Developmental Stage

A couple of years ago I attended a workshop given by Dr. David Sousa, author of, "How the Brain Learns." He was explaining the importance of the two year-old developmental stage. This is the time that the logical part of the brain tries to take over from the emotional side (which has been in charge of the child the first two years). That is why children in this stage are very emotional and tend to have some type of tantrum. The worse thing an adult can do is to get emotional during these outbursts. This emotion will continue to feed the emotional side of the child's understanding and thwart the progress of the logical side. I was having lunch with my 5 year-old and 2 1/2 year-old granddaughters this week. What a wonderful experience. The younger girl didn't want to eat lunch at all and then would pout when her sister or I ate any of our lunch. Somehow, we made it through lunch with just a few episodes. It forced me to again remember what I learned from that workshop. Tell the child what she is doing is not acceptable and give her a choice of two other things to do instead. The choice will give the two year-old some of the control. It still works quite well.

Evaluation Time

As we reach the end of the traditional school year, many teachers take time to assess where each child is functioning. It is appropriate to report to parents the progress their child made during the school year. I think it is also critical to share with parents the developmental continuum of progress. Sharing information about skills that are appropriate for a child's age level is useful information for parents. It helps them understand where their child is functioning on the developmental road map. It also helps parents who have unrealistic expectations for their child. As long as it is done appropriately, tracking a child's progress is critical to helping a child succeed.