Bonding
The bond between a parent or caregiver and a child is considered to be essential to their emotional growth and development. It is what gives the carer the want and need to care for and respond to the child and promotes a trust between the two. Bonding allows the child to feel safe and protected as it grows.
As your little one grows older and starts to interact with you in a more complex way, you may feel the bond between you grow as well. Spending quality time playing with your child, encouraging body contact and communicating with them will help to grow the bond between you. Your child will have formed, and will continue to form, bonds with other people in their life, such as siblings, relatives and family friends.
Communicating
Now that your child is a little older, their communication skills have grown exponentially. They will now predominantly use language skills to communicate what he or she needs from you, rather than crying. He or she may still cry on occasion for no reason, or to express themselves, but it will become more commonly an emotional release rather than communicative. When your child is trying to communicate by crying, encourage them to use their words.
You will also notice your childās other forms of communicating developing. They can make eye contact confidently, use body language to express themselves, and initiate and participate in involved conversations with you and others. Engaging with your child will help them to feel loved and comforted, as well as helping them to increase their bourgeoning communication skills.
Play
At kindy age, your childās play will include playing interactively with others (co-operative play) in a more complex fashion.
Playing with your child becomes very physical and imaginative at this age. Your child will most likely enjoy interactive playing with complex toys that incorporate various elements.
Games that integrate both actions and singing help your child to improve their memory and co-ordination. Drawing, painting and other practical endeavours develop fine motor skills and encourage creativity. Your child will also develop their cognitive and intellectual skills through play, as he or she learns to rationalise with general ideas and objects. Your child might like to play with video games and other technical toys. While they can aid your childās development exponentially, you shouldnāt rely on screen type games solely as a source of play for your child.
raisingchildren.net.au. (2019, December 12). Relationships with preschoolers: ideas and tips. Retrieved from https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/connecting-communicating/connecting/connecting-with-your-preschooler
raisingchildren.net.au. (2018, February 22). Talking and play: preschoolers. Retrieved from https://raisingchildren.net.au/preschoolers/connecting-communicating/communicating/talking-play-preschoolers
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