Why Relationships are Important for Your Preschooler’s Development
Children’s bonds are not as complicated as adult’s relationships but they do have their own ways and means to develop. It is important for parents to help children build strong relationships by helping them in their preschooler years.
Man is a social animal and right from birth, a child creates a special bond with his mother by gazing at her and by her touch. As the child reaches preschool years, the relationships become stronger but still not adult-like. To make sure that the child has an overall healthy growing up environment it is necessary that the child gets to interact with a few people on regular basis. These could be grandparents, cousins or even neighbours.
Early childhood gives ample of opportunities to the parents and teachers to create positive relationships with children. Talking to children using a calm tone of voice and using simple words will help them understand exactly what you want to say. You may use different sounds and gestures to clarify what they mean.
Young children usually look for fairy-tale-like-relationship experiences whenever they come across someone new. They show different reactions to main caregivers and are at maximum ease with them. So you need to have a lot of positive interactions with the child to help him build strong relationships.
Children who develop positive and secure attachments are likely to have a positive attitude in life and an open-mind for other relationships. Once they are sure that adults are there to take care of them, they get a sense of security and start to feel important as much as any other member in the house.
What You Can Do to Help Kids
Often parents think about developing key skills in children for positive relationships. Here are a few guidelines to help you-
1. Time
Give your child uninterrupted time for a few hours every day, depending on your schedule you can keep some time where no one else disturbs you and you get to bond well with your child. Let your child feel special and important, let him know that he means the world to you.
2. Interest
Show genuine interest in your child’s activities; sometimes you may not feel entertained but you should show interest because that is what your preschooler loves to do. Keep talking while he plays so that he knows you are listening.
3. Play
Playing is a very important part of any child’s growth and development. You should regularly play with your child to develop his spontaneity and the fact that you will always be around for him. Peek – a – boo is a good practice to start with.
4. Create Opportunities
Create opportunities where your child gets to interact with other children of his own age. You should take him to a park or a playground where he gets a chance to mingle well.
Building relationships is an integral part of everyone’s life and it is at this age that children learn the basics of relationships. By encouraging children to communicate and by helping them we can create positive adults who are capable of building strong relationships.