Parenting For Three Year Old

Five teachers with a combined 90 years of experience share advice for parents of two - to 5-year-olds. Finding the Best from Your Kid I worry that my 3-year-old, Sophie, has a split personality. At college she cleans her toys up, puts on her shoes, and is entirely self indulgent at potty time. At home, she yells whenever I ask her to pick anything up, insists that I join in the restroom whenever she has to go, and lately has started demanding that I spoon-feed her dinner. Certainly, her instructor knows something that I don't. But , what parent hasn't sometimes wondered: Why is my kid better for everyone else than for me personally? The easy answer: Your kid tests her limits with you since she trusts you'll love her no matter what. But that doesn't mean you can't borrow a few plans from the preschool instructors ' playbook to get the best from the little one. We asked educators from around the nation for their hints so listen up and take notes! .

Do it .

There's a reason the cleanup song functions. Establish a job to music, and suddenly it's fun, says Sandy Haines, a teacher in the Buckingham Cooperative Nursery School, in Glastonbury, Connecticut. In case you're not feeling creative, suggest racing a song: Would you get dressed before Raffi finishes singing 'Yellow Submarine'?

Let your child work out small squabbles

Instead of swooping into settle disputes, stand back and allow them to work it out (unless they're hitting each other). You won't always be there to rescue your child.

Give structured decisions

If, for instance, your 3-year-old refuses to sit at the dinner table, you might offer the choice of sitting and getting dessert -- or not sitting and passing up a treat. Initially, your child might not make the best option, but he will, since he'll see that the wrong decision isn't get him what he wants, says Buss. Just be certain, if you'd like your child to choose choice A, that option B is less appealing.

Redirect.

If your preschooler is leaping on the couch or grabbing for her big sister's dolls, distract her by asking if she'd love to draw a picture or read a brief story together.

Disciplining Effectively

It struck me recently that I've never met a parent who doesn't use time-outs, and never met a preschool teacher who does. So what discipline strategies do teachers advocate?