Caring

Self-Care:

Teaching your toddler/preschooler self-care are basically sleeping routines, eating/drinking,

tooth brushing, dressing, bathing, and grooming.

Practicing self-care allows healthy habits with allowing independence and understanding on how to care for themselves.

By teaching/practicing self-care helps your toddler/preschooler develop skills to keep

themselves healthy mentally (self-talk) physically, and emotionally.

Practicing a new skill is by giving a toddler/preschooler a small part of a task each day as

he/she learns the new skill in small sections. As a role play use a teddy bear/doll for teaching

dressing, buttons, and brushing teeth etc. Remember to always praise your child for trying

something new on doing a task whether the child did it right or not. It’s the trying and if the

child feels like giving up encourage the child to complete to the best of his/her ability. If

you need to assist the child do so, but always encourage to build your child’s self-esteem and

confidence.

As with self-care where emotions and healthy mindset is paying attention and listening to

your child’s self-talk. Children are always watching and learning by what they see and what

is said. Practice using positive thinking skills aloud when talking about yourself and others.

Here are some positive self-talk statements that are easy for toddlers/preschoolers to say:

I am smart I am a good listener

I make good choices I am kind

I am caring This is easy to do

I am loving I can do it

I can complete it

Know that practicing self-talk out loud might see silly at times, but you have to change

your words before you can really change the silent thinking in your head.

Caring for Others:

Teaching a toddler/preschooler to care for others depends largely on modeling the

behavior they see. Teaching your child how to be kind and caring to others (empathy)

will also teach them how it feels when others show that same type of care toward

them.

Children learning about caring starts with compassion or an awareness of other

peoples’ feelings. Explaining to a child that we are all unique and that we all look,

talk, dress or don’t act the same helps children see those differences and can

help them identify how each person needs a different type of caring and empathy.

Children learn by watching we are their greatest teacher on how we interact

with others. They learn the most valuable lessons and examples of empathy

towards others by watching us, their parents.