Raising a preschooler places a great responsibility on the shoulders of an adult. It is at this age that children, like sponges, are able to absorb all the information offered, the basic character traits are laid, development as a personality takes place. The age-related features of preschool children often make adults misinterpret the actions of babies, demand more from them than is possible. The errors of upbringing follow from this. In addition, these errors can even injure the fragile psyche of the child. Make him what he is not. You can avoid this if you try to understand the child at this stage of growing up.
Claim no more than you can
First of all, the age-related psychological characteristics of preschool children are based on copying adult behavior. Several problems arise from this:
- The child seeks adult activities that are not yet able to perform. For example, a daughter watches her mom chop vegetables. Mom is the most important person in the life of a girl, so it goes without saying that the baby wants to repeat everything after her. She wants to take a knife, but she meets her mother’s fright and demands that she never dare to touch the knife. Mom's reaction is understandable from the point of view of an adult. But for a child this is not so. Mom does something bad? Then her authority is undermined. Do not touch knives, as is this an adult occupation? Then the child wants to repeat this even more, but he already knows that his mother will not approve this action, so you need to do it secretly. The solution to the problem is very simple - take the child to you and chop the vegetables, controlling his hand. Explain that the knife is very sharp and so far the baby should only touch it with his mother. Interest is appeased, contact with mom has reached a new level, moreover, mom has become an even more magical creature, because she copes even with sharp knives.
- Do not compromise your child. “Eat porridge and I will give you candy,” “clean up the room or you won’t go play.” The age-related characteristics of preschool children do not allow them to understand the difference between an adult and a child. You make a compromise, and soon the child will say: "I will not eat unless you cook pancakes!". It turns out that parents themselves teach their kids to make demands. Instead, it’s fun to start cleaning the race toys. Or to devote the baby in detail: “If we don’t remove the toys quickly, we’ll be late to the circus”, etc.
- Do not demand that which you yourself cannot. There is a wonderful parable about a sage, to which a woman came and asked to reason her son, to convince him not to eat sugar with a spoon, because it is harmful. The sage asked the woman to come in a week, then another week later. And at the next meeting he said to the boy, “Don’t eat sugar, it is harmful to your body.” Why could the sage not utter this simple phrase at the first meeting? The thing is that he himself was very fond of sugar and before giving such an instruction, he had to get rid of the bad habit on his own. That is, convincing the child not to eat sausages, do not keep them in your refrigerator.
These are 3 age features of preschool children, which become a stumbling block in relations with adults.
Early development
Recently, many methods of early development have appeared. For many parents, this is perceived simply as a new-fangled trend, they do not consider this something important. But it is precisely this age period that allows you to remember the maximum of the proposed information. The age-related features of preschool children can stimulate various areas of the brain by developing fine motor skills, hand massage, etc.
It is proved that children with well-developed fine motor skills begin to speak much earlier than their peers. The effect is achieved due to the effect on the active points located on the brush. The same goes for the ability to learn languages.
Causeless tantrums
Very often you can hear from parents of preschoolers that the child falls into causeless tantrums. In fact, this is simply impossible. To get rid of nerve attacks, you should find a reason that is always there:
- Lack of regime. The age characteristics of children of primary preschool age make them very sensitive to time. When the child has absolutely no daily routine, he goes to bed at different times, does not have constant activities, his nervous system tenses up due to constant changes.
- Fatigue. Isolated cases of tantrums occur often due to fatigue. After a long journey, if you had to get up early, etc.
- Lack of attention. Teenagers express this inadequate, in the eyes of adults, behavior. Younger children are trying to attract attention with tantrums, constant tears.
To get rid of hysteria is simple enough, you just need to determine the cause and eliminate it. But be patient. With a disturbed regimen, the baby will have to endure nervousness for about a week. Increasing attention, too, cannot be a single action.
Socialization of a preschooler
In the period from 3 to 7 years, the child actively studies the society. He begins to strive for companies on the sites, is interested in peers and older children. It is at this age that they recommend starting to attend kindergarten.
When choosing a company for a child, consider the age and individual characteristics of preschool children. Some children tend to be of the same age, while others prefer a society of older children. Parents should try to give the child exactly the society that he needs. Then the baby will develop many times faster.
Speech development
The age characteristics of preschool children apply to speech. At 3 years old, the child begins to build sentences and try to state their desires. But he still does not have a sufficient supply of words to express his emotions and feelings.
In addition, contextual speech, i.e. ability to tell a sequence of actions, describe your attitude to what is happening. At 7 years old, the child's vocabulary is about 3000-5000 words. At this age, the development of speech depends on the attention paid to the child. You need to play speech games, describe your actions and your child, discuss emotions.
