Category: Ages and Stages
Age range: ages 3-5

From ages three to five, children experience tremendous growth and development. They undergo rapid language development, learn how to make friends, acquire an enormous amount of information and ideas and become more secure and able to deal with their feelings. For parents these years bring many rewards and pleasures. The preschool years can also feel overwhelming for parents. Behavior generally becomes more challenging than previously, as children are extremely active, test limits and frequently push parents to the edge of their patience. This four part series helps parents understand their preschooler’s behavior and gain strategies for enhancing children’s development.

From Mild to Wild and Back Again: Parenting Your Preschooler consists of four sessions:

1. Preschool Development: Ages 3-5
2. Understanding and Responding to Challenging Behavior in Preschoolers
3. Activities that Foster Development for Preschoolers
4. Teaching Values to Your Preschooler

Note: This 4 part series can also be scheduled as a 2 or 3 session series. Each session can also be scheduled as an individual workshop.

1. Preschool Development: Ages 3-5

This session emphasizes the importance of understanding how children develop in order for parents to have reasonable expectations, respond appropriately to behavior and support their children’s growth.  Four key areas of development are addressed: cognitive, social-emotional, sexual and physical.  Parents will have the opportunity to discuss questions or concerns they have about their preschooler in each of these areas.

2. Understanding and Responding to Challenging Behavior in Preschoolers

No matter how patient and skilled parents may be, there are times when they are likely to feel drained and unable to deal wisely with their children’s behavior. Understanding the reasons behind challenging behavior and having a variety of appropriate responses helps parents feel confident and effective. In this session parents are introduced to a three-step problem solving process and a number of positive approaches to discipline that will increase their ability to deal constructively with their preschoolers’ behavior and develop strong rewarding relationships with them.

3. Activities that Foster Development for Preschoolers

The opportunity to engage in a wide variety of activities is critical for healthy development during the preschool years. Play is children’s work. Through play, children learn about the world and develop the skills that will help them deal with the experiences they encounter as they grow older. This session stresses the importance of play and sensitizes parents to the many connections between various play activities, the development of skills and emotional well-being. Parents learn about appropriate activities and materials for young children and how they can provide encouragement and support.

4. Teaching Values to Your Preschooler

This session provides information about the moral development of preschoolers and the ways in which parents can teach those values that they care about most. Parents will be encouraged to reflect on their priorities and learn how values are communicated from one generation to another. The transmission of values is an ongoing process in children’s lives. The preschool years are an important time for establishing a foundation.