Child development logs: Emer age 3
Oct. 14th, 2009 09:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ailbheEmer
3 years 2 months
15kg approx, 90 cm high
Shoe size: 7F
Self-care at home
Eating: Emer can ask for all the right things and lay her own place at the table. She strongly prefers "weeny weeny" knife, fork and spoon to the "yooge big" ones. She is served her cereal and helps to pour her milk. She prefers a cup without a lid, and only spills through being distracted or careless, rather than from lack of skill. She can spread her own spread and jam on bread but prefers an adult to do it because she hates the uncovered millimetres she has to endure otherwise. She can peel her own bananas if she has to. She can use a knife, fork and spoon well but currently strongly prefers to use her fingers. Or fists.
Dressing: Emer can undress herself completely but needs help to get dressed. Pulling pants or trousers up past her bottom is the most difficult part. Buttons and zips are difficult but not impossible; she prefers help but can do her own if help is unavailable.
Toileting: Emer uses the toilet with a toddler-seat insert, and has a nappy at night. She can get the step and seat insert, sort out her pants, and sit down all by herself; she can also get loo roll and wipe herself after a fashion. She strongly prefers help and company, however. Often she doesn't declare a need to go until it's too late for her to walk there and she needs to be carried.
Washing: She can wash and dry her hands herself; we have new taps now so they are easy to use and she can manage the plug in the sink and everything. She can clean her own face with a wet cloth if she has a mirror. She hates hairwashing but will tolerate it occasionally. She brushes her own teeth fairly well but goes through phases of resisting it strongly. She can climb into and out of the bath alone, which isn't necessarily a good idea.
Helping at home
Emer can lay the table for two or three people if the pieces are fetched for her when she asks for them (she knows what's needed). She can carry food to the table, serve food with a spoon at the table, and is good at stirring, especially egg-beating. She also likes to knead bread.
She knows which buttons on the washing machine and dishwasher to press and likes to fill and empty both, and put the detergents in the right places (using her step!) - she washes detergent off her hands afterwards. She no longer enjoys hanging or folding laundry.
She likes to sweep the floors and especially to use the dustpan and brush. She strongly dislikes tidying unless it's a very small, limited task, which would need us all to be tidier! She enjoys mopping spills up and scrubbing things clean with a damp cloth. In general, she cleans up her own messes.
She helps fetch and carry things in shops, too.
Playing at home
She likes being read to and reading. She tells herself long stories, often in song, and is scathing when interrupted by people who incorrectly assume she meant to converse ("Did you say you need the loo?" "No, I was singing about a toilet!"). She makes endless cups of pretend tea and really likes making things wet, carrying water around the house and pouring it ("Don't look Mu-u-um.") She mainly uses a set of TV show toys ("In The Night Garden") for her make-believe stuff now and it involves a lot of rescue, flying, and other not-obviously-real stuff.
Playing outside the home
She has a number of Best Fwends and likes to play with them. She likes running, looking at reflections in shop windows, climbing, swinging, sand and mud, her bike with stabilisers, her scooter, shadows, railings, walking on walls while holding someone's hand, doing mysterious things with sticks, leaves and conkers, and all the usual stuff. She loves to spot airplanes and clouds and helicopters and birds.
We haven't been swimming for months.
Listening and talking
She is much easier for people to understand now but also less inclined to listen to people without interrupting them - she has a lot to say and it's much more important to her than what other people might have to say, which seems reasonable enough! She talks to herself or her toys a lot, at great length and in great detail.
Reading and writing
She recognises some numbers and letters, and can draw some letters (E and A and L, mainly, though she has tried some other less exciting letters too, like B and D). She likes to be read to and to look at and talk about the alphabet letters on the wall. She doesn't pretend to write much - she's clear that she's drawing, not writing, usually. I expect pretend-writing to show up soon though.
Drawing and making
Emer draws recognisable figures with heads, faces, hair (long or short), eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, arms, legs, skirts or trousers, hands, feet, fingers, toes, nails, eyebrows, etc. Not necessarily all in the one picture, mind you. She painted a recognisable elephant a while ago.
