Parenting Toddlers

Parenting toddlers who wish to enjoy new found freedom and skills is a big task for every parent as it is an intelligent and physically exhaustive process.

Toddlers are now likely to be walking or will be soon and are now constantly everywhere at once. Your toddler moves away from you to explore and this freedom generally comes with much happiness and excitement. It is a great joy to see the delight of the toddler running squealing, whirling and the parent lumbering after him. When the toddler is able to move around on his own, he gets into "everything". With their coordination, improving toddlers are eager to try all sorts of things or activities.

Common Toddler Activities or Skills

• Throw a ball and explore objects using push
• Spinning and rolling movements. He may bang his toys.
• Grasp a pencil/crayon at its far end and scribble on a paper/wall
• Imitates what you do. He wants to do everything that you do.
• Open cabinets, doors, and boxes and taste everything out. Low entry cabinets are risk.
• Begin to show a temper when he can't have his way
• Carry his toys and spread, them around.
• Like pulling things apart to see how they work
• Love to be upright and will either pull up on furniture or walk on his own. He will also naturally squat to pick up something be is interested in.

Tips for Parenting Toddlers

• Direct the child's attention from any action activity that is undesirable/dangerous. For example, throwing a ball or asking a question if he wants juice/biscuits might work well during this phase of development.
• Take the child away to a larger space where he can play with the ball or push toy without disturbing others.
• Offer large sized newspapers for drawing with crayons or for tearing into pieces to help the child calm down when he displays tantrums. To avoid drawing and scribbling on walls, you may also provide child sized board, state for the child's scribbling.
• When your child wants to imitate your frying vegetables, you may give him an unused frying pan and a few onions/vegetables with a ladle to stir. He would be mighty pleased to stir like you for quite a while. Similarly when he wants to carry things like you, give him a small basket with a few unbreakable items to carry.
• Provide a simple basket or bag for the toddler's toys/play items. Help the child to pick up toys thrown all around one by one and put them in the basket or bag laying that they need to rest for sometime their home like you do. Continuous reminders to wind up play and put the toys back in their place is an important task parents should remember to do.
• Since the child at this stage can pull things apart from nook and corner, keep low entry cabinets or shelves always closed with lock and key. An opportunity for the child to take away old clothes kept in a low shelf and replacing them might satisfy the child's desire.
• As the child is likely to slip off from furniture while climbing or getting down, close supervision is required. Supportive hands are helpful till such time the child is free from clumsy steps and movements and acquires steady motor control.
• Clean, plastic clay given to the child for moulding anything in anyway he likes might stop the tendency for banging, punching pushing, rolling etc.

It is not mandatory that parenting toddlers involve following only the above enlisted methods and materials. The mother is the best person to choose ways and means of satisfying the child's curiosity, eagerness to explore and independence to act and achieve.