Your preschooler - three year old, fifth month

Your child's imagination is beginning to blossom now. Three year olds are keen observers of the world around them, and creative play is the way they rehearse and absorb all those new ideas. A three year old's mind becomes capable of seeing an object as more than one thing: a stick can also be transformed into a sword, a magic wand or a snake. (24092014)

Your preschooler - three year old, third month

A is for Amy - Often, the first letter a child learns is the first letter of her name ("Mummy! There's my A!"). When she later recognizes her entire name, she's not so much reading it as she is identifying that those symbols mean her name. Symbol recognition, of course, is essential for reading. But before she can learn the sounds of the letters, she has to make the mental leap to understanding that those squiggles and lines stand for ideas. (24072014)

Three year old, second month

Yuck... Peas - Parenting a preschooler demands patience - perhaps nowhere more than at the dining table. Your child may skip meals, pick at her veggies, refuse to eat meat, or eat only white-coloured foods for weeks on end. Don't panic! These erratic eating habits are perfectly normal, especially at this age. (24062014)

Your preschooler - three year old, first month

Congratulations -- your little one is now three! More fun is in store for you now that she's no longer a baby. She's probably already holding her own in conversations, running and jumping like an athlete and she will soon write her full name. She's developing more sophisticated social skills and knows how to take turns or join in with others. Before you know it, she'll be cracking jokes, (usually the same joke several times a day for days on end), remembering entire songs and even reading. Although she'll soon be saying goodbye to toddlerhood, rest assured that life won't be boring with her around. (24052014)

Your 35 month old

In the coming months your child will start showing more interest in the differences between girls and boys. If you catch him in the midst of playing doctor with the little girl next door, try not to react with shock or embarrassment. Just tell the children that penises and vaginas are kept private and steer them towards another activity. They'll probably be relieved, since some experts say small children already have some sense that peeking under each other's clothes is taboo. (24042014)

Das surpresas

Em nossa casa, à medida que o Natal se aproximava, fui deixando uns quantos presentes junto da árvore de Natal. Afinal, não são distribuídos os presentes todos na mesma noite porque “isso não dá tempo!!!” :). Um par de brincos que a prima te ofereceria, estava dentro de uma caixinha linda, pendurada num dos ramos. Eram em outro, pequeninos, umas flores em que cada pétala tem uma cor diferente. Uma noite dizes-me, sussurrando:

Tu: Oh mãe aquilo, são uns brincos.

Eu: Como é que sabes??

Tu: Eu vi!

Eu: Mas não podes ver!

Tu: Eu sei mãe, mas não está mesmo fechada e eu vi.

Eu: Ah… e são giros?

Tu: Sim! Agora temos de esperar…

Eu: Pois…

Tu: Podem ser para mim ou para ti! Só nós é que usamos brincos cá em casa!

Tão queriiiidaaaaa!

(17042014 - do Natal de 2013)