Put your love into words.

Tell your child something specific that you love about them. What makes them special? What do you admire or enjoy most about them?

Encourage your child when they try something new or difficult. Instead of doing it for them, help just enough so they can be successful. Then praise their effort until they succeed.

Young children have strong emotions. Talk to your child about their and other people’s feelings. Let them know that all feelings are OK. See if they can come up with  a word to describe a particular feeling.

When your child needs help managing strong feelings, you can suggest strategies like taking a deep breath, using their words, or drawing a picture.  Praise them when they use a good strategy.

It’s normal for preschoolers to feel nervous in new situations. Talk to your child ahead of time about what to expect. Ask what makes them nervous and work together to come up with ideas for what they could do.

Your child learns how to act by watching or listening to you. Model the values and behaviors you want them to learn, like being kind or generous, or handling challenges calmly (just do your best).

Talk to your child about kindness and what makes a good friend, like helping others, taking turns, and sharing. What ideas do they have?

When your child gets into conflicts with others, help them think about possible solutions. Give suggestions if needed (including asking an adult for help if they can’t solve it on their own).

Let your child do some tasks around the house. For example, they can put their dirty clothes in the hamper. Things might take longer than when you help, but they are learning to be independent.

Involve your child in making decisions. At the grocery store, they can help decide what to make for dinner–then work together to find the ingredients.