Raising toddlers is not a task only reserved for parents. Almost everyone, if not all, should learn a thing or two about raising toddlers because it can get handy in unexpected situations.
For toddlers, life can be extremely irritating. Despite their desire to be self-sufficient, young children cannot always move as quickly as they would like or convey themselves clearly as they would like. They also have a difficult time coping with restrictions, find common ground and dissatisfaction. This can result in outbursts and other improper behavioral patterns.
As a parent or babysitter, it is essential to know how to take care of these young children by dealing with their behaviors and ensuring that their surroundings are safe for them. For example, baby-proofing your home and installing a high-quality and effective mosquito trap.
Here is the ultimate guide to raising toddlers:
1. Always literally see eye to eye
Toddlers are tiny people, and people tend to look down on them when talking due to the height difference. However, this practice is discouraged because it creates an implicit divide between the adult and the child. The better thing to do is to kneel and meet their eye level.
2. Ask a lot of questions
Toddlers are starting to put things together by getting information from asking particular questions to adults to advance their understanding and interpret things. The same can be said for experimenting with new things. Toddlers are progressively gaining the intellectual capacity that will enable them to broaden their understanding and comprehension.
Constantly asking questions encourage the toddlers to speak and practice thinking skills. When toddlers ask what it is, instead of directly saying the answer, let them try to guess rather and guide them to the correct answer.
3. Let them decide
Life is marked by the decisions you make, and you must prepare your kids for this by instilling decision-making capabilities in them from an early age of development. By incorporating simple life decisions into your child’s everyday routine, you are teaching them to be engaged learners in the decision-making task and enabling them to learn how to manage both decisions and the results of those choices.
Give chances for toddlers to try deciding what they want. This practice will let toddlers feel heard and important, a critical factor in developing character.
4. Negotiate
To enable you to comply with their requests, a toddler has a constricted array of techniques at their fingertips. It usually consists of recurring queries designed to consume your sanity, crying, going cold, and their final move: the hissy fit.
When the toddler and the adult are not seeing eye to eye, make negotiations instead of insisting. This practice is also one of the critical factors in helping the toddler grow with a good character.
5. Think before getting angry
One of the most common things to do when a toddler creates a problem is shouting. Shouting, however, has adverse effects on toddlers and can be sometimes counterproductive. Always think before getting angry. Speak slowly instead of raising one’s voice.
6. Abhor corporal punishment
Corporal punishment is a way of the past and is a counterproductive practice. Instead of corporal punishment, give toddlers a serious talk and discuss the gravity of their wrong actions like an adult.
7. Treat them like an adult
One should never underestimate a toddler. They can comprehend things much more than expected. With this, speaking and treating toddlers like adults will provide positive results in the long run.
8. Always provide an opportunity to learn
When doing activities or simple tasks, think of ways to incorporate learning. It can include explaining or giving fun facts during the process. As mentioned previously, encourage toddlers to ask and guess as well.
9. Maximize music
Music has numerous positive effects. It can stimulate the brain activity of toddlers, and it is an excellent aid in learning. Let the toddler listen to children’s songs as often as possible.
10. Encourage independence
Give toddlers opportunities to do things on their own. Letting toddlers try to perform tasks by themselves while giving minimal assistance is very much encouraged. This practice also highly improves the growth progress of the toddler.
The job of raising children is one of the most challenging and rewarding tasks in the world — and it’s also the one for which you could perhaps feel the least experienced.
These practices are a few of the toddler-raising tips that one can easily remember. No one is perfect, and raising toddlers isn’t child’s play – pun intended. Despite these things, it shouldn’t hinder anybody from trying their best to raise toddlers into becoming good citizens.