the correlation between the words and the actual amount of things. This a big leap. Have her practice counting as much as you can, but make it fun and incorporated into daily life as much as possible.
Like,
When giving snack "here's one slices of orange, now you have two* ...
11
As a counter-point to @9000's suggestion, try ignoring him completely (assuming you can tell the difference between mock and not!). Most behaviours such are a method of garnering attention.
But whatever you do, only choose one course of action, don't confuse him by switching between the two.
11
I think that is a very bad idea, because it is likely to have the opposite effect -- cool rather than scary -- so in effect you'd be teaching your kid pyrotechnics. After all, there's a reason why Hollywood flicks are full of explosions. I'm sure a 5yo doesn't understand whether it's sensible to play with fire indoors. Do you really want him to play with ...
11
First, I suggest you check out the excellent book Parenting Beyond Belief.
Second, I suggest you might visit a Unitarian-Universalist congregation if there is one near you, as my family has done recently. UUs believe that each person is responsible for exploring and discovering their own beliefs in a responsible way. Historically it was a Christian ...
11
I'm sorry. My son (2 years) is one of the wild ones. He's rough, aggressive, has a high tolerance for pain, and is nearly fearless. What's more, he loves to break things, tackle people, wrestle, and test his limits (over and over).
I am sorry that he is jumping up and down on your son. I'm sorry that he just head butted your daughter in the face. I am not ...
11
Perhaps you are approaching this the wrong way. You seem to want to win, so that she will obey, but it's not about that. Think of it this way, how would you feel if someone was telling you what to do and how to do it every second of the day? You want her to do what you want, when you want it, and how you want it but it doesn't work that way unfortunately. ...
10
I suggest a simple habit. Never buy toys on impulse; no matter how difficult the merchandizers make it for us. (Toys in the check out lane, really?)
Each time explain that the child can think about getting the toy and give reasons on the following day. Let them know that if you approve of the reasons, on the next trip to the store you will get the toy if ...
10
The general rule of thumb is that a child's attention span should be one minute for each year of age. So, 3 minutes is acceptable for a 3 year old.
It sounds as if his need to move is the biggest problem for you. It is interesting that brained based research indicates that movement actually maximizes learning so our model of sit and learn is likely not the ...
10
Mimicking the behaviors of others is a natural part of development. Some children spend a period of time where they don't seem to do anything else.
Your son is trying out different behaviors as a way to understand his relationship with the world around him, which includes other people (other kids, teachers, parents, siblings, strangers).
One of the best ...
10
I found two ways of dealing with this.
First, when we get home I give my kids about 15 minutes of my time before attempting what I think 'needs' to get done. This way I have given them my attention and then I can say something like, I need to make dinner it will take about 10 minutes and then I will be back. this avoids the whole issue.
Second, when the ...
10
I understand death of a parent can happen to any child, but is it
right to pretend we don't know what's coming?
Unless your kids are incredibly dense, they are going to figure it out sooner or later, and probably sooner. The only question is where are they going to get their information from. I was diagnosed with MS two years ago when my kids were 7, ...
10
I would suggest reading through some of the top voted questions under:
Discipline
and
Behavior
The answers to this question seem particularly relevant to your needs (same age, same problem).
Reading between the lines, it sounds like you're exhausted and may be struggling to get the support you need. Counselling may help, starting with phone counselling, ...
10
We had a somewhat similar situation with my son when he started pre-K this past August. He would refuse to do any activities that involved cutting with scissors. There were a couple of reasons for this: 1) I'd never actually let him hold scissors prior to that, so he didn't have any experience with them. 2) He's left-handed, he's the only kid in the ...
9
In general, at this age, it's not the child's responsibility to defend himself/herself, it is the parent's responsibility to make sure that the play environment an surroundings are safe so that the child does not get hurt.
The thing you can focus on is teaching all the kids who are playing together to say STOP and NO when they're being hurt or in an ...
9
I don't know what you mean by going to time out but it almost sounds like you're trying to force the child to be participating and being social from the start.
Give the child time to adapt to the newcomers. Don't expect the child to be social and friendly immediately -- allow a number of minutes to get used to the situation.
Let the child play in his ...
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