About Brenda Douglas Expertise It would be my pleasure to answer questions that will help you to love and celebrate your uniqueness as I have a passion for serving as a personal coach and answering questions that will help people live a victorious Christian lifestyle without compromising high standards. My desire is to also help people explore vision, purpose, overcoming obstacles, conquering fears, pursuing health & wellness, embracing the truth, dreaming big and nurturing the seed of greatness within them.
Experience I have experienced life having a very low self-esteem (with buck teeth, overweight, and very few friends)to loving myself greatly. It took effort, hard work, consistency, and focus. One thing I've learned is that no one can take your confidence from you. In fact, I believe that you can achieve anything with a high self-esteem.
Organizations Royalty, Inc. at www.YouareRoyalty.org
Expert: Brenda Douglas Date: 6/27/2008 Subject: activities for 3 yr old child
Question what to do to make my 3 and half year child busy?
he watches cartoons most of the time and bites nails with hands always. He is aggressive also.
Answer Hello Archana,
As a former Preschool Teacher of ten years, let me tell you that three year olds are not yet skilled at finding appropriate pass times. You, as the adult, must guide them and show them what’s acceptable and appropriate. I’m sure that I don’t need to warn you that children who watch the television for long periods of time run the risk of developing health problems including obesity. Please. Please don’t concede your baby to becoming another statistic. Children of this age need the “everyday essentials” that include: outdoor play (for at least 30 minutes); creative activities (drawing, painting, sidewalk chalk and etc); sensory play (water, play dough (my son loved this!!) dirt :) or sand); quiet time (books) and naptime. I would definitely limit the television to 30 minutes. At this age, you can better control TV time and also use it as a form of reward for good behavior. There may be resistance to not warching much at first but your goal is to make the alternate activity so much fun that he will forget about the television. Give him a warning before turning it off. Tell him that in 10 more minutes we are going to do something fun. Then set a timer. If he cries, do not give in. He has to get used to this new structure. He will come to love the activity more than TV because "quality time" is interactive. If you help him develop healthy habits early, it won’t be so hard on him or you, when he gets older.
When my son was this age, I had to be careful not to use the television as a babysitting tool to keeps him occupied. Instead, I forced myself to enjoy this as an opportunity for “quality bonding time”. What I discovered is that, as a result of these activities, I enjoyed myself, he was tired in the evenings, and he absolutely loved my attention. This attention communicates the message that, “you are important enough for me to share in your interests and that I love you so much that I want to be with you”. But I had to be creative because if I didn’t come up with something constructive and fun, something in my house was sure to get broken, colored or moved out of place.
I did not have lot money so often times I took advantage of what the community had to offer. I had a weekly schedule of activities and sometimes we had themes like Beach day, Park Fun…. Some of our activities included: community parks, baking together, cooking projects, community playgrounds, museums, spray bottles w/water, tissue paper w/glue, crayons, paint, and walks around the neighborhood (In fact, my son is now 14 and we still enjoy neighborhood walks together).
As I continued, I noticed that not only was my baby having fun, but my confidence was improving and I began enjoying the privilege of motherhood. I began to look at it as the gift that it is.
Finally, the best thing that you can do for yourself and for your child is to invest in his well-being. Spend time with him and get him involved in activities. Please DO NOT ever put a man over your child. Your child is worth the sacrifice. Take care of him now and he will take care of you later. I suggest that you commit to enjoying your baby while he’s still young because you can never turn back the hands of time and get back lost years. Take care of your baby because he needs you and you need him. He gives you strength even when you are tired. He helps you smile, even when you don’t feel like it. Your son is your God-given angel. For a list of family fun activities and ideas, the Washington post has a wonderful book for family activities that include a list of museums, parks, and etc.. I purchased that book when he was young and we’ve gone to everything mentioned. You can also feel free to visit a day care or do a search on the World Wide Web. Take care Archana and I wish you the best. If you need to talk, don’t hesitate to write. Ps- As far as him being aggressive- it sounds like he’s “all boy”
