If anyone loves consistency and order, it's a toddler.
But now yours is starting to notice that his world is changing -- and he's loving
it. His sister's getting bigger! Daddy shaves in the morning, but he's got
stubble by bedtime!
"Around age three, there's a burst of language development that is key to remembering things and, in turn, identifying change," says Erik Fisher, Ph.D., a child psychologist in
You can feed his fascination by making new connections with him, says Fisher. Get into the "why": For example, as you cook an egg, explain that the heat turns the liquid white solid. Other ideas to get you started:
Show and Tell:Look at pictures of a sibling or cousin at different ages and ask him what changes he sees.
Make chocolate milk: Let your child squirt chocolate syrup into a glass of milk and stir it for a tasty demo of how mixing colors makes a new one.
Chase a shadow: Mark where shadows are cast in the morning, then check back later as the shifting sun makes them pop up somewhere else.
Grow something: Plant seeds with him. As the plant grows, he'll soon see that he's helping to make the change happen.
