Parenting has become a challenge in today’s world. Today children are exposed to so many things very early in life and thus it becomes very difficult to make them understand the value of things and at the same time discipline them. At times it becomes both, frustrating and challenging. The old schools of thought believed that spanking a child was the solution. But modern child experts and psychologists differ by saying that it is important to discipline your toddler by setting rules and boundaries which will stop them from doing wrong things. In this article, we talk about some Parenting Tips For Toddlers.
Parenting Tips For Toddlers
Let us look at some parenting tips which will help us to parent our toddlers better.
1. Do not use the word “No” excessively.
Many a time we are so tired and frustrated by our toddler’s tantrums, that the first thing we say is “ No”. It is important to know that we need to pick up our battles wisely. The “No” word should be used only for serious situations. In other cases, resort to a middle ground wherein you can find a solution.
For e.g If a child is insisting on using the computer or laptop, you can try to divert their attention by giving them some toys and crayons. In other cases, if the child is insisting on wearing a particular dress or a particular color at all times, you can allow it as they are sure to outgrow this desire with age.
2. Keep your emotions in control.
Keeping emotions under control is easier said than done. When you have a toddler at home, then there will be many times when you will lose your temper. But it is important to stay calm and not let the situation get out of control. When a child sees your emotional outburst, it will send a wrong message. The child will learn that getting angry and having emotional outbursts is the right way in dealing with such situations.
Whenever you get angry, it is important to stay calm and take a deep breath. Get down to your child’s eye level and speak firmly. They will understand the reprimand better than any spanking that you would have given them.
3. Keep your instructions short and simple.
Do not give detailed and long instructions or explanations when things go wrong. Over talking will not help and the same will make your children more averse to you. Keep saying short phrases accompanied with stern facial expressions.
Also make them understand the consequences of their not listening. For e.g if your toddler is jumping on the bed or sofa, you can simply say “ No Jumping” two or three times accompanied by “You will fall”. When they are able to understand their action and the consequence of it together, they will try and follow your instructions better.
4. Make observations of their behavior and try to correct them.
Whenever you see them falling down due to not listening to your advice, talk to them and help them understand. Try to teach them through their day to day life situations. You need to be more innovative and use joy and laughter more to teach them things. Look for ways to make routine and boring things interesting. For e.g if they are fussy eaters, make this a good storytelling session wherein both of you can enact some parts of the story etc.
5. Keep their environment safe.
If your child is very active then it is time to keep baby gates in the kitchen or at every entry and exit. Keep all unsafe objects under lock and key. Also, you can earmark a certain area in the house where they can play comfortably, be messy, shout loudly or just run around.
Encourage them to assist you in simple tasks like folding clothes, keeping things clean, picking up their toys etc. This will help in channelizing their energy in the right way.
[content-egg module=Amazon template=grid]6. It is important to be consistent.
Children are great observers and so it is very important to be consistent in your behavior. It is important to be consistent by maintaining the same reaction to the same kind of problem. If you are inconsistent then the child will become confused. Also by the age of 2 years, the child will learn how you react to different situations and might take advantage of the same. It is important to not let your children tactics change your decision. For e.g if the child acts cute then their parents tend to give in and forget easily. In these moments it is important to send the right signal to your children.
7. Timeout is a great way of teaching things.
I can assure you that in spite of being calm and patient, there will be many times when your talking and reprimanding will not have any effect on your toddler’s offending behavior. Now it is time to start the timeout option. You can start keeping them in timeout for a minute or two.
For e.g a toddler of two years should be given a two-minute timeout. If they don’t listen, make them stand there without their favorite things like toys and keep a watch on them. After the two minutes encourage them to apologize and return back to normalcy. Children do not like being away from their toys or from people they love. After a couple of such timeouts, your toddler will know their boundaries and abide by them.
Finally, parenting is a journey. No matter how best you try to do things, it is going to get tough. There will be many situations wherein you will be convinced that you are not a good parent. It is important to know that there is no perfect parent in this world. We all want and try to do our best for our children. There is no single formula which is applicable in all situations. You need to understand yourself and your child and find out a way which suits both of you.
Hope you enjoyed this article on Parenting Tips For Toddlers.
Tags: disciplining toddlers, Parenting Tips For Toddlers, toddler parenting
