Parenting Advice in Dealing with Toddlers

Toddlers are very adorable. In this stage of their life they are just starting to know more about their surrounding. Everything they encounter is something new. They want to explore so many things and they want to have so many things, especially toys, so that they can enjoy and have more fun.

On the other hand, the bad side of the toddler stage is very challenging to parents. At this stage, toddlers have the ability to throw tantrums like no other. When they want something, they will ask for it and will throw tantrums if their wish is not met. Toddlers don’t really care where to throw their tantrums – it could be in a mall if they can’t get the toy they want or in a church when they are bored and wants out as soon as possible.

Another trait that you could expect from a toddler is being rough to others. They could just grab the toys of other kids or just push them without any reason at all. It is also a characteristic from the toddlers to be quite hostile to babies. But it’s not their fault actually. They are just curious of the babies and find them really cute. Their actions are not that desirable. But be careful, they might hold on the baby too strong that could injure them.

If we are dealing with elementary children we can easily give them punishment by letting them go on “time-out” or cutting off some privileges such as hours in front of TV or Video games. However, giving punishment to toddlers doesn’t really work. In fact, by giving them punishment for something they have done only encourages them of the same behavior.

Instead of punishing toddlers who have misbehaved parents should look the other way. Parents should learn to emphasize in rewarding the good things their toddlers have done. Take extra notice if they have done something good and reward them. It is a little bit difficult at the start since we have to pay close attention to our toddlers’ behavior. The trick is to remember the bad practices of your toddlers and when they avoid doing that, immediately praise them. For example, if they tend to be hostile to babies but this time just touch them. Do encourage your toddler to do this practice constantly.

Take notice on the good things your toddlers did and avoid confronting them with their bad behavior. It’s not that you encourage them for their bad behavior but you are just ignoring their actions. Most of the time, toddlers are just misbehaving so that they will be noticed. By ignoring them, they will have to abandon that practice and do other things.

Another effective technique in changing your toddlers’ behavior is by redirecting their actions. They might still be doing the same action but you are actually redirecting those actions into a safer environment. By pointing out the positives more than the bad things they have done, we are encouraging our toddlers to be well-behaved all the time.