The Butterfly: Your Talker, 28 - 38 Months

Flitting and soaring through the fresh world, butterfly steady in movement, your child reaches out to talk and play with others.

Your child speaks in three to four word sentences and has something to say about everything. True conversations begin with your little one. The butterfly child can play side by side with other children peacefully for longer amounts of time without the need for parent referees. Here are some activities to try:

Begin the public library habit. There are tape stories and books for check out. There are also story hours which delight the children and allow parents time to browse the books or just listen and rest.
Act out songs, learn songs with actions, and make up your own songs.
Build things with blocks, duplo, pillows, or pencils.
Pretend to be an animal and live under the table.
Crayons or fat magic markers on old newspaper make wonderful pictures.
Puzzles with 5-10 pieces are about right.
Go on a walk and look at bugs, sticks, or interesting rocks. Talk about everything you see.
Play copy cat with your body and your words.
String cheerios or fruit loops on a string for a beautiful good-tasting necklace.
Play with bubbles and plastic dishes in the sink.
Put down the plastic tablecloth and play with dry rice and beans with scoops and cups.
Say-sing nursery rhymes and counting songs.
Read your favorite stories; let your child fill in frequent words of the story.
Make up your own songs to match whatever you are doing.
Identify and sing songs about parts of the body: eyes, knees, nose, feet, hands, ears.
Talk about time passage, things that are past and things that are in the future.
Play action games with hopping and skipping.
Ripping and tearing is a fun natural desire at this age, so provide scrap paper and old newspaper to avoid having books and magazines shredded.
Attend your local school's pre-school screening. Your child will enjoy the different activities, and you will get to share your child with his/her future teachers. You will also find out about playgrounds and story hours.
Make sure your child sees you read. Don't always save your own books and reading for when your child sleeps.
Tell your child you're reading when you use the phone book, a cook book, shopping guides, newspapers, and magazines.

It's never too early to read with your child...

Alfa Gives a Hand by Shirley Hughes
Ask Mr. Bear by Marjorie Flack
5 Little monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow
Freight Train by Donald Crews
Have You seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri
How Do I Put It On? by Shigeo Watanabe
I See by Rachel Isadora
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah J. Hale
Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchings
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

Go to the next child development page: The Questioner