ABSTRACT
Imagination and creativity are encouraged when children feel confident enough to make up their own songs. Parents and carers should make an effort to answer children's questions honestly and sensitively, in clear and simple terms, using words and levels of detail that they will understand. Sometimes it may also be necessary to stand up for a child within social situations and explain if too much is being expected of one so young. Scolding a child in front of others can shake the bond of trust built between a parent or primary carer and their child and should be avoided. When three or four year olds deliberately behave badly, they are often communicating that they are uncomfortable within the situation, that they have become too excited, worried, upset or angry to cope, or that physical needs, such as hunger, thirst, temperature or tiredness need to be satisfied quickly.
