How your child learns is influenced by his genes, sex, temperament and by how you encourage it. By your support, you help him take his current knowledge of the world and use it to create new experiences and ideas.

Here are a few important ways to help him:

• Play with him daily and encourage his exploration of the world. Don’t let the December holiday rush — or any holiday — upset this routine.

• Be excited about how he develops his creativity and less on the products being finished.

• Learn about his everyday experiences at home and at preschool; talk about what he has learned

• Provide many ways to teach and for him to learn using all his senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste)

These early years of your child’s life are very important. You are also very important in determining how much he gets from these years. You make a huge difference.

Disruptions

We all have positive feelings about the holidays but sometimes we forget the stress of these times. For your child, the holidays disrupt his routines and stress comes with each disruption. Remember to make sure he gets his regular sleep or time to relax which will make you all a great deal happier.

Do your part to have the holidays be a time of laughter and joy. You are in charge to make sure things work out for your child.

Don’t let the rush of the holidays cause you to neglect the wonderful times for your child that you spend reading poems or books and singing songs. It not only helps your little one’s learning, but it gives him a rest from the hectic holiday season.

When you curl up, cuddle and read, it relaxes everyone and that is just the ones you want to reach.

The other stress your child is probably experiencing is with COVID. You may think he is too young to be aware of the potential problems associated with the pandemic. In some ways he is but that doesn’t mean he is not aware of the stress many of us are feeling.

Just spending some time with him talking about what he knows about COVID might help. Whenever we are experiencing anything in the family, it is important to find out how are children are handling things. They always know more than you might expect.

Make sure you talk with him about the stress of the pandemic and even the stress of the holidays. He needs to feel your support and have you to answer his worries and anxiety.

Talk with him about thanking people. This is all part of the holiday. Make the thanking part a fun part so he will want to do it.

By the way, may I thank you for your taking the time to read these hints about parenting and other subjects. Thank you needs to be a part of all our lives.

Cynthia Martin is the founder of the First Teacher program and former executive director of Parenting Matters Foundation, which published newsletters for parents, caregivers and grandparents.