P
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Gross motor control increases and expensive "wild:" use of the whole
body is common.
Many
boys are not completely toilet trained--not to worry
Bed
wetting is common and may continue through age five or six
Eye-hand
coordination makes great gains during this year.
Eating
what is in the meal or when a meal is served may be resisted.
Thumb
sucking and need to cuddle a blanket are still common needs for
many.
Walking,
running with hands swinging, stair walking are likely to be accomplished.
Tricycle
riding may be a passionate interest.
Postural
control is more skillful and "unthought".
Centers
of interest may contain the child for many minutes at a time.
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E
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Autonomy
vs. Share
This
is an excellent time for expansive activities and giving opportunities
for creative play.
Since
the child has an expansive sense of self risking if natural.
The
child's blossoming nature shows itself in "more" of the extremes
in the original personality traits. Examples:
high
or low energy
intense
concentration or high distractibility
organization
is internal or external environment sets the stage for the child.
adapts
easily the change or is frightened and anxious
moves
quickly and with agility or is sluggish
morning
or afternoon person
perfectionist
or adventurer
forward
looking or timorous
Querulous
nature is common at about 3 and one half years.
Sense
of self and ability to see self as an entity begins to emerge.
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Pre-moral
stage The child does not actively understand wrong or right, but does
recognize what may create friction or anger in caretakers.
There
is still no real ability to intentionally hurt others.
The
child, while expansive, still needs and responds well to routing,
structure and consistency.
The
child does not have a ready or logical response to "why did you
do that?"
There
is still very little true sense of self, so lying and cheating are
rare and not premeditated, or for that matter understood as wrong.
Adults
may perceive the excesses as intention and respond with righteous
indignation...but the real three-year old is more compelled than
purposive.
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S
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This is the time when socialized play begins.
Child
begins to receive and attend to messages from age mates, not just
the adults.
Friend
becomes a word with meaning for the child.
A social
sense of humor emerges...giggles, etc.
Dad
or mom may become a "best" friend with envy obvious if parent kiss
or show intimacy
Social
play ability shows an increase, though seeing the others' needs
is limited.
Verbal
refusal usually replaces aggressive "no's".
Boy
play tends to be more aggressive than girl play.
Introversion
or extroversion may already dictate the number of children a child
wishes to include in play.
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I
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An enriched learning arena assists the child to make progress in moving
from sensory to more concrete use of the mind.
Vocabulary
increases rapidly - spoken and receptive.
Words
describing the past, now and future become diverse, with a more
active use of time as a concept.
Direction
words are common - up, on, under, around, and generally apropos.
Eye-hand
coordination improves markedly and adaptive maneuvers become common.
Much
more ease with visual tasks
Small
object play increases
Learning
and working are seen as exciting.
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