Bathroom

The bathroom is the ideal place to teach your child to be responsible for taking care of herself. As in the kitchen, provide a sturdy step stool that allows your child to use the sink comfortably. Make sure your child's toothbrush and toothpaste are small enough to handle, and easily accessible. Install a towel hook or rack where your child can reach her towel and facecloth easily.

If your child is still in diapers, involve her as much as possible in decisions about diaper changing. For instance, you can ask her "Would you like to have your diaper changed while you are standing or laying down? Can you please hand me a diaper? The diaper cream?" and so on.

If your child is beginning to use a potty, make sure she can get to it on her own, is wearing clothing that is easy to negotiate, and that she knows how to wipe herself properly.

Living Room

While many families like to have one or two rooms in the home reserved for adults, there will probably be times when you want to use that room as a family; you'll all benefit if your child learns from the start how to handle himself there appropriately.

Provide one drawer or cabinet for a small selection of toys or books; allow your child to choose what is kept there.

"Do not touch" objects are difficult for young children. You can get past the temptation posed by delicate vases, candlesticks and other decorative objects by showing your child how to handle them gently; then explain that these items are better for looking at than playing with.

Allow your child a section of your music storage space for her own growing collection of tapes and CDs. As early as age three, you can teach your child how to put a cassette or CD in a stereo, and show her the appropriate level for the volume.

Outdoors

A child's first introduction to--and most frequent experience with--nature will probably be in your own backyard and on short walks in your neighborhood. Provide a small, sunny plot--or even just a large pot--for your child to plant his own vegetable garden. The lessons learned and pride earned in tending something from seed to table are immeasurable. If you aren't a gardener yourself, there are many children's nature activity books that can take you both step-by-step through the process.

Include your child in the maintenance of the family garden by asking him to help you weed, rake and water it. Provide child-size rakes and trowels that really work--many fine toy stores and catalogs carry these in the spring and summer months. Go on frequent walks with your child, and let him set the pace as often as possible. Preschoolers are apt to spend much of their time squatting down and looking at an ant hill or collecting leaves or stones; this is what they are most interested in at this stage, and fostering such observation skills now will pay off later. If you can, set aside a place of prominence in the home or in the child's room for items gathered on these nature walks.