Understanding Child Development - The Preschool Years

If you are planning to enroll preschool
age children in your home child care
business, then an understanding of
how children between the ages of three
and five develop is important. Preschool
age kids are able to tell the difference
between what's right and wrong behavior.
However, they may not always use clear
judgement. At this age, adults are able
to tell them what's expected of them and
why. For the most part, preschoolers are
able to develop a sense of self-restraint.

Even though preschoolers are able to
use words to tell you how they feel, and
to work out issues with their friends and
siblings, they may not always be able to maintain self-control and will want to lash out. They can very often become anxious and take their unhappy emotions out on others. With the help of caring adults who understand preschool age development, they can be helped to learn to control their own behavior and develop better ways of dealing with overwhelming situations.

Be prepared to spend a lot of your day care time talking to and explaining how, what, when and why to your preschool age day care kids. One very effective method of guiding preschoolers behavior is to give them the chance to make good choices and decisions. Let them know that their are always consequences to the choices they make and that not all are good. Explain to them why, for example, "Evan, if you choose to keep tearing down Tyler's  constructions you'll have to play somewhere else." The preschooler has a choice to make and also learns that there are negative consequences to unacceptable decisions. They maintain their dignity while learning to work with others. This lesson will take them far in life.

Here are just a very few simple tips for helping preschool age children to use acceptable behavior:

Always be prepared to find other, positive ways for wound-up kids to run off their excess energy.  Often, when preschoolers become over tired or over stimulated, they lash out and and behave in less than pleasant ways.

Explain to preschoolers how what they're doing or how they're behaving is unacceptable. For example, if you see Tony hitting Sara after she took his toy truck, then tell Sara why Tony hit her, why her actions were unacceptable and the consequences; upsetting Tony and getting hit as a result. Then naturally, explain to Tony that you simply can't let him hit others. Ask Tony to tell Sara how her behavior hurt his feelings and how it made him feel, and explain to Sara how to better go about getting her own truck to play with.

This is just a brief intro into preschool age development, see the resources below for more information.