Five teachers with a combined 90 years of experience share advice for parents of 2- to 5-year-olds. Getting the Best Out of Your Kid I worry that my 3-year-old, Sophie, has a split personality. At school she cleans up her toys, puts on her sneakers, and is completely self-sufficient at potty time. At home, she yells when I ask her to pick up anything, insists I join in the bathroom whenever she must go, and recently has started demanding that I spoon-feed her dinner. Clearly, her instructor understands something I don't. But , what parent hasn't occasionally wondered: Why is my child better for everybody else than for me? The simple answer: Your child tests her limits with you since she trusts you will love her no matter what. But that doesn't mean you can't invest a few strategies from the preschool instructors ' playbook to get the best from your little one. We asked teachers from all over the nation for their hints so listen up and take notes! .
Don't reevaluate what they've done.
If your son or daughter makes her bed, resist the impulse to smooth the blankets. If she sees herself in stripes and polka dots, compliment her diverse style. Unless absolutely necessary, don't mend what your child accomplishes,'' says Kathy Buss, manager of this Weekday Nursery School, at Morrisville, Pennsylvania. She will notice and it may dissuade her
Lighten up
If your child refuses to do something, try turning it to a match. Humor and matches are two excellent tools that parents sometimes forget about in the heat of the moment, states Zebooker. When her son, now 13, was in preschool, she had to persuade him to put his shoes on in the morning by playing with shoe shop. I'd say, 'Welcome to Miss Mommy's Shoe Store, I've got the best pair that you test on today,' and that I 'd talk in a silly accent and he loved it. (I've had luck with this approach with Sophie, who used to clamp her mouth shut whenever I tried to brush her teeth. We play the Permit 's Guess What You Ate Today game -- and she willingly opens up so I can hunt her molars for cereal, strawberries, or mac and cheese.)
Warn of alterations
If your son or daughter pitches a fit if you pronounce it's time to switch gears --if that means shutting off the TV, stopping play to come consume, or leaving a friend's house -- it could be that you simply 're not devoting enough advance notice. At college we let children know when alterations are coming so they have the time to finish whatever they're doing, observes Cohen-Dorfman. In case you have to leave the home at 8:30 a.m., remind your kid at 8:15 that she's five minutes to play, then might have to cease to put her toys away. Set a timer so that she knows if the time is up.
Enable them to solve straightforward issues.
If you see that your child trying to build a toy or get a book from a shelf that she can reach if she stands on her stepstool, pause before hurrying over to help. Provided they are safe, these moments when you don't hurry in, when you give children a minute to address things for themselves, these are the character-building moments, says Zebooker. It's 's natural to desire to make everything perfect, but when we dowe cheat children of the opportunity to experience success.