Preschoolers are children who are between the ages of three and five. This is the age of being unconcerned and self-interested. The exciting age where the child sees the world through their own eyes and rarely accepts a different worldview. It is a general voice that humans are in their most genuine form during this time. As a result, parents are recommended to safeguard their child’s individuality until their personality has evolved.
Parenting gets easier when you have the appropriate information. Knowing your child’s developmental milestones is crucial. Especially during the preschool years. Here are some developmental milestones for preschoolers:
-can easily name colours
-shows affection to immediate caregivers
-relatively more independent
-starts exploring the outside world and people
-able to ride a tricycle
-notices a difference between girls and boys
-can use safety scissors
-able to recall catchy parts of the stories
-plays with other children
-able to repeat rhymes
– beginning to develop some literacy skills
Allowing the youngster to establish their individuality while guiding them along the right road can be difficult. Furthermore, youngsters at this age begin to establish their own beliefs about god, the universe, other people, and about themselves. As a parent, you should be aware of some beneficial preschool parenting tips. In that spirit here is a compiled list of positive parenting tips for preschoolers:
- Prepare for pre-school:
The importance of preschool preparation cannot be overstated. Children should be offered a mock school experience, where they are introduced to the structure of school life. This helps kids prepare for the upcoming adventure. Moreover, it gives the parents an insight into their child’s development status.
- Diversity in learning
Provide your child with multiple learning experiences. Give exposure to storybooks, music, art, numbers, words, group interactions, and so on. Let them develop their preferences in music and art. Listen to their musings about the same.
- Easy chores
Let your little one help you with basic easy chores. Give them this opportunity to learn and explore their own capacity.Perhaps, they could help you arrange a closet or narrate to them how you interactively do laundry. This will not only increase their knowledge about the functioning of the world, but also help make them more independent
- Discipline
Teaching the child socially acceptable behaviours and social norms while outside of home is crucial. Since these are formative ages for the child, they should have a decent idea of what is acceptable and what behaviour should be avoided. According to research, children respond better to positive reinforcements than punishments. If you appreciate the child after the desired behaviour they are more likely to repeat it in the future.
- Set an example
“A child will follow your example more than your advice. Children look up to the parents for guidance and a model for the ideal way of behaving. They hold you in high regard and want to be like you. Therefore, one should be extremely careful when around a preschooler. If you show courtesy, they learn courtesy; if you show temper, they learn temper. The best way to teach your child the acceptable way to behave is to do it yourself.
- Encourage decision making
Inculcating decisiveness in your young one is pivotal. Provide them with opportunities where they actively make decisions for themselves. For instance, give them two to three choices for their outfits and ask them which one they would like to wear. One of the recommended reading tips for preschool parents is: Before reading to them, ask what kind of story they would like to hear. Do they want to hear about space, fairies, magic? Ask them. Often, we tend to pick everything for our children. It is imperative to let them have a safe, free space to make their own decisions.
With these effective preschool parenting tips, explore the world with your little one.