Handy Tips for Teaching Toddlers to Obey
Handling a tough toddler is never easy, but one big plus is being able to maintain your cool and be patient. Ha ha! This is not so easy, say parents everywhere. It is hard to contain your frustration, but toddlers are prone to mirroring back your emotions. They feed off your energy, so whether it is a positive or negative energy can have a definite affect on the child and how he or she responds to you.
Handling your difficult toddler isn’t as simple and quick as saving money at the office. Finding the best Business coupon is easy, by doing a few Internet searches and reading some reviews. Likewise, Business software coupons are within your grasp with just a bit of Internet savvy. This is all easy for you because you know the steps, and you know how to get it done. Learning to deal with a toddler isn’t too much different, really, you need to follow simple steps and keep your cool.
A great place to start is teaching ahead of time your desired behavior. If you are trying to teach your child to get into the car seat without fighting you, consider “practicing” getting into the car seat in the house. You could use the actual car seat, or if that is too inconvenient, work with the child to make a pretend car seat. Make it fun! Make it a delightful game. If you can manage to teach the desired response ahead of time, you have a greater chance of getting that behavior in the moment that you want it. Give praise liberally, making the practice sessions fun.
Another strategy is to describe to your child what you expect from him or her, and explain the reward or consequence associated with that behavior. For example, every time your child sits on the potty, he or she gets a piece of candy (just one!). By laying out the expectation ahead of time, this isn’t actually “bribery.” It is setting up a positive consequence for a positive behavior you wish to encourage. You could also employ a time out if the child does not perform the behavior you wish to encourage. In simple, short language, describe to the child the response you desire in order to be released from the time out.
These are just a few tips you can use to help get a better handle on your misbehaving toddler.
