Toddlers Behavior – Getting Along With Your Toddler

Is Your Toddlers Behavior Frustrating You?

Your toddlers behavior can be irrational and confusing at times and often leaves the parent feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. The challenge is to find solutions to the problems you face with your toddler that are beneficial to both you and you them. Ideally solutions to you toddlers behavior problems will be win-win… where both you and your toddler move further away from battling each other to working with each other.

I’ve been a father for almost 4 years now and, as most parents find out, there is a lot to learn and unfortunately you baby does not come with a user manual! The challenges and responsibility are enormous but with the right knowledge and a little discipline (for both your and your toddler) you can get through it pretty much unscathed.

What Does Your Toddler Want?

This is pretty easy to understand. Your toddlers behavior is driven by three main things… their desire for love, their need for attention and their insatiable appetite for learning – that’s it… love, attention and learning. As a parent, you have the solutions to all these problems.

I notice that a lot of time when I am starting to get frustrated with my toddler it has nothing to do with them. Yes, their behavior may not meet my expectations but usually my frustration at my toddlers behavior comes from me wanting to do something else and as soon as you go down that road you can’t meet the three toddler desires (love, attention, learning).

One way to get around this is to make sure that you put on your “parenting hat” when you are with your child and give them all of your attention. Toddlers can play by themselves, and I’m not talking about sitting on the floor with them for hours playing tiddly winks. You CAN do other things that YOU want to do and still meet the requirements you toddler has set out for you… here’s how:

Involve Your Toddler In Your Activity

Your toddlers behavior can often be a results of them feeling they are missing out. If you have to do the dishes, involve your toddler by getting them to help. We gave our toddler her own cupboard (down low) with her own dishes and she loves to put them away. This lets them interact with you (feel love), keeps your attention and learn.

If there is something you need to do that your toddler cannot participate in like cooking a meal, make sure you give them an activity like coloring , making a craft or playing a game. Don’t send them to their room for this, let them do it nearby so you can still talk to them or have them show you their progress.

For things that you absolutely need to do without interference I follow this technique: let the toddler know that you have to do something and that you will be back soon. Maybe tell them that once you are done you can color together or something else. You should leave the room where you toddler is. If you need to work on your computer, close the door. Make sure they know that this means not to interrupt you. And, of course, this assumes you have someone else to look after them. My toddler wants both of our attention when we are at home, but sometimes I just need to get things done.

Sometimes You Have To Discipline Your Toddler

From time to time your toddlers behavior is just not acceptable and you have to discipline them. The trick is to do it with the least amount of disruption to the flow of love that your toddler thrives on. Learning how to using a timeout with your toddler will help you guide their behavior and meet their requirements too!