It was our coloring day yesterday, before then I had bought a different set of coloring pens my children are not used to, to them, it is special and they couldn’t wait to use it, especially my son, he opts to open it and he did with so much enthusiasm. We all picked the printable coloring sheet we wanted to color together with the coloring pen.
I noticed he only scribbled for a few seconds and lay down while my daughter, who is always obsessed with coloring, was exploring the different coloring pens of sixty pieces. I called him and said, Golden, are you okay? He looked at me immediately, closed his eyes and was smiling, I just didn’t bother to persuade him to join in because I knew coloring was not his thing.
If it was playdough, he’d gladly join even if he’d end up using it to rub his face and head, if it was water play, he’d be the leader, If it was painting, he would also join and use it to rub all his face and head intentionally. For him, I know his likes and dislikes when it comes to activities, anything messy, he’s very interested and because I have closely observed him over the time, I now plan his activities based on his interest.
I’m sharing this because some parents would feel that because it is family fun coloring time, he must join, again, remember he’s just 2, whose fine-motor skill is not strong enough to grip a pen, all he needs at this stage of development is play, It could be messy, indoors or outdoors play, focusing on his communication skills is the utmost priority, that is, using books, songs, nursery rhymes, stories to encourage his usage of words and to learn new vocabularies.
My other focus is his physical development. I need to ensure that he has enough space to move, run, I need to create activities based on his likes that will promote his fine and gross-motor skill movements like getting him a bike, scooter, take him to the park, going for a walk, threading with him and many more.
Another is his personal, social and emotional development, my job is to build his confidence and self-esteem in my day-to-day dealings with him. It is me focusing on teaching him how to make friends, how to express himself, understanding his feelings and being able to name whatever he feels per time. It is also about me helping him to know the adults in his life, home and outside home, the roles each one plays.
Again, remember that at this stage, his attention span is only about 4-6-minutes and funny enough, setting up activities around his likes always get him to sit for a longer period. So, dear intentional parents, I encourage you to use the things your child enjoys to create activities for them, by so doing, you are building their intrinsic motivation to learn and this also will boost your child’s self-esteem and will satisfy your child’s three basic psychological needs without being forced to do so.
