What interests does your two - three years old have?

[katjuska]

I was reading about how to discover what your toddlers interests are. Childminders in nurseries for example can use different models of observation to determinate what these are so that they can encourage children to live up to their potential.
If your nursery doesn?t have a child portfolio based on which they should justify taking a fortune for your child?s care and claiming they are top of the class.
Joke a side.
How can you master that if you are stay at home mum?
Would say that your child has a particular interest that he/she pursues? One important enough to play a important role in future?
Is that even possible at such young age?

I can?t find any in my daughter LOL except that she loves to do puzzles. Not sure if that?s any good for future success.

Seriously what your 2-3 years old rascals like to do?

Drawing, reading, singing and dancing, making pretend cups of tea that I am forbidden to drink, lots of role play including dropping her babies off at 'nursery' (me!) and then asking me what they did with their day .

But mainly drawing and reading. I make sure there is always paper etc and chalk to hand.

DS2 is 2.5 and has a definite preference for playing with tools and 'fixing' things and also cleaning (he has a toy cleaning trolley with mop, brush etc which he loves).

Am thinking back to when DS1 was that age - he had a preference for trains (anything Thomas-related) and having books read to him but I don't think he really played like DS2 does - DS1 does not really use his imagination when playing

Sorry meant to add that both DC have had the same toys/upbringing but DS2 could not give a monkey about Thomas or trains or cars.

Role play was what I was looking for in my previous post - DS2 does it a lot whereas DS1 rarely engaged in role play and if I tried, he would just look at me like this ---> and say 'it's not real mummy'!!

DS2 is 3 and loves puzzles.The proper jigsaw puzzles - he will sit for hours doing them. He is a very role play child - he is quite happy with his Toy Story dolls playing make believe and scenarios on the floor.

DS1 at this age was very into messy stuff, painting, cooking, building. I have yet to get DS2 to even stir a bowl of cake mix, and although he will now do some drawing he still wont do anything too messy.

Though saying that since the nice weather he seems to have gained an interest for the dirt in the back garden. But again, where as DS1 would just dig, and play at buildings and mechanics, DS2 will pretend to cook with the dirt or just sit and play.

ceebeegeebies - our children sound very similar. I often wonder whether its a DC2 thing. There is only 19m between mine so DS2 has often been left to "get on with it" when I've been maybe overcompensating with DS1. He at nearly 5 is still bored easily and needs interaction where as DS2 can play for hours quite happily alone with his dolls etc.

Definitely water for mine. Wants to play with it every time she washes her hands... Absolutely LOVES 'helping' with washing-up... Can't get enough of the stuff.

Smokin yes, they do sound very similar. DS1 is nearly 5 and has always been 'high maintenance' in terms of needing interaaction/stimulation although he is improving and will play by himself for longer periods these days.

DS2 will be happy left downstairs for ages (if I have to go for a shower etc) chattering to himself and his tools (or whatever) and is always telling me he is going 'to the park' with a basket full of stuff etc.

But you have just reminded me that Ds1 loved doing jigsaws and moved very quickly from those wooden peg ones to proper jigsaws beyond his age range - I have yet to see DS2 even pick up one of the wooden peg ones we have, let alone anything more complicated!!

My 2 are definitely chalk and cheese!!

My 2 year old likes toy kitchens, construction sets and anything with wheels, from toy buggies to vehicles. He liked digging, recycling and jumping off things. He also loved Peppa Pig, Pippin, Justin Fletcher and Dear Zoo.

DD is 2.8 and nothing stands out very much, fairly normal toddler interests as far as I can see.

She likes:
Any kind of outdoor play, helping with the garden etc.
'Looking after' children/babies smaller than herself.
Stories and rhymes
Role play, currently based around either parties or going on holiday.

drawing, painting, glueing, cutting, writing (this came home from her "friend", CM's 11 yo DD), colouring in, stickers

"reading", imaginative play, hide and seek, simple games, jigsaws

bouncing, jumping off things, "recycling" her tricycle, climbing, swinging, racing

helping, being a big girl, doing things herself

Oh, she just turned 3. She also loves counting at the moment.

ceebee - DS2 wouldnt do the wooden peg puzzles even though DS1 adored them. He did go onto the proper jigsaws a few weeks back though and loves them - we have boxes and boxes of them! He is a lot easier to leave as well - I can even have a nap on the sofa when he's entertaining himself which is bliss

DS2 also loves singing. All the action songs. And he loves counting and reading numbers - not as keen on letters or writing, but loves numbers

Tractors, trains, tractors, cars, tractors, diggers and tractors. And mud.

Snails, spiders, woodlice and cars.

Not sure how to use that to bring out his full potential, I just encourage him in doing the things he likes.

In rough order of preference. DS 2.7 likes

Trampoline
Riding his bike
Jigsaws
Reading stories
Diggers, Fire Engines etc
Running and shouting
Lying on the ground and bursting into tears when he does not get his way
Raisin bread
Playdough barber shop

Picking his nose with both fingers
Wrestling with the dog
Putting things in the bin
Grazing from the floor
Tractors
Mud

The role play is so entertaining. My friend's DD has been a dog for weeks. My DD1 is mostly a man called Bill :o

She also has some "pesky kids" that always seem to want her to do the opposite of what I want her to do.

PMSL @ parties and holidays

At the moment my DD is obsessed with the cows on in the field next door. She'll stand at the gate and have conversations with them, unfortunately the cows will all stand there for ages so it's a bit of a trial trying to get her in the car to go anywhere!

Apart from that she's fascinated by sign language - which is lovely until she gets it a bit wrong. In the middle of the supermarket yesterday she put her right arm in the air and said what sounded like 'Hiel Hitler'! It was only later on that I realised she was doing the sign for 'light house'.
Thank heaven for internet grocery shopping!

Will it matter that she doesn't like building things and prefers demolition? Got a bit paranoid at a comment from our HV last month. Is it normal for all children to build towers confidently at 2yrs?

Putting on all my shoes one pair at a time and going off to "work"

Ants
Bees
Spiders
trains, tactors and lorries
books
making cakes
scribbling on my walls
watching special agent oso
Bringing me bogies out of his nose
sweets
walking - he objects to getting in the car and would rather walk everywhere. However me and DD are of a more lazy temperament

PMSL @ Heil Hitler/lighthouse

I love Mr Tumble. Is that where she learns sign language?

@Spidookly. Yes indeed!

It's kinda cool really, especially when she starts using the signed words in context. Although I have had to endure many, many hours of Mr Tumble! Plus, she's going through a stage of wearing her spotty sunhat everywhere - even in the bath.

I spent ages trying to remember an article I thought was vaguely relevent about spotting patterns of play activity to look at the way children like to learn and now I've found it I'm not so sure.

I appreciate you've said specifically that you're doing this at home and the info in the articles is written for people in nurseries.

But given that I tracked it down using the vaguest of search words (narrowly avoiding the need for brain bleach whilst considering the search term water play) and I found it quite interesting, here it is anyway...

It's about play schema

and here's a TES article that puts it in a bit more context.

My 3.6 year old mostly likes climbing on to me or bits of unstable furniture and leaping off again whilst shouting 'safety' as that, apparently, means that 'you won't hurt yourself, mummy'.