Development of Babies and Toddlers - Three to Four years

Development of Babies and Toddlers - Three to Four years Your child is maturing rapidly. Active and mobile, h/she is now moving around on a tricycle and using other wheeled toys. These adept movers respond freely to music and love the rhythms of music, shaking and twisting their bodies. Better hand-eye co-ordination allows mastery of new tools like a toothbrush and scissors.

Your child is maturing rapidly. Active and mobile, h/she is now moving around on a tricycle and using other wheeled toys. These adept movers respond freely to music and love the rhythms of music, shaking and twisting their bodies. Better hand-eye co-ordination allows mastery of new tools like a toothbrush and scissors. Listening to stories continues to delight and children of three will talk about these readily. Sentences now contain four or five words. They remember words to songs and rhymes proudly and may even recite the some numbers. Socially their confidence is soaring and this year you will see new friendships appearing. They are more at ease in the company of others and begin to join in games with others in small groups. Your child continues to achieve important milestones during this year but it is important to remember that all children do so at their own pace. The milestones below will give you an idea of what progress you can expect but please do not worry if your child takes a little longer or indeed achieves some of these earlier than indicated. As a parent you have a very important part to play in supporting this development within a loving and caring relationship.

Well-developed children of this age should display the following:
• Confidently telling others about their needs, desires, interests and perspectives
• Understanding that their actions have an impact on others
• Using simple tools to change locations and status of objects
• Understanding the importance of exercise, eating and sleeping
• Maintaining focus and sitting quietly in appropriate activities
• Knowing more words, remembering names of people and objects around them
• Writing their names and simple short sentences
• Counting from 1 to 10
• Knowing to compare two objects in terms of their weight and size
• Understanding the concept of protecting their environment
• Using simple computer and/or mobile applications
• Playing musical instruments
• Combining dancing movements with gestures to express their feelings and thoughts

Parents can build a positive relationship and bond with their children by:
• Encouraging them to explore and talk about what they have learned, respecting their ideas
• Talking about fair or impartial situations, asking about their feelings of injustice and their ideas on what to do to correct the situation to ensure it is fair
• Teaching them how to use scissors and knives safely
• Explaining to them about the importance of listening and paying attention to others
• Writing words that they can spell
• Pretending to be a robot, asking them to guide you to a certain place, then changing to another place and vice versa when your children pretend to be a robot
• Encouraging them to express their views on nature and on built environments
• Teaching and encouraging them to explore other applications on your computer by clicking on new shortcuts that they have not tried before

To create a positive, stimulating, and safe environment for your child:
• Create opportunities for your child to know all of their friends in the group
• Give your child time to learn without being interrupted
• Create activities for "give and take" play and for sharing with others
• Create opportunities for your child to share their feelings after exercising
• Use hourglass to increase their concentration
• Help your child to remember what they have experienced by showing them related objects, photographs and books
• Give your child time to decide what they want to say and talking manners
• Teach your child to write words for objects, feelings and experiences they like
• Create opportunities for your child to participate in cultural festivals from other countries, so that they can learn and explore a variety of cultures and their differences
• Allow your child to mix colours, and encourage them to decorate appropriate places in your house