Mimeo HE-175
October 1953 (3C)
Purdue University Agricultural Extension Service
THE PRESCHOOL CHILD BY
Dorothy V. Mummery
Family Life Specialist
Lesson 2. The Three-Year-Old and The Four-Year-Old.
It’s Nice to Be Three
It’s lots of fun to take care of a child at any age, but three is a particularly nice age. Remember how self-centered and negative Susie was at two! Well, you can bet she has changed a lot in the last year.

What She’s Like
Let’s look at 3-year-old Janet. She can really do things. Two-year-old Susie is somewhat awkwardly trying and learning fast, but Janet does many things. Of all the preschool years, the third year is one of the most fascinating in the growth of the child. It is a sort of coming of age.

For one so young, the three-year-old has himself well in hand. He has more self-control now in everything, and he is ready to accept suggestions. Far from being contrary, he tries to please and to conform. He is "cooperative” with adults. That’s because he feels, especially now, that his mother and father are wonderful people and he wants to be like them and to please them, too. He wants to do what they do, wear what they wear, use the same words. This is more than 2-year-old imitation; it’s imitation because of admiration. Although 2-year-old Susie who sees her mother sweeping wants to do it, too, her thoughts are on the broom and making it move. But the 3-year-old, and 4-and 5-year-old, too, is thinking of looking and feeling like mother. Psychologists call this "identifying”. So Janet is very susceptible to praise, and is very attentive to what we tell her. She wants to learn that way.

Motor Control.
The greater self-control of the 3-year-old rests on his greater self-control of the body. He can run and jump and climb and ride with greatly increased skill. He is nimble on his feet, sure of himself, has left behind his rather labored awkwardness. He walks erect, and no longer with arms outstretched, but swinging them much as an adult. He bustles back and forth, and likes to hurry up and down stairs. He can ride a tricycle, and spends much of his time that way. He can even turn sharp corners without bumping into things and can stop abruptly.

Small Muscle Control.
The three-year-old can do more with his hands. He can unbutton buttons, and will help with dressing as well as undressing. He can hang up his clothes if there is a hook within reach and tapes to put over the hook. Girls are sometimes able to dress themselves before boys, and some 3-year-old girls require very little help. With supervision he can wash his hands and face and hang up his towel. He can feed himself without much spilling, and drinks easily from a small glass. He can control a crayon well enough to imitate a cross. He can make a train or tower out of blocks. He can fold paper crosswise or lengthwise in imitation.