Personal Care and Self-sufficiency The more you can help your toddler learn to be self-sufficient and able to care for himself early in life, the more time you will have for doing other things together. Be prepared that when your little ones are first learning to do these things for themselves, it can seem to take forever—and can be frustrating if you’re trying to go somewhere. The solution is to slot plenty of time and try to let them do it as much as possible. (Of course, there will be times when you have to do it for them, but they usually don’t like those times so much!) Learning to protect and take care of their own bodies involves training and practice. Young children need repeated personal health, hygiene, and safety lessons in almost every area of life: washing up; care of teeth, hair, and clothing; cleaning ears (using nothing smaller than a washcloth on a finger); using the bathroom and washing their hands each time; learning how to use buttons, buckles, snaps, and zippers; combing or braiding hair; polishing shoes; dressing; learning how to eat nicely; learning how to cross streets safely, etc. Social Development (Care for and Consideration of Others) There are many practical and social skills that small children can learn. Learning these skills helps direct some of their energies into positive pursuits, and makes them feel needed and an important part of a family team or work effort. Begin teaching children consideration for others at an early age. For example, they should learn to respect other people’s privacy, say please and thank you, say excuse me when they need to interrupt others, learn to greet new people, and to be less vocal when other conversations are going on. Learning to set the table properly is another part of caring for others. Small children can learn how to prepare and serve food and drinks, such as juice or milk or simple sandwiches. It’s best to use unbreakable serving pitchers, plates, and drinking cups. Have a tea party with your toddler. You can use water, milk, juice, or herbal tea rather than caffeinated tea. Encourage young children to do good things for others. Work with them to prepare a special surprise for someone they love or who needs some extra love and attention. Children enjoy doing deeds of kindness, as it is very rewarding. Being kind and considerate is learned largely from seeing good examples and from being expected and encouraged to be that way themselves. Children quickly learn to want to do helpful things for others, to tidy up when Mommy is feeling under the weather, to bring Daddy his slippers, etc. Reward them with a large measure of love when they show others kindness and consideration, and praise them and thank them for the good they do. This reinforces good behavior and encourages them to develop good manners. Excerpted from the book "Keys to Toddlers and Preschoolers", by Derek and Michelle Brooks. © Aurora Productions. Used with permission.
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Your home contains countless skill-learning opportunities for your young child. You can make each room and each item in the room a learning activity for him if you simply stop for a few moments to show him how something works and let him try it for himself. Listening to explanations, trying out new things, and learning to use something for the first time help children develop both physically and intellectually. Taking care of things One skill that toddlers and preschoolers need is learning how to take proper care of their belongings and surroundings. Make a place for toys to go after they are played with, for clothes to go when they’re not being worn. Then help your child get in the habit of picking up his things when he is done, and hanging up his jackets, folding and putting away his pajamas in the morning, etc. Make learning these habits fun by being lavish with your praise for a job well done. Orderly surroundings give young children a greater sense of security and help them get an early start in forming good habits of their own. Your child’s environment will have a direct effect on his spirit (and yours too), so try to keep it clean, bright, and cheerful. Involving your small child in maintaining that order, beginning with little things, teaches him responsibility for himself and his surroundings. Helping him learn to perform the skills and tasks needed in everyday life also helps him learn new skills, improves his coordination, and teaches him consideration for others. Small children are usually very happy to help around the home and can assist in many needed chores that provide learning experiences. Teach your toddler the art of moving things, such as his small table and chairs, safely, skillfully, and quietly. Teach him to count as he hands you clothespins while you hang up the laundry. Let him help Daddy wash the car. Teach him about food, vitamins, and the importance of cleanliness as he helps prepare the salad for dinner. Daily household chores can be fun learning activities for little children: dumping the waste baskets, cleaning, tidying, sweeping, polishing, dusting, folding clothes, setting tables, washing dishes and clothes, and making beds. When it’s time to clean his room, your toddler or preschooler can help wipe down his toy shelf and wash the plastic toys. Low hooks and shelves for his towel, washcloth, soap, toothbrush, and clothing can turn a dependent, whiny child into a more content and helpful one! Teach your child the proper way to do each task from start to finish. Studying all the different aspects of folding clothes or wiping up dust is very interesting, even absorbing, to a child of two and a half to four years old. He will need time to learn to do it himself. His first tries can’t be expected to be too proficient, but children will gladly try to imitate the correct way of doing things if they are carefully shown how to. Take a “childview” of life Remember that a child often has a different reason than an adult would have for doing something. Often he simply enjoys doing the activity and is not as outcome-motivated as adults tend to be. The activity itself is often reason enough for doing something; finishing what he starts is not so important to him. Sometimes adults become impatient with children for their slowness in doing a task. They can’t see why a child doesn’t just hurry up and finish what he is doing. The child may have a very good attention span for his age, but he may not be focusing his attention on the same thing you are. You may want him to finish