Preschool age: developmental features, daily routine, tips and tricks

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Pre-school age is of great importance for every parent. It is at this stage that you can reveal hidden pathologies and learn about the features of the development of the baby in the outside world. It is worth talking more about the physical and psychological maturation of the crumbs.

Age stages

The pediatricians divide the entire period of a child's growth into several main stages:

• newborn - from birth to 1 month;
• toddler or infant - from 1 month to 1 year;
• Pre-K - 1 to 3 years old;
• preschool - from 3 to 7 years old;
• school - from 7 to 12 years old;
• pubertal - from 12 to 17 years old.

It is the preschool age that is the most interesting. During this period, the little one learns the world around him and makes new discoveries for himself.

Physiological Development

An important feature of pre-preschool, preschool age is physiological development. After 1 year, the baby becomes noticeably stronger. His muscle tissue is strengthened, begins to formconnective frame of muscles. Baby's movements become clearer and faster.

The immune system has also become more perfect. The child is less sick. At this age, important body systems continue to grow and develop: bone, cardiovascular, urinary, hematopoietic, nervous and endocrine.

Psychological development

For preschool children, this period is a time of exploration. At the age of one, he begins to walk and studies the world around him for up to a year and a half: he tries to open the doors of cabinets, to taste all the objects in the house. It becomes overactive, resulting in bruises and abrasions.

Children from one and a half to two years old begin to form character. The baby can already confidently demonstrate its position. Watching the games on the playground, a parent is able to determine whether his child is modest or fighting, greedy or generous, whether he has leadership qualities.

The final stage of the period of preschool age begins at 2 and ends at 3 years. At this moment, it is already easy to determine the preferences of the baby: he has his favorite cartoons, games and toys. Every month, it becomes easier for the parent to determine the needs of the crumbs.

Speech Development

Throughout the entire pre-preschool and preschool age, the child begins to actively develop speech. This process is divided into several main stages.

• By the first year of life, the little man begins to reproduce unrelated words. The parent does not yet understand this sweet babble, but withcan accurately determine when his child is angry and when he is in a good mood.
• From about a year to a year and a half, his speech becomes indicative. He begins to pronounce phrases, pointing to an object familiar to him or referring to a loved one.
• Throughout preschool and preschool age, namely from 1 to 7 years old, he continues to learn to speak - first words, then short phrases and sentences.

Do not be upset if the baby is 2-3 years old, and he still does not speak. The development of each child occurs individually, you just have to be patient.

In order to improve the baby's speech skills, you need to communicate with him as much as possible, read books, tell fairy tales and poems. Pediatricians managed to reveal that the majority of silent children are pupils of families of workaholics. Parents, for whom the most important aspects are to achieve profit and career growth, entrust the child to strangers, leave him to have fun alone with gadgets and toys.

Potty time

The development of preschool children involves the acquisition of new skills. As soon as the baby has learned to walk, you can gradually start to do without diapers.

Experienced pediatricians have developed several tips for potty training:

• It is worth looking at the behavior of the child and recognizing how he begins to behave before he wants to go to the potty. Then you need to start planting atevery urge.
• Should wear a diaper only during sleep and when walking. If a child pees in his pants at home, it will be unpleasant for him to walk. Accordingly, he himself will try to go to the potty.
• Little children are not diligent. It is recommended to purchase a music pot for them that can attract their attention.
• Be sure to praise the child after he went to the potty correctly. Thus, he will begin to strive to please his parents more often.

All children develop differently. Someone independently begins to use the pot for its intended purpose at 9 months, and someone acquires these skills only by 1.5-2 years. Do not scold a child if he is different from his peers.

Sleep

An important part of the daily routine in preschool and preschool age is sleep.

One-year-old and six-month-old babies should normally sleep three times a day:

• night - 6-8 hours;
• first nap - 2-2.5 hours;
• second nap - 1-1.5 hours.

Two and three year olds sleep less. The absolute norm is sleep, the duration of which is 6-8 hours at night and 2-3 hours during the day. A deviation from the norm within 25-30 minutes is allowed.

If the baby wakes up and goes to bed at the same time, he will always be in a good mood. There are several tricks to help your baby fall asleep:

1. You need to turn off the TV in the bedroom and put away all the toys. Nothing shoulddistract the baby.
2. It is recommended to take a walk for 1.5-2 hours before a daytime sleep. If the weather is bad outside, then you can replace the walk with active games at home.
3. should curtain the windows in the room and turn off the lights. Bright light has an irritating effect on the nervous system.
4. The most effective way to put your baby to sleep is to hug him and tell him a story. If the child falls asleep alone, then you can turn on classical compositions for him, which not only relax, but also form his good taste.

At first, it will be difficult for the baby to fall asleep when the parent requires it. Then his body will spontaneously prepare for sleep at the right time.

Feeding

Preschool and preschool age is the time when a little man acquires skills that he will use throughout his life. The baby should eat 4-5 times a day at intervals of 3-4 hours.

The diet of a one-year-old baby is based on ready-made baby food. Gradually, it can be transferred to more "adult" solid food. Every day a child aged 1 to 3 should consume:

• porridge;
• vegetable dish (soup, puree, puree soup);
• fruit puree;
• meat and fish puree;
• fermented milk product (cottage cheese, yogurt, low-fat kefir).

