Category: Toddlers

Our Daily Mess > Child Development > Toddlers
3 Easy Ways to Teach Your Child to Play by Themselves

3 Easy Ways to Teach Your Child to Play by Themselves

Posted on by Katie

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Which of the following describes your child:

A. My child constantly needs my attention, he is unable to entertain himself.
B. My child moves quickly from one activity or toy to the next, not able to focus or maintain her attention for more than a couple minutes at a time.
C. My child doesn’t know how to play with his toys – the toys end up all over the place and he isn’t engaging in sustained imaginative play.
D. All of the above!

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7 Positive Ways to Get Your Kids to Stop Whining

7 Positive Ways to Get Your Kids to Stop Whining

Posted on by Katie

Whining is one of the most irritating things that young children do, and it can push any parent to their absolute breaking point. Kids whine for a variety of reasons: they could be tired, hungry, sick, frustrated, or looking for attention. If parents give in to whining (think, toy or candy bar at the store), then kids learn that whining gets them what they want. The key to overcoming this habit begins in the calm moments where we as parents can come up with a plan to address our children’s whining in positive, non-shaming ways.

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3 Effective Phrases to Use with Strong-Willed Toddlers

3 Effective Phrases to Use with Strong-Willed Toddlers

Posted on by Katie

Parenting a toddler is a lot like being a hostage negotiator: it takes planning, strategy, and some out of the box thinking. When we ask a toddler to do something, 90% of the time the reaction is a Big. Fat. NO. Eating dinner, getting strapped into the car, taking a bath, going to bed; almost any daily task can turn into a battle of wills when it comes to toddlers. At times, toddlers are so committed to saying “no” that they say “no” even when they mean “yes.” For example:

Parent: “Do you want your eggs?”
Toddler: “No!”
Parent: (takes eggs away)
Toddler: (crying) “I want my eggs!!”

Sound familiar?

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4 Montessori Strategies to Help Prevent a Toddler Meltdown

4 Montessori Strategies to Help Prevent a Toddler Meltdown

Posted on by Katie

We’ve all seen the toddler meltdown. It’s that “end of the world,” sobbing tantrum over something so small you may not have even known what it was. A lot of the time, they don’t even know what it was. Toddlerhood is a unique time in childhood in which the child wants so desperately to be in control, to be “big,” and yet he is still so little. The desire for independence comes out through power struggles that make no sense, and parents are simply riding this roller coaster of toddler emotions.

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