The Trusting 3s

Characteristics

Anxious to Please Children conform readily at this age because they like to please adults and get approval and acceptance.
KeatKeat is always asking me: "I do this and you'll be so proud of me ah?" "Am I a good boy today?" "I didn't make you angry today, right?"

Cooperative They enjoy following instructions and working with other children. They also like to share now, because they are very interested in other people.
If you read my first post Understanding Your Child, you would know that KeatKeat was not such a child then....the nursery class this year helps to build his social skills too. Now he is just so eager to mix around with his friends and new kids he meet.

Very Energetic They are on the go almost every minute of the day and tire themselves out easily.
Yes! His would take a blanket, cover his head and pretend that he is holding the Chinese Lion Dance head and kept dancing up and down tables and sofas as if they were the stilts... sometimes he get so engross in it that he would knock around and still continues.... the whole time you can hear "jiak dong chiang, jiak dong chiang, dong chiang dong chian...."
Believe it, he can do this whole day if the Chinese Lion Dance VCD is playing at the same time.

Highly Imaginative They live in a world of make-believe and are not yet able to distinguish between the real and the imaginary. They will believe you if you tell them that the big, black dog is a bear.
Well, he always imagine that he is a racer in a sports car. Sometimes he makes me feel his cars are more important than his life. He must always 'race' before he goes to bed, after he wakes up, before meal and after meal....meaning he is racing almost all the time!

Tips for Handling Three-year-olds

• Praise the child for work well done, obeying, or helping out

Don't just say Good Boy or Good Girl. Be creative, use different words, it increases vocabulary learning too. Say Good Job, Smart Boy, You impress me!....

• Provide active games and fun for the child, but be sure to give him rest periods throughout the day.

That is sometimes a challenge. 'Cos the kid is so pumped up, he became unstoppable! Try this : When you want him to stop, give him a time frame or some sort of gauge. Let's say you are playing hide and seek, you can say "This is the last round or last 2nd round, after that we need to rest. We will continue another time."

Or if your child can tell the time already, simply says "5mins more". If your child still can't tell the time, but can recognise numbers, point to the clock and say "when the long hand touches number 12, we need to stop this game, drink some water and rest."

• Provide time and materials for imaginative play. Play "Guess where I hide", "Can you be a bear?" with the child
• Provide cooperative activities for the child and his siblings, and also with his neighbours.
• Praise him for working together with others.

share with me your experience with your child. I would love to learn from you.