Two years old...Oh this is the age when toddlers lose their mind. I'm sure every mother of a toddler can relate to the crying are you really going to cry because you can't pour juice all over the table!? and temper tantrums. I am now the mother of a two year old and I am barely making it day by day but, each day I learn how to better handle the all the crying, whining, and temper tantrums! Would I call this parenting advice? Not hardly! This is my survival guide that I'm sharing with you, feel free to add any tips in the comment section; we are in this together!
How I'm surviving, the terrible two's....
- I spend time ALONE to THINK and RECOVER. Every night or morning I spend time alone to think and get my mind together. I simply think about the day and figure out how things can be better tomorrow. This is a must.
- Go outside. I could spend days indoors and never step foot outside when I am really busy but, toddlers...oh they need outside. My daughter is so much more pleasant to be around when she has had time to run around in the fresh air and sunshine When it's cold, we go on car rides. Just let the child out...
- Get off the computer. Even when I have work to do on the computer, some days I have to just wait until naptime or bedtime. There is really no way to get around this at times, two year olds hate to not be the center of attention. They need to feel included. If you MUST work, get them a desk (big chair and tray table) and let them "work" alongside you.
- Call them back. I find that my daughter acts her absolute worse when I'm trying to hold an important conversation on the phone about how to fry chicken or how I'm going to fix my hair...What!? That's what friends are for... I have learned to save long phone conversations until night or naptime. Unless, you want your toddler to yell and scream while you're on the phone. I don't.
- Remain calm. We all can get a little unhinged after dealing with 456 temper meltdowns, when you reach number 457, remain calm. I find that when I'm calm, my daughter is calm. Yeah, she may still be upset but, it cuts the temper tantrums in half. I have learned how to be calm yet, stern. "We aren't going to eat pie right now but, we can color. Okay? Let's go color a pretty picture for daddy!"
- Hide it or throw it away. At the end of the day when I'm thinking about all the things I could improve on, I try to figure out what caused some of the meltdowns (not mine, the toddler's). If the tantrum was because she couldn't play with my phone, I try to remember to keep it out of her sight when I'm not using it. I used to be all, well she has to learn no is no and whatever...haha! Now, I just move whatever it is and move on to something else. Thankfully, toddlers have the memory of a goldfish and are easily distracted.
- Ask questions. When my loving sweet daughter gets to whining and crying, I use a trick I learned from a friend; just ask what's wrong. "Did you hurt yourself?" "What's wrong?" "Are you hungry?" "Why are you crying?" "Want a hug?" "Do you need a nap?" (sometimes she will say yes to this!) Asking questions makes them stop crying and think, toddlers can't cry and think.
- Pick your battles, wisely. Is it really going to hurt her to wear her purple shoes with her black dress? Not really, so just say okay and move on. Some things are just not worth the fight. Thanks to my husband, I have been left feeling stupid plenty of times when he has asked "Well, why can't she have it?" and all I have is "Because I said so!!". Really? Really?! Just give the child another grape or cookie and move on with life. 3 cookies instead of 2 is going to hurt who? No one.
- What are you tips? What have you learned?
I by no means, advocate giving a child everything they want but, I have learned that some things are just not that serious.
Hope this helps you!!
Also, check out The Peaceful Solution Character Education Program they have a Parenting Manual that I use and love! Helps keep me sane!
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