Your pre-school child emerges just as the Toddler phase ends. This is a moveable feast, of course, as the duration of toddlerhood can vary hugely between one child and another, but is typically over somewhere between 18 and 24 months of age.

What Comes after Toddler? Significant Steps for a Little Child

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The Pre-school years can hence loosely be thought to begin at age two and last until age four. These early development years are marked by an astounding number of changes. Your two-year-old is mobile to the degree that at times can astonish you. She is now opening doors by turning door handles and navigating stairs with alacrity. Soon after the second birthday, you can hope to have a child who uses the toilet, if this is not the case already.

The Changes and Advancements to Look out for

 
Doodling has taken over from toddling, and your youngster spends hours happily creating pictures comprising large swirls. This is achieved by the remarkable feat of holding a suitably fat crayon in the fist and wielding it with ever-improving precision. Your home is increasingly an obstacle course, as well as a runway for wheeled riding toys.
Reading to your child is less one-sided now, as gradually your little one engages in a participatory role, asking questions, anticipating the next line before you read it, announcing the ending, and, cutest of all, expressing fondness or antipathy for particular characters in the story. To do this, your two-year-old makes use of his growing vocabulary. Although difficult to put a precise figure on, studies suggest that at this age, anywhere between fifty and three hundred words have been mastered, with more being added almost daily. In bilingual households, the two-year-old is using words from both tongues, but is not yet able to distinguish which words belong to which language.

Prepare for a Stimulating but Tiring Phase

 
Long-suffering parents are forced to endure a barrage of questions, and, more frustratingly still, an astonishing level of persistence. Like the proverbial dog with a bone, your little one is adamantly determined to get answers, and to that end will repeat at increasing decibels the same question. Parents can be forgiven for devising simplified responses which don’t necessarily encompass the entire truth of the matter, be the topic rainbows or reproduction in mammals. It is just all part of the Terrible Twos, or Terrific Twos, depending on how you look at it.

At two, your child understands and exercises compassion, evident when he or she comfort another child who has been hurt. In contrast to this touching display, however, are the temper tantrums which, of course, give the Terrible Twos their name. The worst of your child’s tantrums will be experienced now, but should fizzle out before the third birthday.

Physical Changes

 
Your child is probably less chubby and definitely more elongated, as two gives way to three. And during this year slow but steady growth is seen. Agility increases, and running is less hazardous than before; stairs are a cinch, and great pleasure is to be had from the simple act of pedaling a tricycle.

Many other refinements are noticeable. Your child handles the pages of a book with ease, turning them one at a time, and enjoying the pictures. He will be able to model with clay, produce towers with blocks that stay up at least for a few moments and is now showing a real interest in the content of the stories you read to him, identifying with scenarios.

Personal Hygiene: a New Milestone

 
Small but significant landmarks occur, as, before the age of four, your child is now washing and drying her hands and brushing own teeth, though still needing help to do a thorough job of teeth-cleaning.

Although not the case for every child of three by any means, this is often the year in which bladder control is accomplished. Bed-wetting may continue, for a variety of reasons, however. Be patient and tolerant, seeking professional input if you are worried.

Significant Steps for a Little Person

 
Now that you have a ‘big’ child approaching four, grit your teeth as you watch them climb, whether on playground equipment or up trees. Expect to be reprimanded and corrected by your child who will think nothing of telling you to stop talking. You may feel excluded, too, if your three-year-old develops a brand new relationship: with his or her imaginary friend!

Recognising shapes, letters, and numbers is another exciting and on-going skill for parents to get involved in. It is now that magnetic letters for the fridge and eye-catching educational posters will enter your home. Join in the fun and create alphabet pictures to stick up at three-year-old eye level. At this age, your youngster is a spellbinding storyteller, a friendly, entertaining extrovert, although preferring at times – often quite huffily – to be alone.

The parent of a post-toddler has just two to three precious years before school begins in earnest. So don’t waste that particular time and do your best to give constant attention for at least two hours each day.

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