Questions tagged [pre-schooler]
Age specific questions from about 3 years to about 5 years. Younger: toddler. Older: primary-schooler.
98
questions
15
votes
6
answers
16k
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 ...
15
votes
4
answers
22k
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 ...
15
votes
8
answers
47k
views
How do you teach toddlers 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 ...
15
votes
6
answers
514
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 ...
14
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Does toddler keep hands around private parts?
My son is turning 3 years old and lately I been noticing he is playing/holding his penis, which I am really concerned about.
His hand just wonders off to his willy, I have asked him what's wrong but ...
12
votes
6
answers
4k
views
Is it normal for a five year-old to be put in detention repeatedly for not being able to sit still and be quiet?
My granddaughter is having trouble in school and at home, but more at school. She is 5 1/2 years old and in kindergarten. She is having trouble not being still, moving hands or feet, and humming or ...
12
votes
6
answers
2k
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 ...
12
votes
7
answers
2k
views
What are some strategies for helping children cope with divorce?
I have two young children and I'm going though a divorce. My daughter is 5, and my Son is 2.
I'm worried because my son and daughters behaviors has gone down hill. I was wondering if there was ...
12
votes
4
answers
2k
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 dangerous,...
11
votes
3
answers
819
views
4 year old daughter starved for Dad's attention
My 4 year old daugther always wants my attention, and I try my best to give it to her. Either by telling stories, playing with stuffed animals, reading books, or anything else she likes to do. I have ...
11
votes
6
answers
1k
views
How many hours of television per day are acceptable for a pre-schooler?
I'm aware that TV should be avoided at all, if possible.
However, my daughter likes it and when she watches TV we have the chance of doing some cooking, housekeeping, etc.
So, what's an acceptable ...
11
votes
8
answers
31k
views
5yr Old Has Trouble With Letters & Reading
My daughter is 5 years old (will be 6 at the end of February) and lately has wanted to learn to read. However, I've become a bit concerned because it seems as though she has absolutely no memory for ...
10
votes
3
answers
874
views
My 3-year-old daughter, who lives with my ex-wife, put me in time out in a dark room. Shall I be worried that she imitated what's being done to her?
Long story short married for 3 years, daughter is currently 3, divorced for 1 year.
This year, for Father's day, my ex-wife let me spend the whole day with my daughter, which I was over the moon ...
10
votes
3
answers
7k
views
4 year old steals toys from baby brother
My nephew (Alex) is turning 4 in one week, and his little brother (Ben) is 10 months old. When Ben was born, Alex loved him to death and would do anything to help us with him, bringing him toys and ...
10
votes
5
answers
994
views
At which age does it make sense to see a professional when suspecting Asperger?
We noticed that our 3.5 year old child begins showing signs of Asperger. Each of these signs, by itself, could be explained with age, but in sum it appears noticeable.
I'm not going to list the ...
10
votes
2
answers
10k
views
5 year old lying and stealing
My 5-year-old son has recently developed the habit of lying and stealing. All of this in the span of 2 weeks. It started with him getting a small toy from his school classroom. We made him understand ...
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
"Mommy doesn't like daddy" - What to do about my 4-year-old daughter crying for 20 min everytime I pick her up from my ex-wife?
I have had a shared parenting agreement for nearly 2 years now for my soon to be 5-year-old daughter. She switches houses every other day during the week and every other weekend. This has been going ...
10
votes
1
answer
516
views
How do you handle a pre-schooler who tries to use excuses to justify his behavior?
My boy is creeping out of 5 1/2. Right now we're dealing with a phase of "Justifications" We tell him not to do something but he starts with, "I'm just" or follows up with "It was an accident"
I don'...
10
votes
8
answers
9k
views
Should our 3 year old boy be made to look at me while I am talking (during discipline)?
Our little boy tends to get 3 minutes on the naughty spot when he's done something wrong. After this time one of us tries to explain why he's been naughty spotted and what he should do differently ...
9
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How can I potty train my 4-year-old daughter?
I have been trying to potty train my daughter over the summer to prepare her for nursery school. She started sitting on the potty for hours just in case she wet in spite of being told this was not ...
9
votes
5
answers
374
views
How to ensure that necessary things get done when time is short?
My question is based on the following assumptions:
I think that children learn by their success, if a certain behavior "works" to get what they want or not.
In consequence: A child should never ...
9
votes
4
answers
14k
views
What to do when my 3.5-year-old says “I don’t love you, I love mommy.”?
Recently, my 3.5-year-old daughter started saying, “I don’t love you, I love mommy.” Also the same phrase with "like" instead of "love".
It’s killing me to hear her say that. But, I know she’s little,...
9
votes
6
answers
37k
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. ...
8
votes
2
answers
901
views
How can I help my preschooler develop empathy?
My 3.5-year-old preschooler is pretty book-smart, but is quite emotionally immature for his age. This has led to a frequent, difficult situation for us.
He'll be acting out a bit - say, not wanting ...
8
votes
4
answers
145k
views
At what age should a child be able to count to 10?
My daughter currently can. She is 21 months old. What is a typical age for this milestone?
8
votes
4
answers
952
views
How do you respond to your pre-schooler when they tell you that you're on Santa's Naughty List?
My three-year-old son really enjoyed Christmas.
My son is still talking about how Santa came to our house to fill our stockings two times (my wife put treats in one night, and I put some in two days ...
7
votes
1
answer
11k
views
How can I teach my 5yo son to respect authority?