She makes recognisable models from plasticine and playdough, of people or animals or things. She glues enormous quantities of things to other things with enormous quantities of glue. Sometimes she makes cards, folded over bits of paper or card with pictures or designs on various bits of them.
She is surprisingly good at sewing, and interested in it. She made a very nice felt fish, with people to help at the corners and pulling the needle through after she pushed it into the fabric.
Counting and manipulating numbers
Emer counts a bit but is not reliable in sequence after three. She can ask for one more or one less of something and tell what the result is up to five or so. She seems to know how old she is but has no idea what that number means.
Sleep
She goes to sleep and is put to bed shortly after Linnea does, and comes into our bed between 1 and 7 am, depending. If she naps during the day we're all scuppered.
Social
She has a lot of friends and will make lists of the people she likes. She's quite comfortable being left with strangers if she's already happy, but not if she's feeling fragile. She's incredibly bossy towards adults but less so towards children. She is very affectionate. When dealing with small babies she is interested and gentle and protective. I'm quite happy to leave her playing with a baby who can sit upright while I sit next door and listen to them chatting, and so - importantly - was the baby's mother. Emer was a bit worried and the baby annoyed when she wouldn't let him put toys into his mouth; we found a larger toy and everyone was happy.
Emer is definitely a bit shy, but not unconfident.
Formal manners
She has the social apology down pat, but not so much the actually-having-hurt-someone one. She knows about please, but doesn't use it much, and likes to say "thank you" a lot. She shares, takes turns, and sometimes says hello and goodbye properly. Except when she doesn't.
Other stuff people notice about small children
Her grasp of the names for shapes, colours, and body parts is good. Her favourite colour is blue, but pink is a strong second. She can throw but not catch well. She adores hiding, and finding people, especially if it's completely clear where everyone is from the outset (it's less fun with genuine uncertainty involved). She has the attention span for a full-length feature film but doesn't like sad or scary things. "Poo poo bum" is the funniest, most versatile phrase in the world.
3 years 2 months
15kg approx, 90 cm high
Shoe size: 7F
Self-care at home
Eating: Emer can ask for all the right things and lay her own place at the table. She strongly prefers "weeny weeny" knife, fork and spoon to the "yooge big" ones. She is served her cereal and helps to pour her milk. She prefers a cup without a lid, and only spills through being distracted or careless, rather than from lack of skill. She can spread her own spread and jam on bread but prefers an adult to do it because she hates the uncovered millimetres she has to endure otherwise. She can peel her own bananas if she has to. She can use a knife, fork and spoon well but currently strongly prefers to use her fingers. Or fists.
Dressing: Emer can undress herself completely but needs help to get dressed. Pulling pants or trousers up past her bottom is the most difficult part. Buttons and zips are difficult but not impossible; she prefers help but can do her own if help is unavailable.
Toileting: Emer uses the toilet with a toddler-seat insert, and has a nappy at night. She can get the step and seat insert, sort out her pants, and sit down all by herself; she can also get loo roll and wipe herself after a fashion. She strongly prefers help and company, however. Often she doesn't declare a need to go until it's too late for her to walk there and she needs to be carried.
Washing: She can wash and dry her hands herself; we have new taps now so they are easy to use and she can manage the plug in the sink and everything. She can clean her own face with a wet cloth if she has a mirror. She hates hairwashing but will tolerate it occasionally. She brushes her own teeth fairly well but goes through phases of resisting it strongly. She can climb into and out of the bath alone, which isn't necessarily a good idea.
Helping at home
Emer can lay the table for two or three people if the pieces are fetched for her when she asks for them (she knows what's needed). She can carry food to the table, serve food with a spoon at the table, and is good at stirring, especially egg-beating. She also likes to knead bread.
She knows which buttons on the washing machine and dishwasher to press and likes to fill and empty both, and put the detergents in the right places (using her step!) - she washes detergent off her hands afterwards. She no longer enjoys hanging or folding laundry.
