TODDLERS

This is a busy busy time for baby and parents! Baby's entire purpose in life right now is to touch, see, squeeze, bang, throw, learn, investigate, and play. And play. And play. You must have all sorts of various toys for baby. Blocks are great. Babies at this age love to build. Pots and pans hold a lot of interest, especially when you put a little water in them! It is important to get down to baby's level and play. Let your baby dictate and control the play. Toddlers are trying to gain control over their environment. Give them as much control as you possibly can. Choose your battles wisely. Get some perspective! Is the earth going to stand still if your toddler wants to wear a red polka dot shirt with a pink and green pair of shorts? No. When your child is ready to eat vegetables, don't say " its time to eat your vegetables." Instead, say "Which would you rather have, Peas or carrots?" This works very well for a long time! You can use this with everything. "Which dress are you going to wear today, the pink one or the yellow one?" "You have two choices of when you can take your bath, right now or after you eat your dessert. Which one will it be?" Continue to read to your child. Children love to watch you read to them. Especially if you are expressive. Make sure that you read big picture books that are age appropriate, as well as books with no pictures. Reading from chapter books will allow your childs imagination to blossom. Safety is a real issue with toddlers. Make sure that your home is childproofed. Keep chemicals out of reach, sharp furniture and objects, wires, furniture or equipment that can fall over if pulled, plants out of reach, garbage cans, glass objects, small things that baby can choke on, drawers that baby can open, stairs gated, and lots of other things. Use outlet covers to avoid electrocution. Play-yards are great for toddlers. You can get ones that have an entertainment center incorporated in them. This will keep baby safe while he or she is exploring. Does your child cry every time you walk away, or wake up in the middle of the night upset? Chances are your toddler is experiencing separation anxiety. This is normal and healthy, but scary and upseting to your youngster. If this happens at night, simply go to the crib and gently reassure your child that mommy or daddy is still here and everything is OK. Tell her that she can go back to sleep now, give here a kiss and leave her room. Give here some time to soothe herself back to sleep. Potty training! We adults stress out waaayyy too much over this one! A child is not ready physiologically to hold her urine or BMs until about the age of 2 to 3. So forget about even thinking about it until then. You will know when your child is ready to start training because he will tell you! Buy a child potty and set it right next to yours. Whenever your child makes comments about changing the diaper or feeling like he has to go, take him to the little potty. Praise him for just sitting on it. You can tell him that he will be practicing for when he is ready to go for real on the potty. Always praise her for sitting on the potty, and when she finally does something in it, really praise her!! You can go to a school supply store and buy some "great job" certificates and fill in the details on them. Whenever she goes on the potty, reward her immediately with a certificate. You can place it on your refrigerator if she desires. Pretty soon she will be accumulating so many certificates, she will be so proud of herself. It is important to continue consistency throughout the toddler years. Children need consistency to feel safe. The same bedtime, the same rituals, the same meal-times, the same environment. Your child is becoming a unique, one-of-a-kind person. We need to allow him to discover and master while at the same time keeping him safe.