During this stage, your child's communications skills grow by leaps and bounds.  When you spend time reading to your child, she is not just learning words on a page ... she is also bonding with you and learning about life, emotions and problem-solving.

What to expect

• Physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally
• By age 3
• By age 4
• By age 5

Tips

• Advocating for Your Child
• At the Limit of Your Patience?
• Bedtime Routines
• Child-Proofing Your House
• Discipline
• Early Childhood Special Education
• Encouraging Good Eating Habits
• Finding the Right Child Care Program
• Helping Your Child Manage His or Her Anger
• Preparing Your Child for a Sibling
• Saying Good-Bye at Child Care
• Single Parent Success Strategies
• Successful Stepfamilies
• Temper Tantrums
• Toilet Training

Suggested Books for 3- and 4-year-Olds

• The Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook by Shirley Hughes
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin and John Archambault
• The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
• Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel
• We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Snow by Roy McKie and P.D. Eastman
• Love You Forever by Robert N. Munsch
• Are You My Mother? by Philip D. Eastman 

Suggested Books for 5-Year-Olds

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
• The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
• Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban 

Suggested Toys for 3-Year-Olds

• Make-believe props (dress-up clothes, play kitchen items, etc.)
• Puppets, dolls
• Riding toys, tricycles
• Balls of all sizes
• Play dough, crayons, paint, chalk, etc.
• Large piece puzzles (3 - 6 pieces)
• Books
• Music CDs, CD players

Suggested Toys for 4-year-Olds

• Dolls, puppets
• Balls
• Trucks, tractors, trains, cars
• Blocks
• Dramatic play props
• Blunt scissors, washable markers, crayons, paint, play dough
• Sewing cards
• Simple board games
• Books

Suggested Toys for 5-Year-Olds

• Board games, card games
• Puzzles
• Blocks, building sets
• Play dough
• Scissors, glue, paint, crayons, markers
• Books
• Dress-up clothes and props
• Bicycle, swing set

Parent Education
Information on parenting classes.