This stage covers mostly the second year of your child’s life. It’s the stage of exploration and learning. To a toddler, the world is an endlessly fascinating place, and the curiosity he shows at this phase, is the same curiosity which at later ages will make him successful in school and in his occupation.
The restricted classroom!
Imagine a classroom full of interesting books, a
microscope, an aquarium, scientific exhibits… and there is a student who is
avidly keen to learn. However, at every time he tries to open a book, look
through the microscope, or examine some informative posters, his teacher
screams fiercely at him: “NO, DON’T TOUCH THAT!” It is only a matter of time to
thoroughly discourage the student from learning and make him feel like an
unworthy and bad person.
The house to your toddler is his interesting
classroom. If you decide to keep your house suited for adults only, you’ll then
have to repeatedly restrain your child from getting to stuff. However, if his
eagerness is faced with a constant stream of “no-no’s”, you’ll systematically
be training him to suppress his curiosity, and dispiriting him from wanting to
learn anything. As a consequence; you’ll undermine his growing self-confidence
and drastically fill him with self-doubt.
Childproof your house
· Make systematic safety inspection trips through your entire house, train your eyes to look at every detail and analyze its potential risk: too small to swallow, too sharp, breakable, can easily fall down by a simple pull…
·
Check your house for poison such as cleaning products, medicines…
·
Don’t let your toddler eat food on which he can
choke, such as peanuts,
almonds, popcorn…
·
Put the handles of the pots and pans toward the back of the stove so that your child can’t reach them
and pull them over on himself.
·
Cover all electrical outlets that are not in constant use with a tape or safety
protective caps.
It might sound like a big trouble to take all these
precautions, but once your house is childproofed, you can relax and let your
little explorer discover his environment safely. By doing so, you are providing
a happy learning place for him to build up self-confidence in.
Play
time
Play is the vital mean by which a child learns about
his world. A toy is anything your child likes to play with. Here is a list of
some indispensable play things for your child’s intellectual and emotional
development.
· Sand and dirt: Playing with dirt
is far important and significant to your child than you think, it’s something
inherently intriguing and fascinating to him, so just let him dig and mess in
it, and don’t worry if he puts some in his mouth by pure curiosity.
·
Water play is also necessary;
during bath times for example; supply his bathtub with water toys, plastic
cups… and let him enjoy.
·
Dolls and stuffed animals
are very appropriate for both boys and girls at this age; it helps them express
and develop various emotions.
·
Cardboard books: Read stories to
your toddler with a lively narration.
· Continue the game ‘label the environment’ whether indoors or outdoors. How extensive his
vocabulary at the end of his toddlerhood will depend to a great extent on how
much you have talked to him and played with him.
The
informed teacher
Now that your house is perfectly prepared for your
child to energetically explore it and learn from it, this school of learning
still needs an informed teacher. That’s why you need to know what to expect
from a toddler and the right way to handle common situations:
1. Don’t expect your toddler to sit still and
be quit, it’s utterly
unreasonable. When you are a guest, for example, think about bringing some of
your toddler’s favorite toys to keep him occupied, and if possible, avoid taking
him to restricted places where he would hear lots of “no-no’s”.
2. “No-no’s”
should be exclusively reserved for harmful things like fire, hot stoves, running across the street…
and always explain briefly why you forbid him doing so. One way to avoid ‘No’
is by distracting your baby from the thing you don’t want him to get into. Fortunately,
the toddler’s attention can easily be drawn away.
3. Don’t make a scene over normal tumbles and
bumps, don’t pick him every
time he falls, if no one agonizes about his little spills, he’ll treat them as
a mere interruption to his vigorous play life. And by picking himself up, he’ll
develop self-confidence and strengthen his ability to cope with difficulties.
4. Avoid spanking at this age, distraction or physical restrain should be amply
sufficient. Your toddler is never going into mischief willingly, if you find
him tearing pages or breaking things; don’t interpret it as a hostile act, as for
him it’s plainly another scientific experiment worth studying.
5. Don’t worry about your toddler not eating
enough; a one year old baby
is usually picky and may eat less, he is developing more individuality in food
and his appetite along with his taste vary constantly. Besides, the more you
force him into eating, the more stubborn and resistant your toddler becomes.
Just put a varied and balanced meal before him and leave it to the natural
hunger, he surely won’t starve himself to death. He might also love to play
while eating which is perfectly understandable; I mean who wants to waste time
on a boring act such as eating while there are endless fascinating things to
explore. To cope with it, just feed him while he is playing or put the food in
an accessible place so he would take some if he feels hungry.
6. Give your child a chance to feed himself if he shows interest in doing so, he will not
spoon-feed himself efficiently at first, so you might still need to help him, and
sure there will be some crazy mess after each meal, but note this: if you let
your toddler try, you will reinforce his self-confidence and before you realize
it, he will be mastering the spoon and feeding himself neatly.
7. Don’t toilet train him until he is at least two years old, trying before that time is either a psychological disaster (might become bed wetter at later age) or just a sheer waste of time.
8. Teach your toddler the names of his body parts equally and that includes sex organs, don’t make that area a taboo so he won’t take morbid interest in sex at an early age.
The
good outcome!
If your young research scientist is allowed to play
and explore freely in a stimulating environment, he will grow confident about
himself. However, if he is struck with a constant stream of ‘NO’s’, he will
develop feelings of self-doubt which will be devastating to his initiative and
drive as an adult.
This will require great patience and forbearance
from you, especially when your house looks at the end of each day as though a
windstorm had hit it. But remember that those beautiful, well-organized houses
you see, which look as if no child lived there, cannot possibly raise children
full of courage and self-confidence!
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