She likes to sweep the floors and especially to use the dustpan and brush. She strongly dislikes tidying unless it's a very small, limited task, which would need us all to be tidier! She enjoys mopping spills up and scrubbing things clean with a damp cloth. In general, she cleans up her own messes.
She helps fetch and carry things in shops, too.
Playing at home
She likes being read to and reading. She tells herself long stories, often in song, and is scathing when interrupted by people who incorrectly assume she meant to converse ("Did you say you need the loo?" "No, I was singing about a toilet!"). She makes endless cups of pretend tea and really likes making things wet, carrying water around the house and pouring it ("Don't look Mu-u-um.") She mainly uses a set of TV show toys ("In The Night Garden") for her make-believe stuff now and it involves a lot of rescue, flying, and other not-obviously-real stuff.
Playing outside the home
She has a number of Best Fwends and likes to play with them. She likes running, looking at reflections in shop windows, climbing, swinging, sand and mud, her bike with stabilisers, her scooter, shadows, railings, walking on walls while holding someone's hand, doing mysterious things with sticks, leaves and conkers, and all the usual stuff. She loves to spot airplanes and clouds and helicopters and birds.
We haven't been swimming for months.
Listening and talking
She is much easier for people to understand now but also less inclined to listen to people without interrupting them - she has a lot to say and it's much more important to her than what other people might have to say, which seems reasonable enough! She talks to herself or her toys a lot, at great length and in great detail.
Reading and writing
She recognises some numbers and letters, and can draw some letters (E and A and L, mainly, though she has tried some other less exciting letters too, like B and D). She likes to be read to and to look at and talk about the alphabet letters on the wall. She doesn't pretend to write much - she's clear that she's drawing, not writing, usually. I expect pretend-writing to show up soon though.
Drawing and making
Emer draws recognisable figures with heads, faces, hair (long or short), eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, arms, legs, skirts or trousers, hands, feet, fingers, toes, nails, eyebrows, etc. Not necessarily all in the one picture, mind you. She painted a recognisable elephant a while ago.
She makes recognisable models from plasticine and playdough, of people or animals or things. She glues enormous quantities of things to other things with enormous quantities of glue. Sometimes she makes cards, folded over bits of paper or card with pictures or designs on various bits of them.
She is surprisingly good at sewing, and interested in it. She made a very nice felt fish, with people to help at the corners and pulling the needle through after she pushed it into the fabric.
Counting and manipulating numbers
Emer counts a bit but is not reliable in sequence after three. She can ask for one more or one less of something and tell what the result is up to five or so. She seems to know how old she is but has no idea what that number means.
Sleep
She goes to sleep and is put to bed shortly after Linnea does, and comes into our bed between 1 and 7 am, depending. If she naps during the day we're all scuppered.
Social
She has a lot of friends and will make lists of the people she likes. She's quite comfortable being left with strangers if she's already happy, but not if she's feeling fragile. She's incredibly bossy towards adults but less so towards children. She is very affectionate. When dealing with small babies she is interested and gentle and protective. I'm quite happy to leave her playing with a baby who can sit upright while I sit next door and listen to them chatting, and so - importantly - was the baby's mother. Emer was a bit worried and the baby annoyed when she wouldn't let him put toys into his mouth; we found a larger toy and everyone was happy.
Emer is definitely a bit shy, but not unconfident.
Formal manners
She has the social apology down pat, but not so much the actually-having-hurt-someone one. She knows about please, but doesn't use it much, and likes to say "thank you" a lot. She shares, takes turns, and sometimes says hello and goodbye properly. Except when she doesn't.
Other stuff people notice about small children
Her grasp of the names for shapes, colours, and body parts is good. Her favourite colour is blue, but pink is a strong second. She can throw but not catch well. She adores hiding, and finding people, especially if it's completely clear where everyone is from the outset (it's less fun with genuine uncertainty involved). She has the attention span for a full-length feature film but doesn't like sad or scary things. "Poo poo bum" is the funniest, most versatile phrase in the world.