some activity because you need to move on to something else, but he may not be so interested in rushing through a perfectly enjoyable activity or moment just to begin something else. If you need to hurry him along, you should take time to explain why you want him to speed up, and how he also will benefit. Try not to rush your child through his day and constantly be pulling him away from absorbing things he is engaged in. Give children time to learn, time to observe, explore, and experience. Don’t rush them through a nature walk, or you may miss something very important. Take full advantage of God’s creation: the sights and sounds, creatures small and great, wind and weather, sunshine and rain. Think back and remember what experiences you had as a child that stand out in your memory, such as going barefoot in rain puddles, or pretending leaves in the tiny stream were boats on a wild river. Give children time and opportunity to learn from the greatest teacher of all—the Creator and His creation. Excerpts of the book "Keys to Toddlers and Preschoolers" by Derek and Michelle Brooks. © Aurora Productions. Used with permission. Reading is perhaps the primary skill that is needed for a good education, as much of learning is based on the ability to read. As parents and teachers we should do our best to expand our children’s thinking processes and help them to communicate their feelings and ideas. Children who grow up in an environment where a variety of reading materials are made available are more likely to develop a greater interest in reading than if they do not have that input. They will also progress more quickly if they have been read to from an early age. Simple books that are of special interest to children can also help them to begin to learn to read, by encouraging them to point out any words they begin to recognize. A cardinal rule in teaching a child to read is for the parent (or teacher) to approach it as a fun, joyous, and happy time to be together. When teaching reading, a parent should never forget these things: * Learning is life’s most exciting game; it is not work. * Learning is a reward; it is not a punishment. * Learning is a pleasure; it is not a chore. * Learning is a privilege; it is not denial. Children differ in how they progress in reading, but one thing remains constant: Your personal interest and attention as the parent or teacher can make all the difference. Almost any approach you take to teaching reading will succeed if your child is happy, motivated, interested, and enjoys the experience. Many people believe that young children may not have the attention span required to learn to read. However, if your times of learning are active and not drawn out, you may find out that the opposite is true, and your children will associate learning to read with enjoyment, which will help keep their interest, and will increase their desire to learn. Young children are much less awed by reading than older children, and do not consider it a subject full of frightening abstracts; instead, they view it as another exciting thing to learn. One key to success is to make sure your children know they are making progress. When they are praised for their accomplishments, children are then motivated to continue learning. Beginning to read can be particularly fun for small children as they start to see all the new words they are able to recognize and read on their own. At the end of a reading session, a simple review of new words encountered, a liberal application of praise for progress made, a sneak peek at what they have to look forward to next time, and an affectionate commendation in a hug—all these are great motivators for most children. Our brain is like a computer; it receives extensive information on a daily basis, and the more it receives, the greater its capacity to receive becomes. Teaching reading during the one to five age bracket is very effective. Young children are linguistic geniuses, and by the age of five they have usually learned one language (or even two or three), sports, simple mathematics, basic writing skills, and much more. Their ability to learn is at its peak, and they have the potential to learn more quickly than they would at a later stage of their lives. Young children can learn almost anything at an early age if it is presented in a clear, informative, and factual manner. Realizing that makes us aware of the great potential in children, and also the great responsibility of teaching a child. Dos of reading: * Be joyous! Love teaching the children that you are with. * Reward a child for success by lavishing praise on the child. * Be enthusiastic. * Eliminate possible distractions. Be sure that you have the child’s full attention. * When teaching children to read, it’s important that they learn to read from left to right. Use your finger or a pencil, and move it under the words to guide their eyes from left to right. Don’ts of reading: * Don’t bore the child by going too slow. * Don’t test the child. * Don’t continue a session if the child loses interest. * Don’t pressure a child to learn. Click here for free readers for young children! By Derek and Michelle Brookes, compiled from Early Bird Readers—A Teacher and Parent’s Handbook (Click here for part one) Put yourself in their shoes Try to view the world from your child’s point of view. Of course, the best way to see things from your child’s perspective is to pray and ask the Lord to show you. He knows your children inside and out. He understands exactly how they feel and what they’re going through, and He will show you if you ask Him. With small children, it sometimes helps to physically come down to their level when you talk to them; squat, kneel, or sit on the floor next to them. On their eye level, you don’t seem so distant. Seeing the world from a child’s perspective also helps you understand why he sometimes feels intimidated when others tower over him, and most of the action is going on beyond his reach. To a small child high shelves may as well be ledges far up the face of a sheer cliff; adults seem like giants two stories high who fill their dwellings with equally huge furniture and facilities often completely inaccessible. An un-familiar house can seem like a land of giants to a tiny child. As much as possible, try to keep his things down where he can get them. You may not have a “child-sized” room and furniture, but at least provide stools (or sturdy boxes) for him to climb up on to get to the sink and other places he needs to be able to reach. Realize that a