Ask HN: What things can you teach to a 3 year old? - mezod
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Akarnani
\- Cars don't have eyes which means that can't see you and can hit you.

\- Feelings, names of them and distinctions, all are ok, what is and isn't an
ok action to take because of feeling

\- Animals have feelings. They also have eyes.

\- How everything ever is part of a sequence of things

\- The phases of the moon

\- The location of the sun in the sky based on time (or routine item like wake
up, lunch, nap, dinner time).

\- Any recipe (sequences)

\- Songs. Anything can be a song.

\- Where things live/go/sleep/etc

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ddingus
Recently:

Politeness, basic protocol in conduct.

Colors.

Shapes.

All about the animals. What noise do they make, what do they eat, etc...

How the tablet works. Home button, pick an app, next, back.

Mine knows how to get rid of the "your TV will turn off in x seconds" message.
She found a little button, joystick in the lower left corner I did not know
the thing had. One day, that popped up, she said, "I fix papa' and did!

Songs.

Dances.

Where things go.

Cooking processes. Stir, dump it in. Etc...

People, roles.

3 year olds are sponges. Think macro on most things and they are up for it.

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throwaway413
My son is 3. While I try to teach him as much as I can keep his focus for
academically, one thing that surprised me was how much he has taken to
practicing soccer lately.

Over the last couple months, from refusing to kick a ball that was passed to
him, to wanting to play pass from the moment he wakes up, he has made
tremendous progress kicking the ball, dribbling, and aiming. I have noticed
his balance and coordination improve substantially, not to mention the power
behind his kick. It has been a blast and we both have a great time taking a
ball to the park and working on his skills.

He has now started mimicking some moves that I do - crossovers, maradonas,
back-heeling the ball. Not well, mind you, but nothing funnier than watching a
3yo trying to do a crossover with a size 5 ball that goes up to his knees.

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sethammons
They are in control of their actions.

"She made me spill!"

"No, she teased you, which she should not have done. You chose to get mad and
you threw a fit, knocking over your glass. That was you, little one. Now clean
it up while I go talk with your sister."

~~~
qwerty456127
That's a great idea to teach everybody. Fascinatingly so many grown-ups don't
understand that.

It also can and should go a bit deeper: the fact you are angry or sad doesn't
mean anybody has done anything wrong nor the things are bad (perhaps you just
didn't sleep well or have a bad diet) and in the majority of cases your idea
of what do other people think/feel about you and anything is completely wrong
(e.g. if somebody doesn't play with you doesn't mean they dislike you - they
probably just feel shy, if somebody does what makes you unhappy doesn't mean
they hate you, they probably are not aware it hurts you).

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tmaly
There is a book Teach Your Baby Math that uses a technique with red dots to
teach counting, addition and subtraction that you can start at 3 years of age.

Another book by the same author called Teach Your Baby to Read shows you how
to teach reading and foreign language. They recommend earlier ages as the mind
is still developing and has 3x the neural connections.

Good habits like washing hands etc are something you can teach at a very early
age and are actually encourage in Montessori schools. By age of 6 it is much
harder to establish good habits.

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a-saleh
I had some success in teaching my 3yo to play some board-games with me. She is
more of a random-agent, but mostly makes correct moves and loves to "score
many points" :-)

* pexeso

* king-domino

* carcasone (with reduced number of tiles)

~~~
mezod
haha, loved the random-agent bit :) they are so cute.

~~~
a-saleh
Well, I have to give her credit, it is not _entirely_ random.

Like, in Kingdomino, she will make valid moves, but it is apparent her real
goal is to have the tile with the image of the flyover dragon neighbor the
tile with the lochness monster, because those two are obviously friends and
want to go on adventures together :D

It kinda reminds me of me, when playing an euro-game that is little over-my
head, like Caverna and after a while I no longer care about doing _optimal_
moves, but I really care that the dwarves have a really nice cave :D

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rajacombinator
Kindness, confidence, thoughtfulness, emotional stability, etc... They’re
absorbing everything you do, so set a good example!

~~~
mezod
this is definitely the kind of things I'd love to teach them, and showing them
is probably the best way to, but I keep wondering if there's something else I
can actively do...

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qwerty456127
Teach them to read and to count (but do this gently - not every child can do
this at the age of 3 easily and you should not force them). I was once
surprised to know how many kids can't read at count as their parents don't
teach them. Also introduce them to a foreign language.

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sethammons
Some time before five, maybe four, maybe three, you could start "skip
counting." By twos, fives, and tens. Doing this and filling the gaps, by
kindergarten, one of my kids could start multiplication. By first grade, she
had a working understanding of fractions and the arithmetic around them.

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matt_the_bass
Puzzles.

Building with legos.

Cooking simple recipes.

Washing their own hair.

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henric
Roll and Mark Pumpkin Dot Art, to make a pumpkin version quickly because
Little Sister enjoyed the similar activities in the kit so much.

