A Few Ways To Raise A Toddler Better

Many parents focus on their children’s grades and extracurricular activities, such as ensuring kids study, do their homework, and get to soccer practice or dance lessons on time. 

Focusing on the child’s academic and extracurricular activities is all very well, but all too often parents may forget to devote time and effort to nurture a vital component of the child’s success and development. This facet is perhaps even more essential than working on good grades – being a good person.

Moms and dads may often feel like they just can’t win. Paying too much attention has its demerits and so does too little attention. There are many things one must know about raising one’s toddler. Here are some of them:

Be Sure Firm Rules are in Place — and Ensure Respect

Kids who grow up believing they can get away with anything and obtain what they want by throwing tantrums usually are the ones to act upon it when parents don’t give in to their demands. Children will soon begin to self-regulate and respect limits when they understand that well-defined boundaries are in place. 

The kinds of non-compliance exhibited by toddlers can range from mild to downright opposing the instructions. Tell them the reasoning behind the rules. Once they see the wisdom behind the rules and realize they aren’t arbitrary, they will go ahead and comply with them. For example, you could tell your toddler, “Keeping your toys away safely will mean that the next time, we will know where to find them.”

Shower Praise Where Due

When the child helps out, be it with simple tasks like setting the table, making the bed, or sharing toys with his sister, make sure you acknowledge and appreciate the good behaviour. “It was nice of you to help me with the table. Good job.”

Make sure to follow the rules as well. Putting dirty dishes in the sink, not yelling when frustrated, etc., will show kids that you have rules to follow just as much as they do. 

Help Kids Make Decisions 

Give opportunities to children to make choices for themselves, no matter how small. It could be choosing their pajamas or the flavour of the drink they wish to take to school. 

Once kids prove themselves capable of managing these small decisions, take things up a notch. If your children are fighting, instead of yelling, “Stop that!” you could ask, “How shall we handle this differently?” 

Encourage Them to Try Again

It may be a lot quicker for you to do everything for them, but it is necessary to let toddlers practice and succeed without your assistance – whether it is putting on their shoes, sorting their socks, or keeping away their toys.

Work on Activities that Promote Patience 

Help your child develop patience. It is an excellent attribute. Encourage your child to indulge in activities that don’t offer immediate results, like block building or puzzle-solving. High-tech gadgets that provide instant gratification are not very good for cognitive development. 

Place Emphasis on Empathy

As a parent, there would have been countless occasions when you have had to play referee to a blowup because your preschooler took someone’s toy or declined to share his or hers with his/her sister. Children are often of the opinion that the world revolves around them. So if you help them understand that all people have feelings and emotions, they will be less likely to behave in ways that annoy or inconvenience other people. 

You can’t be expected to teach your children discipline overnight. No matter how hard you work at preventing it, there will always be times when they misbehave. Kids will be kids. Ensuring constant focus on these messages will make sure that the lessons will sink in eventually. Eventually, children would be on their best behaviour with little or no intervention from you.