35-Month Old
With the completion of this month, your toddler completes three years of age! This is also the last month of her being a toddler.
Your toddler learns by "successive approximations". She tries to do something, see how wrong she is and tries to bring it closer to the desired result the next time around. Most people correct their child's mistakes immediately because they believe children will fall into a "bad habit" out of which they cannot get out. In many cases, bad habits do not get formed instantly and children correct themselves. Your little one loves being treated on par with adults. She wants to do the same things that she sees you do.
The little one's full set of primary teeth develops by the time she is three years old. These teeth remain till your toddler is about 6 years old when they start getting replaced by primary teeth.
At this stage, your toddler has a vocabulary of some 1000 words. About 80 percent of speech is intelligible, even to strangers. Grammatical complexity is roughly comparable to colloquial adult language.
Sibling rivalry may still be a cause of concern. By three years, children have a grasp of social rules, can evaluate themselves in relation to their siblings and know how to adapt to circumstances within the family. You may have to step in if you find that your children are not able to resolve the conflict themselves. Never blame only one child for the conflict. A conflict between two siblings means that both of them are equally responsible for the conflict. Being fair is very important. Reassure your kids that you do your best to meet each of their unique needs. Read more on Sibling Rivalry here.
Help your toddler discover the use of a magnet and find out which things are attracted and things which are not. Also help her explore the uses of household tools and appliances. Remember these tools and appliances should be those that do not harm her. For example, you may want to avoid giving him sharp instruments such as knives. You can discuss uses of plants for food, clothing and shelter. Similarly, you can teach her the functions of different parts of the body. Tell her how different animals help us such as "the cow that gives us milk", "the hen that gives us eggs" and so on. All these help your child build on her science concepts.
At this stage, your toddler should be able to turn pages of a book (one at a time), screw and unscrew lids, nuts and bolts. She can also turn rotating knobs and hold a pencil in the writing position.
Thanks for your great blog Emily. My family and I are llreay struggling with some major upheavals and it is all boiling down to temper tantrums and acting out from our daughter who is 2 years and 10 months old. I'm gravely ill and bedridden (which I have been for 4 weeks), to top it off, we have moved overseas back home to Canada to get help from family and medical care for me, but my husband had to stay behind in France for another month. We're living with my mother with my daughter and I sharing a bed, she has no room, some of her toys in suitcases, different caregivers day-to-day (grandparents, aunts, friends, etc.). I have been a stay-at-home mum for her so she has never been in anyone else's care, plus everything else that's going on. She is not a tantrum thrower typically (she's only had 2 in her whole life), until now. We've been back home in Canada for 2 weeks and almost every day she has had a major breakdown, acting up, tantrum with me. Lately I have felt a tad better and have been able to spend a bit more time with her, but it seems the more time I spend with her, the more she acts up with me. My intuition tells me it's because she has to unleash her stress somewhere and she feels most comfortable with me and trusts me. I try to just comfort her and acknowledge her feelings. I know it's all very difficult for her, but I'm hoping that you might have some strategies for me to help her ease her stress in a more controlled way with mummy's help perhaps. I hate seeing her so scared and mad and sad and all of it. We talk about Daddy a lot and how we miss him and he'll be home in a few weeks and then we'll move into our own home again and be all together. I try to explain that Mummy's sick now, but I will be better soon too and will be able to play again just like before. I will likely be this sick for another 5 weeks, so I know this stressful situation will be continuing for her, so any help will be most appreciated. Thanks so much.Melanie