Life with a toddler means drinking cold coffee, witnessing a messy room always strewn with Legos, and following the same daily routine. Toddlers have an unrestrained energy source that keeps them active all the time. Things get worse when they start walking. They can cover more space means they have more ideas to intensify your struggles of keeping them safe.
Apart from oozing with energy, toddlers are extremely emotional. In one moment, they may be exulting. And at the other, they might meltdown when they can’t get their arm through the armhole while getting ready.
Toddlers also exhibit a growing sense of independence, not restricted to daytime only. You may find them fully active and in the play mood in the middle of the night while you are drained of all strength.
While it seems challenging to live with a toddler, a few tips coupled with some wisdom can make it easier to be their parent. Here are those priceless tips for you.
- Regular medical appointments
Get your child checked by a pediatrician regularly. This helps you detect a problem before it develops into something more serious and injurious. For instance, some birth injuries don’t become obvious until your child is a little older due to their delayed or subtle symptoms.
Regular medical appointments ensure that you know about potential birth injury in your child at its earliest stage and immediately seek a specialist’s help and plan curative interventions. Simultaneously, it prompts you to approach the law for a birth injury lawsuit.
Seeking legal help is essential because it is widespread knowledge that most birth injuries happen due to medical negligence of the on-duty medical staff, including doctors and nurses. For more information on birth injuries and seeking legal advice, visit www.lawfirm.com. This website provides reliable, comprehensive, and actionable information on this topic.
Besides knowing about birth injuries during medical appointments, you can ask the doctor if your child is exhibiting optimal growth.
- Ensure their cleanliness and hygiene
Ensuring cleanliness and hygiene is one of the primary rules for caring for your toddler. Since they spend much of their time on the ground crawling or playing, they are highly susceptible to infections and diseases. Therefore, you must be extra careful and attentive regarding their personal hygiene and cleanliness.
One of the ways to ensure cleanliness is to train them to wash their hands. Encourage them to wash their hands at various moments, such as before and after eating and after using the restroom, playing outside, and blowing their nose.
Additionally, wash your toddler’s clothes with mild detergent. Clean and disinfect their toys regularly with a child-safe disinfectant. Also, keep the surroundings, such as surfaces and floors, clean and mess-free. And use a child-friendly decontaminator to prevent the growth of bacteria and germs.
- Listen to your toddler and repeat
Toddlers become more irritable when they find you ignoring their concerns. On the contrary, they feel better when you listen, as it shows that you value their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. So, often get down and maintain eye contact, demonstrating that you are fully engaged in the conversation.
Listen to them and repeat their concerns when possible. For instance, if they throw a tantrum at the grocery store to open a box of cookies, tell them that you know they are mad and want the cookies. Still, they can open the box only after getting home.
Repeating your child’s concerns is a great way to foster effective communication and build a strong parent-child relationship. Also, it helps your child develop language skills. For example, if your toddler says, “Doggy big,” you can repeat by saying, “Yes, the doggy is big!”
Never interrupt or rush when your toddler is saying something. Give them time to express themselves without interrupting or concluding their sentences. Be composed and let them speak at their own pace.
Remember, listening to your toddler and repeating what they say is not only about the words they use but also about acknowledging their thoughts and feelings. By actively listening and responding, you can promote open communication and strengthens your connection with your child.
- Ensure proper diet and develop healthy food habits
A toddler’s diet patterns change as they grow older. For instance, you might feel your toddler eats less than they did previously. While it might concern you, know that it is normally okay. Kids don’t grow much faster after age one. They also become pickier and more preoccupied with playing and other activities. Therefore, they require less food.
Toddlers need about 1000 calories daily, divided into three meals and a couple of snacks. But they don’t eat the same amount of food during each meal break.
You might be surprised to know that, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a toddler’s portion size can be as small as two tablespoons, so quantity must not be your focal issue.
To ensure a proper diet for optimal development at each step of your toddler’s growth, ensure they consume a variety of nutrients. Your child’s diet must include starch, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats.
To develop healthy eating habits, decide which type of food your toddler should eat. Then, let your child choose the food among the available options.
Don’t force your choices on your child when it comes to food. If your child does not eat something, don’t make it a big deal. Remove the food, and offer it at some other time.
- Get your toddler involved in household activities
When your toddler is growing, they want to get themselves in everything around the house. You may find them with a broom sweeping with their tiny hands. Your toddler does that to imitate or stay around you for as long as possible. Consider providing your toddler with child-sized cleaning tools, such as a small broom, a dustpan, or a mini mop.
While you cannot let them do everything, getting themselves into small chores such as picking up toys, putting books on the shelf, taking their baby blanket to their room, etc., can help them stay active. It also teaches important skills, fostering a sense of responsibility, independence, and connection with the family.
Acknowledge and praise your toddler’s efforts and accomplishments. Positive reinforcement helps boost their confidence and motivation to participate in household activities.
Conclusion
Living a life with a toddler is very colorful and pleasant. Seeing the happiness on their face and listening to their cute laughs is priceless. But it is, at the same time, very hectic and demanding. Keeping your toddler happy and safe is a constant effort. Following the tips in this article, you can provide your little one with a safe, nurturing, and healthy environment.