Imagination development
The baby sleeps calmly in the dark, does not respond to a spider running past and, in general, has no fears, except for one thing - to lose his mother. By the age of three, imagination begins to develop, and fears appear with it. Fear of the dark, now every shadow takes on a sinister shape, insects can scare, new interesting games appear. The age-related features of older preschool children do not allow them to distinguish between the imaginary and the real.
Children need support, sympathy and understanding. Help them overcome their fears, hold their hand and together approach a frightening shadow, show that it is not at all terrible. Create a different image for fears - turn an evil owl into a beautiful firebird. Remember that a child’s imagination is very malleable.
Age features of older preschool children
In older preschool age, a child develops:
- memory;
- Attention;
- thinking;
- will;
- the ability to get along in a team.
The development of each of these aspects depends more on the parents.
Preschooler memory
There are a lot of exercises for developing memory. The simplest of them is to remember the products in the refrigerator, close it and retell the contents. Thus, visual memory is actively developing .
Before school, it is recommended to learn poetry with children. This develops verbal memory, that is, the ability to remember the text. In school, this skill is very useful.
Attention Preschooler
Features of age development of children of senior preschool age largely depend on the degree of attention of the child. The ability to carefully listen to the task depends on the quality of its implementation. Attention promotes perseverance, which is very important in school life.
The development of attention is facilitated by quiet exercises that involve sitting in place. For example, you can sit with a child by the window and count the cars of the same color. This will develop stability of attention, learn to concentrate on one specific action.
Preschooler thinking
Thinking at this age is a “see-create image” system. The child thinks about what he sees, reflects precisely on this image. Math significantly stimulates thinking.
Will in Preschool
The development of the will contribute to achievement. Conversely, if something does not work out for a long time, the child quits the lesson, it ceases to arouse interest in him. Remember that the features of the age development of preschool children are very individual. Unable to set specific frames. One child can pore over the spelling of the letter for 30 minutes, the other can barely withstand failures in 5 minutes.
Be attentive to the child, catch this change and come to the aid in time. Will is a very important quality, it often determines the success of a person.
The ability to get along in a team
A preschooler must attend kindergarten, developmental classes or some kind of circles. Socialization of the child is also possible on the playground, but for the ability to get along with society one permanent team is needed.
Upon admission to the school, the age characteristics of preschool children are kept. A conversation is held with the child to determine how prepared he is and whether he is ready to join the school team.
Crisis points
In preschool age, the child will have as many as two “transshipment points”. The first - at 3 years, when the child begins to manifest a will, a desire to be independent. This period is also called the period "I myself".
The second test expects a child at 6-7 years old. When learning is no longer a fantasy, the child is faced with the first difficulties. In addition, he begins to show consciousness, compares his actions with the actions of adults. If earlier it was enough to put on a hat, now you have to explain why it is and why dad does not wear it. Be patient and remember: upholding your point of view is a very important stage of growing up.
How to promote the development of the child
First of all, each parent must learn the main rule - to pay maximum attention to their child. Professional teachers are wonderful, but no one is able to instill in a child self-confidence as parents do. And believing in himself, even a small person is able to turn mountains.
Take into account the age-related features of the education of preschool children:
- Do not yell at the child in case of failure, do not be angry at him. Understand that this just seems like a simple affair. And for a child, reading, writing, counting is something unknown. And if something came easy for you, your child does not have to cope with it just as easily. Let him be himself.
- Remember that the self-esteem of a preschooler is slightly overstated. Each child considers himself unique and best. This is normal.
- Do not shift onto others shoulders what they themselves can do. Be sensitive and attentive.
- Do not delay the development of the child, but do not zeal. If the child does not like the bill, set it aside for a month. Then try to introduce him to classes again. Too much pressure is easy to permanently destroy the child’s desire for this subject.
- Turn development into a fun game. Preschool children perceive absolutely any information in this form and remember it perfectly. Draw letters, add candies, show imagination and creativity in everything.
- Immerse the child in the most comfortable conditions, he will copy into his life almost everything from the family.
Is early development necessary?
How and when to start school is up to the parents. But development does not mean constantly sitting at a desk and reading smart books. A child of preschool age is very capable of creativity, through it he easily learns the world, and it is from this knowledge that the development of speech, socialization, attention, and will depend. In turn, the child's ability to learn depends on this.
So, undoubtedly, being engaged in the early development of the child, you contribute to his success in the future. Give him the opportunity to start at school as easily as possible.