Celebrating New Year with the Children

With 2010 approaching fast, have you thought how to explain this complicated concept to your little ones?  Preschool children don't understand the concept of years easily - a year as a slice of time is a significant period of time for them.  Try explaining by putting it into context:-

• Explain that each year they have a birthday and get one year older
• Exlain that the world where we live also gets a year older on New Year's Day
• Explain that we give a label to each year; a big, big, number
• Explain that we are going from 2009 to 2010 and that after that comes 2011 and so on...

Why not celebrate as well by choosing a new year's resolution.  Look at something to change in the New Year, a milestone as part of growing up.  Perhaps talk about giving up a dummy or pacifier, walking more or giving up the pushchair or moving from a baby car seat to a booster seat.  Look at an aspect of behaviour to improve, such as learning to eat a food that they don't enjoy, sharing toys with sibling or being better at tidying their toys away after play.

Don't expect your young children to understand fully what New Year is all about, but try to instill a sense of what you are celebrating, and have them join them in the celebrations too!