Toddler Tips & Tricks

[whalewail]

I like to think I know something about toddlers. I have two of them Right now we are in the magical time of year when my kids ages are overlapping. My daughter just turned one, and my son is not quite two. Right now there are still a lot of development differences between them. My son is speaking more and more every day, and communicating much better even without words, and learning to point at something he's talking about. My daughter knows maybe three words and rarely uses them, preferring to cry for what she needs and wants still. My son is walking well and can also run and jump. My daughter is just barely taking her first steps on her own, only up to five at a time and usually less before plopping on her cute little bottom and crawling the rest of the way. Those are two good examples of the differences bewtween them. I'm always looking at them in amazement at how much they grow in even less than a year.

Throught the last yer I've picked up some tips on dealing with toddlers and after thinking about them for a while today, I decided to share them. My life is a lot more hectic tham many, and yet less hectic that many as well. Twins are becoming more and more common, and though my kids are not really twins (I like to think of them as "almost twins"), having two so close in age brings many unique challenges (and unique blessings, too)!  Since I have another one on the way, due in January, I'm sure I'm going to be coming up with more tips, too!

1. Get as organized as possible.

I've found that the more things that have a place, either where the kids can't reach if they shouldn't have it, or in a box or bin on the floor where they can if it's a toy or board book, the easier things are. This sounds like a given, but before you have kids and in those golden days before they can reach very high, you don't realize how important it is to keep your own stuff safe, as high off the ground as possible. We've had a lot of books destroyed because we didn't put them up high enough. If you have a place for diapers, they will be easy to find and you'll know when you're getting low. A lot of new baby stuff comes with storage on the floor. As soon as your kids is crawling (usually around 6 months but sometimes sooner/later), this storage is useless for pretty much anything. As soon as the baby is pulling up to satnding (usually around 8 months), anything as high as a table is too low. Things you want to keep tidy and organized need to go at least five feet off the ground.

2. Dress your toddler before breakfast.

I used to think this should be the other way around. My son refuses to wear a bib now, he pulls off every bib we've tried. But he still gets messy. So for a while I would just put him in his chair naked or in last night's pajamas so he would be wearing clean clothes. But I've found out that eating breakfast energizes them, and so I've decided that it's best to get them dressed before breakfast so I don't have to fight them into their clothes. Also, they eat and sit a lot better when dressed. If they get too messy, I might change their shirts. But mostly I have found that if you give them non-messy foods they usually walk away pretty clean. So we do waffles, pancakes, or french toast with no syrup or jelly, just butter and maybe cream cheese if it's a bagel, dry cereal like cheerios or kix, and juicy fruits like apples or pears cut into small sticks instead of wedges, orange pieces, chunks of cantaloupe and honeydew, and either a clear juice or water to drink. We used to do milk but my son thinks it's hilarious to blow raspberries while his mouth is full of milk, so now breakjast means apple juice or water.

3. Eat breakfast!

I can't stress this enough. I used to skip it every day because by the time  I was ready to eat, the kids wanted out of their chairs. This still happens, but now I just tell them that they need to wait until Mommy is finished eating too before they can get up. If they scream, I let them scream. At this age they can begin to learn patience, and they don't always cry just when they need something. Now that I'm doing this every day, they will sit and talk to me and each other and play with any remaining food on their trays and just wait for me to finish my glass of milk and toast, or whatever I'm having. They usually want a bit of mine, and I will give them a small pice if they ask nicely instead of having meltdowns. This has helped me not only be more productive and able to care for them better, but feel more human, too. I think as moms we all sacrifice too much sometimes, and when you start denying you most basic needs and rights (like eating breakfast or going to the bathroom alone), things start to get too hard and your mothering suffers for it. You can't take care of someone else if you don't take care of yourself! I'm not suggesting that anyone lets their toddler scream for hours on end while watching TV or playing online, but your baby is not going to be mentally scarred forever if you make him or her sit in the high chair for ten minutes longer while you eat something. Once they get out they will probably forget about it fairly soon, anyway.

4. Even if your child won't nap, having some quiet time is a good idea.

Right now my son is sitting in his crib and talking to himself quietly. He hsan't been napping for the last few days, but I think that putting him down in his crib for a bit is good for him. It gives him a chance to rest and actually nap if he wants too. In the meantime I can get quite a few things done. Since naptime is right after lunch here, I can sit and recover from the morning, or get some cleaning done, or pay bills, or whatever I need to do. He is safe and he has toys in his crib to play with. Although I'll be honest with you, quite a bit of the time he ends up covered in poop. In fact, I better go. Anyone else have anymore tips to share in the meantime?

[MSugarKane]

Oct. 9, 2009 at 3:42 PM

The most important thing I totally agree with you is eat breakfast!  Many moms,including myself just don't feel like it, skip it and lose energy by mid morning.    Great post!