child’s experience is limited Even tiny misfortunes often get blown out of proportion in young children’s minds. Experience helps put things in perspective. You’ve learned through experience that certain things aren’t worth getting all upset or worried about. That cut finger will soon stop bleeding and hurting. Feelings of disappointment and loss will pass, and new joys will come in their place. Bad weather does eventually pass. But small children don’t have your confidence that things generally work out in the end. They don’t have that frame of reference, because they haven’t experienced life enough yet. They need reassurance. They need you to explain things to them and comfort them. Small children live in the moment. Now is where everything is happening. Now is all that matters. As they grow older, they will understand the principle of time and words like “tomorrow,” “later,” and “after.” Learning to survive disappointment—even everyday little things that seem so minute to us grown-ups—takes time and experience, and for young children it can be a painful process. It can also be painful for parents. It hurts to see your child get so upset, in-secure, and disappointed when his expectations aren’t reached, but you can speed up the healing process by showing sympathy and praying with him. It is just as important to encourage and reward him when he shows faith and confidence that things are going to work out. When you know that your child is going to have a hard time with something, it is always good to prepare him a bit before the event so it does not come as such a shock. Anticipate a crisis coming on and try to preempt it: “Mommy is going to have to turn the video off soon because it is nearly time for your nap. You can watch for a little while longer, then we have to turn it off.” Your example is your child’s best teacher Parents tell a child but never teach, Until they practice what they preach. Children are great mimics. This is largely how they learn—by imitation. Children seldom forget what they see. They go more by what they see than by what they hear, more by your actions and attitudes than by your words. Your children are a reflection of you. Your own attitudes and example of faith become a standard to your children, and their actions and reactions will largely depend on yours. Few others will have a greater impact on your child’s life than you, but the examples of others can have a big influence. TV viewing can have a pronounced effect on your child. TV is the modern world’s handiest, cheapest, and most relied-upon babysitter—but not by any means the most trustworthy or reliable! Many of the bad habits and ungodly attitudes that concern today’s parents when they see them in their children are the result of the children imitating the negative samples that they see on TV. It is wise to limit the influence of television, and monitor what your children—and you, in their presence—watch. What children see on TV and the bad examples that they see in others—especially children their own age or older kids they look up to—can quickly undo a lot of the good attitudes and behavior that you have worked hard to instill in them. Pushing the praise button Children thrive on being praised. It’s more important to praise a child for his good behavior than it is to scold him for his bad behavior. Try to accentuate the positive. Praising children for their good qualities is the best way in the world to get them to try harder to be good. Push the praise button, and they will do almost anything to please you. Sincere praise also helps them feel better about themselves, which is crucial to their growing up happy and well adjusted. Excerpted from the book "Keys to Toddlers and Preschoolers", by Derek and Michelle Brooks. Copyright Aurora Productions. Used with permission. The Importance of Early Learning Toddler age (1 to 2 years) is probably one of the most difficult stages for parents or caregivers. Baby is growing up and has new powers and abilities to explore! Preschoolers (3 to 4 years) are of course more competent than toddlers in their physical skills and abilities, but they are also nearly always ready and happy for any attention and input you can give them. The importance of early education can hardly be emphasized enough. It’s now an accepted fact that a child learns more than half of all that he will learn in his lifetime by the time he’s five years old. So it is important to begin teaching your little ones early and to teach them the right things during those first formative years. Every single day is important, because learning new things every day is the main “occupation” of small children. They can usually learn a lot more with a parent’s guidance than if they are just left to figure things out for themselves. Motor skills, a wide range of practical skills, and language learning are the main areas to focus on. Small children should not be overburdened with tedious scholastic preparation, but a surprising amount of groundwork and preparation for later learning can be done in these early years. They should not be forced to learn something they don’t want to learn—but you will find that there is very little that they do not want to learn about. They seem the most happy and contented when they are busy learning. They are such educational enthusiasts, in fact, that they can soon wear their tutor out! Make it Fun, Make it Lively! In order to capture and keep a little child’s attention, you have to put everything you’ve got into what you’re doing. The best teachers are those who make learning fun. Whatever children enjoy learning is what they will learn the quickest and the best. Great teachers are idea people who inspire children with a desire to learn. They have a knack for turning every situation into a learning activity so pleasant and enjoyable that the children almost beg to learn. We parents may not be all that gifted, but there is a lot we can do. Children like to be kept busy. They like to do things, but they sometimes have a hard time thinking up things to do. So we have to continually think up new ways to channel their energies into productive endeavors. We have to have animation; we have to have enthusiasm—lots of action, lots of motion, and lots of sound effects! We have to really illustrate and put a lot of meaning and interest into what we’re teaching! Excerpted from the book "Keys to Toddlers and Preschoolers" by Derek and Michelle Brooks. © Aurora Productions. Used with Permission.
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