Parents should help the child differentiate between "pretend" and "real" occurrences.
Night terrors and nightmares characterize the nighttime wakening problems that generally occur during the preschool years. Night terrors manifest as frightening dreams that cause the child to sit up in bed, scream, stare at an imaginary object, breathe heavily, perspire, and appear in obvious distress. The child, not fully awake, may be inconsolable for 10 minutes or more, before he or she relaxes and returns to a deep sleep. In most cases the child does not recall the dream and in the morning does not remember the incident.Nightmares (anxiety dreams) are a more common cause of night wakening. After age 3, nightmares occur frequently. Dreams frighten preschoolers as they connect to the larger world with their active imaginations and fantastic ideas. These children can waken fully and feel fearful and helpless. Usually they provide vivid descriptions at the time, and they frequently remember the event the following morning. Consolation can be given by a parent who sits with the child, listens to descriptions and fears about the dream, and reminds the child that dreaming is natural and sleep will soon return.Parents of preschoolers can benefit from the following recommendations:
Bedtime rituals of 30 to 45 minutes are common.
Night wakening events are common in the preschool years. The child who wakes up at night should
be reassured and encouraged to return to his or her own bed.
Parents should have clear rules about children sleeping with them if children will not stay in their own beds.
Restricting frightening television shows and stories and discussing "real" vs "pretend" ideas and stories can help lessen the incidence of nightmares.
transductive reasoning.
Piaget describes the preoperative stage of thinking as transductive reasoning. The child cannot proceed from general to particular (deduction) or from particular to general (induction); rather, the child moves only from particular to particular in making associations and solving problems. At this stage of development, the child is unable to consider more than one factor at a time when solving simple problems. For example, a child can be given two identical cups containing equal amounts of water and asked which cup contains the greater amount of water. During the preoperational stage, the child responds that they contain the same amount of water. The child is then asked to pour the water from each cup into two different containers (one flat and wide, the other tall and narrow). When asked which container has more water, the child always identifies one. The child usually selects the taller, narrower container with water at the higher height. When the water is again transferred to the identical cups and the experiment repeated, the child returns to the original conclusion that the amounts are equal.This experiment also illustrates the trait of irreversibility. The child is unable to connect the reversible operation, the transfer of the water back into the original cup, to reach the logical conclusion that the differently shaped containers may hold the same amount of water. The child cannot mentally associate that the transformation from one state to another relates to the shape of the container, not the amount of the water. The preschooler is not able to demonstrate the concept of irreversibility. The child is not able to connect the reverse operation to reach a logical conclusion.
Ring around the Rosy
Tee ball
The preschooler regulates body activities with more purpose and copes with limit setting better than the toddler, but has much energy and requires outlets for this energy during their day. The young child requires physical activity for energy expenditure. Physical activity, for the developing child, may be more appropriately described as either locomotor play or active play. Active play increases from the toddler to the preschool period, and then declines approximately 10% for each advancing year of age. Hinkley and colleagues concluded that efforts to promote children's physical activity should seek to influence children's preference for physical activity, parent rules, and sex-specific strategies. Nurses should encourage parents to engage the preschool child in active, locomotor, and rough-and-tumble play.Although this age group needs physical activity, many preschoolers spend long periods each day watching television, videos, and playing electronic games. Occasionally parents use the electronic diversions inappropriately to entertain the child. Although some excellent television, video, and electronic game programming is available for preschoolers, many electronic entertainment options focus on adult themes and violence. Many experts agree that television, videos, and electronic games disengage the child's mind and support less learning. Parents should remember that preschoolers who rely on television, videos, and electronic games do not have enough life experiences to interpret many of the issues presented in adult shows. Additionally, they might be missing opportunities for interacting with other children or adults, hindering the development of an active healthy lifestyle.Tee ball is intended for children age 4 to 8 and develops skills needed for later playing of softball and baseball. It is an excellent activity for the preschool age group. Similarly ring around the Rosie is a simple game, involving singing and walking. It utilizes motor skills which are developmentally appropriate for the preschooler. By contrast paintball is not appropriate for this age-group. It requires skills and abilities not yet developmentally achieved.
fantasy play.
Preschoolers use many of the coping mechanisms developed during their toddler years; however, the preschooler generally shows greater ability to verbalize frustration, fewer temper tantrums, and more patience in experimentation to resolve difficulty than the typical toddler. Preschoolers refine their problem-solving skills. Through fantasy play, preschoolers investigate solutions or responses to stressful events and find inner control for challenging situations.Occasionally projection and fantasy lead parents to consider their child dishonest. When faced with the question, "Did you break this dish?" the preschooler might respond, "No, Teddy did it." The child might even relate a detailed story of the toy bear mishap. Preschoolers tend to project blame. Active fantasies help tell the story. Parents should not accuse the preschooler of lying, but rather the adult should help the child decide whether the story is pretend or real. The concepts of pretend and real help encourage children to discuss nightmares, television shows, stories, and their own active imaginations. Strict adherence to rituals or game rules controls situations for the preschooler. The preschooler has longer and more rigid bedtime rituals than the toddler.