You probably thought this time would never come but congratulations you have survived the terrible twos and are now entering what Back On Track have named, the thriving threes. One of the major factors that living with a three year old starts to improve is because their language is expanding, vocabulary growing and receptive language (understanding) is evident in the daily routines of the day.
There will be the never-ending barrage of questions, which are a very normal developmental milestone, but I do remember saying to one of my children at 5pm on a wet rainy day, that they only had 3 more questions they could ask me until they went to bed. Sure enough that last question was asked at 5-05 pm so I refused any more that night.
It must have been an exhausting day.
Before we celebrate too hard though, a 3 year old can still fall apart under stress, but our ability to understand why and ask questions and gauge their emotions assists us in knowing how to deal with the resolution. They are learning to recognise emotions of angry and sad, happy and excited and they can experiment all this through their make believe play which is becoming quite dramatic and complex.
A 3 year old needs lots of action, running, jumping, climbing and tumbling with their energy levels seeming endless but we should not forget how important the development of fine motor control is (which are those small muscles in the hand). I encourage you to let your children dress themselves, set up a little art/craft drawing area with pencils, textas, scissors, yes scissors (child friendly).
Your role as a parent is extremely important at this point, as they imitate your every movement and action. They need a familiar adult to teach them how to deal with their emotions, how to react and control their outbursts and especially an adult who demonstrates a firm but fair attitude and consistent boundaries to ensure they now exactly what is expected of them and in so doing you are setting them up for success.
My advice to parents of a thriving three year old is to talk, read, sing, explore, experiment and listen, as much as time allows because 90% of a child’s brain development happens before the age of 4.
Yes tiring but SO rewarding. I want to leave you with this
I am 3
I am not built to sit still, keep my
hands to myself,take turns, be
patient,stand in line or keep quiet
I need motion, i need novelty, I need
adventure, and i need to engage the
world with my whole body.
Let Me Play
