Successful Preschooler

 

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on any of the books I’ve checked out on ways to teach or train your toddler.  This post includes information from the book, “Your Successful Preschooler” by Ann Densmore and Margaret Bauman.  This is a book on the “ten skills children need to become confident and socially engaged.”

1. Likeable – Empathetic, able to positively reinforce, recognize and acknowledge others and able to build long-term meaningful friendships.
2. Achieving – Can use appropriate vocabulary and achieve complex language skills. Able to accept both success and defeat with grace and adjust to a changing agenda.
3. Happy – Engage attentively with others.  Optimistic and confident with a sense of self.
4. Of Strong Moral Character – They understand right from wrong and seek the good of others. They also understand when they need adult help.
5. Resilient – They have effective coping skills to handle disappointment, manage crisis, and stressful situations.  They seek to learn even from unpleasant events.
6. Flexible – Able to hear out other’s perspectives and achieve compromise or even adjust to just go with the flow.  They accept surprises and adjust easily to change.
7. Organized – Can use logical reasoning – for instance they can assign roles and follow a sequence of actions as they play.
8. Leaders – Able to assume a leadership role with both humility and positive self esteem without acting like a bully.  They help others engage and have a sense of humor.
9. Socially Engaged – Enthusiastic and alert, they give the group a sense of cohesiveness and belonging.
10. Passionate about learning – A noticeable sense of curiosity and creativity and a wide variety of interests.  They enjoy investigating and encouraging others to do the same.

I think this is a great list for laying a foundation for your goals of instruction and teaching; but I do not see this list as an absolute. God has created each of us with our own unique talents and abilities.  I think my goal as a mother is to help each of my children cultivate their own God-given strengths and help them develop skills to overcome their weaknesses. I like that this list includes internal (strong moral character) as well as external (socially engaged) social skills.

I pray this list is an encouragement to you as you are determining which character values to focus upon as you raise your little one(s).

In His Grip,

Monica

For other posts with advice on preschooler development go to:
Recognizing and Managing Feelings
Encourage Curiosity
Parenting with Positive Discipline