Toddlers

No matter what you’ve heard, don’t believe the myth of the terrible twos. Every age has its difficulties—but those are far-outweighed by its joys. When (if) tantrums come, take him to his own quiet place {not too far from you…hearing your voice and activity is reassuring}. A living room chair or a corner you can see are good choices. {I once put my 10-year-old son in an obscure corner of the living room and forgot him for more than an hour! Poor kid never said a word…} On the way, use your normal, calm tone, “When you’re finished, you can come back.” It’s up to him how long he’s there. He’s not going to understand all of this yet, but soon he’ll figure out that tantrums separate him from the fun.
~ A good rule of thumb for time out is one minute per age of the child.~

    Have you started reading to her yet? She probably enjoys a few favorite books by now, even when she’s rushing ahead in the familiar story. I used to get exasperated with my first toddler. He asked questions, pushing at the pages forward and back as I droned the story to him. “Do you want to hear the story or not!?” Luckily, my dad was in the room one night during story time. 

     “That’s not how you read to a kid!” He grabbed the book from me. “Come here, Steve.” Dad proceeded to read the story, but his delivery had feeling! Our family’s experience of story time forever changed. My kids particularly loved the different characters' voices. Sesame Street’s Grover was my favorite to mimic, especially in The Monster at the End of This Book.

     Pull a step stool into the kitchen. Toddlers love to help cook {even though it’s extra work and not much help at all. But it beats plopping him in front of the TV and wondering if he’s staying there}. At first, you’ll have to make up jobs for them, like stirring a little bowl of flour you won’t really use. When they really do start helping me with the prep, we take turns. He mixes the dry ingredients together, and then I have a turn. The whisk passes back and forth until the job’s finished. None of them have ever figured out that they aren’t doing a real job. We’re just sharing. And the whole time we're talking—about the food, the day, whatever comes to mind.

     Five-year-old Owen has been our sous chef so long, he reminds me to wash my hands and hang clean towels on our shoulders. Cooking is always more fun when I have my little helpers!

 

Jax with his own lump of dough while we make bisuuits.

Yes we baked his, and they were delicious!

Next ~ Preschoolers!