When your baby starts transitioning from being an infant and becomes a full grown toddler, it can really turn your home life upside down for a while. The energy, the independence and the mood swings can make everything about life with your child feel like it's changing. But that doesn’t mean you should give in to the chaos. Making room for change is important, but consistency is just as important for toddlers as it is for younger children. Let's examine what that looks like, and why it’s so important.
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Expectations And Boundaries
As your child physically develops, they're going to mentally develop as well. Their communication is going to improve, and they’re going to become a lot more self aware. While it’s natural for your child to feel out, explore and even push the limits of their world at this stage, it’s important for you to set boundaries for them. Clearly communicate household rules in simple language, like “Toys stay in the play area” or “We wash our hands before meals.” Repeat these expectations consistently so your toddler connects the rule with the behavior. You also need to be aware that inconsistency in these boundaries is one of the most effective ways to undermine them. Avoid changing things based on your mood or situation.
Establishing Your Mealtime Norms
Your toddler’s eating habits are going to change as they begin eating new foods. They're a lot more likely to want to handle spoons and forks themselves. They’re also going to be more willing to express exactly when they want to eat and what they want. It’s important to serve meals and snacks at roughly the same time each day, preferably in a familiar setting, and with rules on sitting at the table and using utensils. Fussiness is expected, but if you give in to it, then they’re going to rely on it a lot more to eat at a whim. Even if it doesn’t always make for the best schedule.
Maintain A Predictable Bedtime Routine
Your toddler is going to experience changes in their sleeping habits, such as moving from a cot to a bed. Amongst the 9 reasons your toddler won't sleep that are most common, an inconsistent bedtime routine is one of the easiest to approach. Have a set time to start going to bed at, including a time to be under the covers by. Beginning with calming activities in the same order, such as taking a bath, then getting into pajamas and reading a short book can help their brain start entering that restful state. Keep overstimulation to a minimum during the hour before they start getting ready for bed. Call an end to active play and make sure there are no bright screens on around them. This predictability helps regulate your toddler’s internal clock, improving both the speed at which they fall asleep and the quality of their rest.
What About Discipline?
As your child becomes a lot more communicative and better able to understand you, you’re going to have to come up with your own approach to discipline. As with boundaries, consistency is vital in discipline to avoid any kind of confusion on the rules or the cause and effect that follows misbehavior. Bad behavior shouldn’t have a set consequence one day, only to be ignored later. Age appropriateness is important, of course, such as a brief time out from play is they’re too rough or not sharing well. If you have any caregivers, then you should make sure that they have the same approach to discipline as you do. You don’t want your child to play up more around other adults because they don’t think they can expect the same consequences for misbehavior.
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The Question Of Screen Time
The role of digital technology and the glow of the screen is something that modern parents have to consider in a way that past generations never did. While putting on the occasional cartoon or kids' show can prove a vital distraction when you’re not able to give your child 100% of your energy, overreliance on screens can set a dangerous precedent. Finding ways to spend screen-free time with your kids is vital. Try to set a clear daily or weekly limit on screen time use, such as 20 minutes a day, and stick to it. Regardless of whether it’s the weekend or not. And make sure to check all content that your child accesses, especially on the internet, to ensure that it’s appropriate.
Coordination Is Key
If there is anyone else looking after your child, whether it’s a partner, grandparents, babysitters or daycare providers, you should be upfront about sharing your standards with them. Most will be willing to adapt to your routines, rules and expectations. For things like meal times and nap schedules, it might be best to write them down to make sure there’s no forgetting or confusion. When toddlers experience consistency across environments, they adjust more easily and behave more predictably. Mixed messages from different caregivers can cause frustration and testing of boundaries.
Adapt Gradually, Not Abruptly
Things are going to change as your toddler grows, and it’s important to anticipate that while maintaining consistency as much as possible. Any changes should happen gradually. For instance, if they need to start going to bed an hour earlier, then start shifting their bedtime routine by ten minutes every couple of nights, rather than trying to simply get them ready for bed an hour earlier. You want to avoid changing too many routines at once, and explain any changes that they’re likely to notice in simple terms that they can understand. Make sure that no change feels like a punishment.
Consistency remains vital for a toddler, it’s just going to look a lot different from the consistency you had when they were an infant. Hopefully, these points have shown you have to find that new normal and explore this exciting (and stressful) new stage of development together.
This is a contributed post.
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