If you are raising a toddler, you will naturally want to be the best parent and caregiver possible. These are five tips for parenting toddlers that can help you with your journey:
1. Foster Empathy in Your Child Early On
Empathy is the ability to understand and share another individual’s feelings. It’s a close cousin to compassion, which is caring.
You can do a few things to help foster empathy in your toddler. One way is to establish a secure relationship with your child. For example, listen to your child’s concerns, validate them, align with them, and offer assistance to help them overcome those issues.
You can use this principle with something as simple as a fear of ‘monsters.’ Validate your child’s fear by ensuring you don’t ridicule it. Ask your son or daughter to explain why they are scared, and then tell them you understand the fear. Then offer some solutions to eliminate the fear. This simple step will teach kids not to invalidate, minimize, discount, or ridicule another person’s fear in the future.
2. Take Steps To Encourage a Positive Self-Image
The first few years of your child’s life are the most crucial for self-image and self-esteem development. Thus, you will need to contribute to them as much as possible. Be sure to give your children positive feedback about their accomplishments, strengths, and talents, as they will get most of their sense of self-worth from your input.
Correct them when necessary, but try not to give them solely negative feedback. You’ll also need to avoid praising the child excessively. Instead, try to find a happy medium to give your kids a solid and secure foundation.
3. Ensure You Rest Appropriately
Finding the time to get the appropriate amount of rest each day is important. Raising toddlers can be tough, but it’s necessary for your safety. Research has indicated that more than 30% of commercial truck accidents happen because of driver fatigue. According to the CDC, one out of 25 car drivers falls asleep at the wheel. Therefore, you must rest to avoid harming yourself or getting into an accident that can affect your toddler.
One of the easiest ways to avoid fatigue is to schedule your rest with your child’s sleeping times. Do this if possible, and your body should recharge accordingly.
4. Get Your Kids Involved in Early Educational Programs
Children’s brains are like sponges early in life. Hence, it’s highly likely they’ll retain any information they receive. National University claims kids can develop social and emotional skills faster if exposed to early education. The best time of their lives to begin the process is between zero and five years old. Researching private preschool programs is an excellent way to find the right tools for your child at an early age. You may enroll your child into a traditional program, faith-based curriculum, or a schooling program focusing on social and emotional development.
5. Begin Taking Your Toddler To the Dentist at an Early Age
Another helpful tip is to begin taking your child to the dentist early. Some dentists even suggest taking children as young as one year old. That way, the practitioner can detect problems early and offer solutions. Though your child will not have permanent teeth until years later, a dentist can detect issues such as genetic issues or medication reactions responsible for tooth decay.
Taking children to the orthodontist is also important to do when they’re young. A typical treatment plan with braces only lasts about two years for a child. However, adults wanting corrections for alignment problems must wear braces for up to four years. Treatment is more costly and complex the older a person gets. Thus, taking your child while young is a great way to contribute to their overall care.
Those are just a few of the many ways you can take care of your toddler positively. You will come up with even more effective parenting tips by using the ones mentioned above. You may not be the perfect parent, but you’ll make decisions that will set your toddler up with positive lifestyles and habits
Leave a Reply