Teaching Your Little One Boundaries

Boundaries about physical space, sharing, and kindness can be taught through play at this age.

Using games and free-play to set rules, test the rules, and then engage in some discussion about what rule was broken or what the consequence could be is a great way to focus on boundary setting with your pre-school aged child. Identify and specifically praise positive healthy and prosocial boundary setting. Also, model healthy boundaries and be consistent. Your pre-school aged child is always watching and learning, so they can be very attuned to inconsistencies they see in the grown-up around them. They are also going through a phase of discovery, so they are going to test limits and boundaries all the time. Be sure to use positive parenting responses to limit testing and regulate your frustration or emotional reactions to their limit testing.

Things you can do:

Be consistent
Offer them choices
Make visual aids about rules to reinforce messages
Model healthy boundary setting
Regulate your emotional reactions to limit testing
Learn about child development so you understand reasonable expectations about behaviors
Try different methods to see what is best for your family
Use positive reinforcement and praise to identify the specific prosocial behaviors they are engaging in
Remember that limit testing is part of this age

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