Your daughter is three years old! Congratulations on completing the most challenging three years of parenting. Of course there are lots of challenges ahead and your task of parenting is only really beginning. But because of your child’s growth and development over these last three years, she is more independent and has taken the first major steps to learning for herself.
A sense of time is a sophisticated skill. It develops slowly because it is so abstract. The passing of time cannot be seen or felt. In fact, if we are really enjoying something, time seems to go by very quickly. If we are bored or sad, on the other hand, it seems to drag indefinitely. Is it any wonder that our children have a hard time learning about time?
Teasing is a fact of life, but that doesn’t make it any less painful. Most preschoolers’ teasing is calling names like “dummy,” and defining social groups by saying things like, “Go away, you can’t play with us!” About this age, your child really understands and is hurt by these kinds of words and attitudes. Even the gentle teasing of older kids and adults hurts. Almost three year olds don’t have the ability to laugh at themselves or see others have a laugh at their expense. They don’t have the vocabulary or fluency to answer back or to express their hurt.
You might think it is impossible for a preschooler to learn respect. But an almost three year old has the verbal skills to learn to show respect. She won’t get it right a lot of the time, but with practice and consistent teaching, she’ll become a respectful child.
Respect is not the same as fear. Respect is more than just being courteous, it is paying attention to and being kind to others.
How does your toddler respond to novelty? Does she sometimes jump right into a novel situation with determination and excitement and then in the next moment throw a fit over some slight variation of common events? Part of the way she deals with novelty is her own personality; out-going, shy, or task-oriented. Part of her response is due to her stage of development.