Preschooler Month 43-48 — Growth and Development

It has been over 43 months since you first held your little baby. By now you are an indispensable part of each other’s lives. There’s so much you have learnt from your baby and so much she has learnt from you. In fact, this learning never stops. Let’s have a look at the next few months with your preschooler and what you can expect her to learn shortly.

Between months 43 and 48, you will notice a lot of “growing up” – suddenly. Every child develops at their own pace so it is impossible to figure out exactly when yours will learn a particular skill. The following milestones will give you an idea of what you can expect in these months. However, do not get worried if your child has different interests or a slower pace at developing. The rate of development varies across children. However, if something worries you too much, consult the pediatrician for advice.

Physical Development

• Your child’s jaw and facial bones have been growing to create some space for teeth. This sort of changes the size and appearance of the face.
• Now, your child can walk up and down stairs without stumbling or using any support now.
• Riding a tricycle is child’s play for your little one as her body fine tunes its motor skills even further.

Socio-emotional Development

• Your little girl most likely has some best friends in her life whom she is really attached to. If she hasn’t been exposed to many kids her age, her family will be of utmost importance to her.
• She will learn to share toys around this time and will learn that it is a social norm to share. Teaching your child to share should be easy but if you aren’t too sure you can find some great ways here.
• As for potty training, you might not need to worry any longer and these months are usually when children are quite capable of doing the job on their own.
• Previously you may have noticed emotional outbursts that are common in toddlers who cannot contain their feelings. These will decline as your child gets older and finds ways of coping. There will be a definite improvement in emotional self-regulation.
• You will also notice your child considering someone else’s feelings, especially if they are directly related to her own actions.

Cognitive Development

• Thinking and cognitive development is also major at this stage. For instance, your little one can easily feed herself with a spoon or fork now.
• She can also undo and put on bigger buttons on a dress. Frees up quite a bit of your time, we assure you!
• Her attention span increases as well as she can focus for longer periods without interruptions.
• You will find that random scribbles now transform into more meaningful pictures, perhaps a family picture.

Linguistic Development

• Your little talker can now ask grammatically correct questions and not just baby-talk words.
• She can also speak out about 10 letters of the alphabet in the correct order. If she is being taught phonetics then she may also be able to match some letters with their correct sounds.
• As for writing skills, she should be able to trace certain letters down. This will only get better with practice and increasing confidence.

Contact Your Pediatrician If You Notice

• By now, your child should be able to throw a ball overhand and jump in one place. Most kids this age are also able to ride a tricycle easily. If your child is still struggling with these milestones, it could indicate a physical development lag. You should discuss this with pediatrician to rule out problems with muscle tone or gross motor skills.
• Can your child not use simple sentences yet? Does he still confuse “me” and “you”? It is possible that he could be going through a language or speech problem. You should get this analyse by the doctor who will suggest therapy or activities to help your little one.

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