My kid is nearly 5, and damn clever but unfortunately he lacks empathy and social skills. Among other things, he does not understand that when a parent gives an order, that order is to be followed -- ...
7
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Recommendations on helping my left-handed preschooler when my husband and I are right-handed
My four-year-old is very obviously left-handed. We've suspected that he's left-handed for a couple of years now, but now that he's starting to learn to write, it's obvious. Every time he tries to ...
7
votes
4
answers
52k
views
At what age do children usually learn to write letters of the alphabet?
My son is 3.5 years old and attends kindergarten. He is one of the youngest in his class. He has not been showing any interest in writing letters of the alphabet and quickly loses focus. His teacher ...
7
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Attention-promoting activities for a toddler
ADD runs in our family ("in fact, it practically stampedes"), and I'm starting to see my toddler's attention become more and more difficult for him to control; he's beginning to have difficulty ...
7
votes
2
answers
3k
views
What are the pros and cons of colouring books?
What are the pros and cons of colouring-in (as opposed to freehand drawing) for pre-school and primary age children?
I'm asking in response to this question:
At what age should I tell my child to ...
7
votes
4
answers
3k
views
My 4.5yr-old girl is afraid of death. What should I do?
Last night my wife (as usual) was putting our 4.5yr-old baby girl to sleep. Our daughter becomes very chatty at that time and (especially in the presence of mom) expresses thoughts and things that ...
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
4-year old unconcerned about pending death of pet
We learned recently from the vet that our dog has cancer and probably only has a few months left (he's old, don't feel too bad).
My 4-year old daughter reacted to this by saying "good, this means I'...
6
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Helping my four year old not mistake 'b' and 'd' (or 'p' and 'q')
My four year old (nearly five) is reading very well, level 2 easy readers already, and in general showing signs of enjoying reading quite a lot.
He still has one issue that trips him up constantly, ...
6
votes
1
answer
644
views
How do I deal with my out of control 3-year-old?
My son will be 4 in a month, and he is very aggressive toward his brothers. He hits, kicks, bites them and takes their toys. He screams at my 1-year-old constantly when he touches anything or ...
5
votes
3
answers
913
views
How do we choose when to start kindergarten?
Each school has its own cut off for kindergarten. When a child falls on or very close to that cut off what criteria should you use to determine which kindergarten class he should go in. I know both ...
5
votes
5
answers
10k
views
What to do about my 3.5-year-old son often changing his clothes?
I have a 3.5-year-old son. After every two three hours he keeps on crying for changing his clothes.
He only wears the dress clothes which he likes, and doesn't listen if we tell him to wear a ...
4
votes
1
answer
217
views
Fear/interest in thunder and lightning
My almost-three year old has the strangest love/hate relationship with thunder and lightning. He will often react with fear when he sees lightning or hears thunder, and will talk about "I am scared ...
4
votes
1
answer
869
views
Kindergartner with no control over his emotions/behavior
My son has been diagnosed with ADHD. He has been kicked out of four different daycares starting when he was just 2 years old. He is now in Kindergarten, and my wife and I hoped that with his recent ...
4
votes
2
answers
1k
views
How to deal with extreme misbehavior of younger siblings?
I have a 3-year-old, a 5-year-old and an 11-year-old who have just been the most exceptionally worst behaved children on this planet. Between the 3- and 5-year-olds, they backchat, break things, have ...
4
votes
2
answers
657
views
How can we find a compromise about screen time for our daughter?
I am personally very strict with my daughter (2.5 years old). After she comes home from kindergarten, she sleeps and after she wakes up, my wife lets her watch TV.
Anytime I am home, I don't allow ...
3
votes
3
answers
510
views
What to do when a pre-schooler refuses to perform routine tasks?
I've recently observed a lot of parenting and I must admit that it's left me baffled and overly cynical. My primary question is this: What do you do when a pre-schooler, say 4-5 years old, refuses to ...
2
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Need suggestions on how to deal with my 5 yr olds defiance and aggressiveness
My 5 yr old son just started Kindergarten last month. His class uses the Red, Yellow, Green color methods to record his behavior for the day and he has had 90% Red - which is bad. He is being very ...
2
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Is it possible to give adult milk powder or powder of higher age group to toddlers?
I wanted my little ones to grow stronger, faster and smarter. So, is it recommended to give toddlers or little ones milk powder of higher age group or adult milk?
e.g. For my kid of age 5, is it ...
1
vote
3
answers
549
views
How to deal with our almost 4-year-old who is out of control and no punishments worked so far?
I am a 20-year-old mom of an almost 4-year-old and a 9-month-old.
My oldest has gotten out of control. He won't listen to anything we tell him. We have tried spanking him, time outs, taking all his ...
1
vote
1
answer
2k
views
child unable to do anything alone
our 5 yr old grandchild cannot tolerate being alone when at home. Even if someone is in the next room, she has to go there.
She needs someone to read and stay with her while she goes to sleep. Can't ...
1
vote
2
answers
350
views
How can I help my pre-schooler be more confident and assertive in competitive play situations?
In a certain type of games, where children are expected to run to a goal point (1) and then to perform
something (2), e.g. to run to a bag full of toys and then quickly grab the best toy ahead of ...
0
votes
3
answers
312
views
Functional illiteracy, Reading and Listening
How to stimulate one's own offspring to process/hearken to/understand what they read and what they hear in everyday life? What questions to ask so as to test their Cognitive Function and incoming ...