MSU Extension Child & Family Development

Ages & Stages

Preschooler A child who is 3 to 5 years of age.

Young child A child who is 0 to 8 years of age.

Minding Our Language

Families come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. A “family” may include people who are related by blood, by marriage, and by choice. “Parents” may be biological, step-, foster, adoptive, legally appointed, or something else. When we use the words “family” and “parent” in these materials, we do so inclusively and with great respect for all adults who care for and work with young people.

Children understand time differently than adults do. Preschoolers don’t necessarily know that 5 minutes is a specific amount of time, or that “next week” refers to only a few days from “today.” They often confuse “today” and “tomorrow,” and may think that every day is in fact, “yesterday.” It may be hard for them to understand what time something is about to happen. The phrase “hurry up” is often lost on preschoolers because they haven’t begun to figure out what time means. The following activities may help you help your preschooler develop a sense of time:

• Tell them when they have 5 minutes left to do something. Use a clock with hour and minute hands to help them understand how to tell what that means. For example, if it’s 4:30 and you both need to get ready for dance class in 5 minutes, point to the clock’s minute hand and tell them, “The big hand is on the 6 right now. When it gets to the 7, it will be time to clean up and get ready for dance class.” Once the 5 minutes are up, point to the clock’s big hand on the 7 and let them know that now it’s time to clean up and get ready for class.
• Point to the clock to show them what time you are talking about. When it is time to have dinner, leave for an appointment, or put away toys, point to the clock and tell them what time it is.
• Talk about what happened at different times or events during the day. Talk about the morning, daytime, and evening. You can make it part of getting ready for bed by asking your child what their favorite time of the day was. If something important or special happened, talk about it and about what they would do the same or differently if it happens again.
• Watch cars or trucks go by and ask your child which one is faster and which one is slower. Ask them which vehicle they think will reach a stop sign, street corner, or driveway entrance first.
• Create a schedule and post it on the refrigerator. Have your preschooler draw or cut out pictures of people eating breakfast, getting dressed, brushing their teeth, and cleaning up. Use the schedule to help your child understand what will come next in their day. To help them start to recognize numbers, put large numbers next to the pictures that match the times you want each thing done. Then you can use the clock and the schedule together to show your child when it’s time to do a task from the schedule.
• Play “Hide and Seek.” Take turns hiding while the person other counts to 10.
• Use the sun to plan your day. Talk about and show them where the sun is in the sky when it is early morning, afternoon, and evening. When the sun is up, it’s “wake up time.” When it starts to get dark or the sun goes down, it’s time to get ready for bed. 

Find Out More

MSU Extension provides the following resources for parents and caregivers of preschoolers and young children at no or low cost. Be sure to check out these and other MSU Extension resources available at www.extension.msu.edu.

Extension Extras (https://bit.ly/2LC2vdX) – These compilations of news articles, activities, parenting tips and advice are published online Monday through Friday. The resources are designed for parents and caregivers of young children who are home all day during the novel coronavirus pandemic. Each day has a theme: Mindful Mondays, Tips on Tuesday, Working Wednesdays, Thinking Thursday, and Fun Fridays.

Extension Extras Enrichment Kits (https://bit.ly/35QAplQ) – These kits feature five or six early childhood activities with learning goals focused in areas such as social and emotional health, literacy, and STEM; a supply list; suggested children’s books; introduction letters explaining how to use the materials; and an evaluation. The kits are available as free downloads.

Early Childhood Videos (https://bit.ly/3ioyEkS) – These short videos offer parents and caregivers of young children information on parenting topics. Titles include “Perspective Taking,” “Family Movies,” “Goals of Misbehavior,” “Using Thinking and Feeling Words,” “The Waiting Game,” and “When Siblings Fight.”

Building Early Emotional Skills (BEES) in Young Children (https://bit.ly/38XW4KI) – This page provides links to a variety of free online parenting courses, workshops, and events offered by MSU Extension for parents and caregivers of young children aged 0 to 3.

Parenting the Preschooler: Social Competence and Emotional Well-Being © 2021 Michigan State University Board of Trustees. The fact sheets in this series may be copied for purposes of 4-H and other nonprofit educational programs and for individual use with credit to Michigan State University Extension.