Video transcript

Narrator: Preschoolers learn and develop through play. When you give your child plenty of opportunities to play, you’re supporting them to practise all the skills they’ve learned since birth.

Creative activities, like playing dress-ups, making music and painting, give your child the chance to explore their emotions and express them in different ways. Through playing with you and other children, your child learns how to manage their emotions. This is good for your child’s self-regulation, behaviour and relationships, which all help to prepare your child for school.

Your child loves moving and being active, especially outside. And playing outdoors is great for your child’s development because they can explore the natural environment, have adventures and develop their physical skills.

Even though your child is getting good at playing by themselves, they’re becoming more interested in playing and making friends with other children. This means your child can keep building their social skills, like sharing and taking turns.

But your child still needs interactions and experiences with you to keep learning new skills and refining old ones. And the great thing is that you can share these experiences through the everyday things you do with your child, like dressing, cooking together, reading and telling stories.

Getting dressed is an opportunity for your child to develop lots of skills, like using their hands, balancing, thinking and communicating. They also learn how to do things in a particular order. It takes time for your child to learn how to dress themselves, but getting better at this skill each day gives your child confidence and a sense of achievement.

Your child can learn so much by helping you cook or prepare meals. They can learn new words and maths concepts, as well as how to follow instructions. Cooking together can also help your child get interested in healthy food, discover new smells, tastes and textures, and to broaden what they eat.

Telling stories is a great way to spend time together, and it helps your child to develop their language and literacy skills. You can share stories about your family or help your child make up their own stories and drawings to go with them. This is great for your child’s imagination.

And when you tell stories and talk together, your child probably asks lots of ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’ questions. This is great, because it’s your child’s way of trying to learn more about the world around them.

Development happens in a similar order in most children, but skills might develop at different ages or times. If you’re wondering whether your child’s development is on track, or if you feel that something isn’t quite right, it’s best to get help early. You can make an appointment to talk to your child and family health nurse or GP.

For more information on preschooler development and how to spot concerns, you can visit raisingchildren.net.au.