Children in pre-school age 1 to 2 years supplemented with formula or breast milk.

You can not feed your child fried and fatty foods, you should limit the intake of sweet and s alty foods.

Howteach to eat with a spoon yourself?

As soon as the baby has reached the age of 1.5 years, you can begin to gradually accustom him to independent eating. It is worth noting that this is a very long process. Almost all parents have learning problems. Pediatricians give some advice about this:

• Children of preschool and school age adopt the habits of adults. It is recommended to take the baby with you to the dinner table. He will see how his parents eat and start trying to imitate them.
• You should give the baby a spoon to study this subject.
• As soon as the baby got acquainted with the spoon, you can proceed to the main stage - learning to feed yourself. You should put a small amount of thick food in a container, scoop it up with a spoon and give it to the baby's hand. As soon as he begins to bring it to his mouth, you should support his handle by the elbow. At first, the baby will make awkward movements, but gradually he will learn to eat on his own.

It is worth considering that during training, the child may stain clothes, hair and surrounding objects. First, you should put on a cap, bib and lay a disposable napkin on the table.

The correct daily routine for children

Pediatricians have developed the correct daily routine for preschool children, adhering to which, the baby will always feel good.

Day routine for a child 1 - 2 years old		Modedays for a child 2 -3 years old
21:30 - 7:30	sleep	21:30 - 7:30	sleep
8:00	formula or breastmilk	8:00	breakfast
8:30 - 10:30	walk	8:30 -12:30	walk
11: 00	breakfast	12:30	lunch
11:30 - 13:00	day nap	13:00 - 16:00	day nap
13:30	lunch	16:30	snack
14:00 - 16:00	walk	17:00 - 19:00	walk
16:30	snack	19:30	dinner
17:00 - 18:00	day nap	20:00 - 21:00	educational games with a child
18:30	dinner	21:00 - 21:30	water treatments
19:00 - 20:00	active games with baby
20:00 - 21:00	hygienic procedures
21:30	formula or breastmilk

Pediatricians assure that a deviation from the usual daily routine for 20-30 minutes is not critical for the baby. If it’s cold or rainy outside, then a walk can be replaced by watching a cartoon or playing with a parent, but don’t forget about daily airing the room. Fresh air is necessary for any living organism.

Life skills

Children of preschool and preschool age are no longer helpless. At this point they start:

• brushing teeth;
• wash your face and hands;
• put on and take off clothes;
• take away dishes after eating;
• put on shoes.

Many mothers forbid their babies to practice household skills, as they are afraid that there will be a mess at home. Yes, and doing the usual things for the baby herself will turn out faster. Educators and psychologists consider such behavior to be erroneous. Very soon, the baby will go to kindergarten, where the ability to self-care will be very useful to him.

Bathing and tempering

Baby bathing is an integral part of the daily routine. This procedure should be carried out before going to bed. If the baby does not sleep well, then you can add a string or chamomile to the bath - this herb has a calming effect.

When bathing a baby, you should follow a few basic rules:

• Water temperature should be between 36 and 37.5 degrees. To measure it, you need to purchase a special water thermometer.
• The total duration of the procedure should not exceed 20 minutes.
• You can not wash the child at elevated body temperature. It is also worth refraining from taking a bath on the days of vaccinations.
• After the procedure, it is recommended to treat the skin with emollient oil or cream.

Pediatricians recommend at the age of 1, 5 to 3 years to introduce a hardening procedure into the daily regimen. It is necessary forstrengthening the baby's immunity, nervous and respiratory systems and to improve his well-being. The procedure is divided into several main stages:

• required to pour water into the container at a temperature of 35 degrees;
• it is necessary to thoroughly moisten a diaper or towel in it;
• Now you should gently wipe the child's arms, legs, chest and back.

Five days is required to adhere to one temperature regime. Gradually, you can reduce the temperature by 1 degree - until the mark on the thermometer reaches 24 degrees.

Warning signs

Features of pre-preschool age are individual for each baby. One child can begin to speak at 1.5 years, while another acquires these skills only by 2.5 years. One baby actively eats food himself, while the other is waiting for the parent to present a spoon to his mouth. Do not rush the baby, sooner or later he will master the necessary skills. But there are some behaviors that a parent should be wary of:

• The child makes the same type of movements with arms or legs for a long time, while not responding to the parent's comments.
• He suddenly starts lashing out at people, fighting or biting.
• Baby suddenly wakes up in his sleep and screams, while he is not hungry and has a clean diaper.
• He does not respond to the requests of his parents and does not understand them.

If any abnormal signs are detected, you should immediately consult a doctor for a diagnosticexaminations. A pediatrician, a neurologist, a psychologist will help solve such problems.

Conclusion

Child and parent are two inseparable links. The stronger the bond between them, the happier and smarter the baby will be. The main problem of preschool, preschool and school age can be a lack of love - you need to surround the child with care and attention. Only parental love will help him grow up as a full-fledged person. You should not shift his upbringing to others, referring to constant employment. Love your baby, communicate with him and practice.