It is possible to gain some significant insights into the lived experience of pre-school children. The following should be considered:
- children may struggle to place events in a time frame. they do not understand now, then, after, since, before, when. yesterday is anything that happened in the past;
- understanding and use of language changes significantly between 2-5 yrs. Avoid using complex language, long sentences;
- check what they mean for example, some children may call a few men ‘daddy’;
- very young children find it hard knowing what others know or want from them, so they need help to understand what others do not know. For example, they expect adults to take control and know the answers rather than the child being the expert. Thus, young children will need help to understand why they are being asked questions;
- do not check understanding by asking the child whether they understand but by asking them to explain back to you;
- children tend to respond literally. So, ‘can you tell me what happened at nursery?’ may get the answer ‘yes’;
- children begin at 2yrs to remember their experiences with an ability to remember for longer and longer periods increasing with age;
- children between 3-4 yrs are better able to give accounts with questions such as what, when where;
- attention spans are short and they can lose their train of thought easily;
- use visual resources
- they may indicate things are difficult with phrases such as: ‘I tell you in a minute’ ‘Be quiet now’;
- by 4 yrs children tend to know the difference between lying and truth;
- they need to feel safe if not at home they need a familiar, child-friendly environment. For example, calming play materials, right size furniture, easily accessible toilet;
Very young children are often able to communicate by showing as well as telling; This includes:
- nodding and shaking their heads;
- pointing and gesturing;
- drawing or using drawings provided;
- indicating and demonstrating with their hands or mouths;
- demonstrating with their whole bodies;
- demonstrating with props (e.g. dolls and furniture).
Further information:
Marchant, R. (2013). How Young Is Too Young? The Evidence of Children under Five in the English Criminal Justice System. Child Abuse Review, Volume 22, Issue 6: pp.432-44.
Marchant, R. (2016). ‘Age is not determinative: The Evidence of Very Young Children in the English Justice System. Criminal Law and Justice Weekly Volume 180: 12 & 13.
Marchant R (2019) Opening Doors: Best practice when a child might be showing or telling that they are at risk of harm in Horwath, j. and Platt, D The Child’s World The Essential Guide to Assessing Vulnerable Children and their Families; London, JKP.