Have you ever been tricked into thinking your 3-year-old understands more than they actually do? I talk about this all the time, and yet I STILL get fooled by this daily.Here’s the thing: our 3-year-olds talk like they understand logic and reasoning. We tell them not to run into a parking lot because cars can’t see them and might hit them. They can repeat that back to us, and we *think* they understand. We assume they’ll connect the dots themselves.But the truth is, their ability to talk often outpaces their ability to reason. They take what we say as fact : “Cars can’t see me” but they don’t have the capacity to fully understand *why*. And that’s where frustration comes in. We get upset when they won’t listen, thinking they understand and are just being defiant. But really, they don’t yet have the logical development to process what we’re saying. And that’s frustrating for both sides.Instead of expecting them to connect the dots, we need to take a different approach and connect our explanations to something concrete, something they can see, hear, touch, or feel. For example, instead of just saying, “Cars can’t see you,” you could park your car, let them stand in front of it, and touch it. Show them how big the car is compared to their size, and help them see that the driver can’t see them because they’re too small.3-year-old “logic” depends on tying abstract explanations to concrete experiences because the part of their brain responsible for reasoning doesn’t start developing until around age 4. It’s all about meeting them where they are and speaking their language.By connecting ideas to their senses, we make the world more understandable for them. It’s a small shift, but it can make a huge difference in how they learn and how we communicate. *Of course, every child develops differently, but most kids start developing reasoning skills around age 4.*#kelsewhatelse #childsafety #midwesternmom#momtips #howtotalktolittlekids | Kelsey Pomeroy - Kelsewhatelse