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The toddler years are some of the most magical times you will experience with your child, but also some of the most frustrating. You will likely get lots of kisses and cuddles from your little one, but also plenty of tears and tantrums too.
As your child moves from the baby stage into their toddler years, they are trying to make sense of the world. This is a time when children’s awareness of their surroundings is developing, and they are making sense of their environment and their place within it. They are curious about their surroundings, and will probably ask you lots of questions, ‘why, Mommy?’ is a phrase you will hear a lot! This curiosity can mean that they accidentally end up in dangerous situations, such as climbing on furniture to reach something that they like the look of.
This is a time where you wish you had eyes in the back of your head!
While parenting a toddler is no easy task, it’s great to know that your child has an interest in the world around them and is eager to learn some independence. There are so many skills that a toddler can learn that will start them on their first steps to independence. Helping your child to develop these early skills is a great way to build their confidence. Knowing that they can carry out some tasks for themselves will help to build their self-esteem.
Your child will be developing fast during the toddler years, and many essential concepts are learned at this time that they will use for the rest of their lives.
Here are some of the ways that your child can develop their independence during the toddler years and give their confidence a boost:
two simple ways to grow your toddler’s confidence and independence
Toilet Training
Potty training is one task that many parents dread. However, it is often much more straightforward than first anticipated. A child that is ready to be toilet trained typically gets the hang of it pretty quickly. Problems usually arise when kids are not yet at the right stage to come out of diapers. Children all develop at different rates, so even if another child of the same age is fully toilet trained, don’t feel bad if your little one is still at the early stages.
Getting prepared for potty training is crucial to making it successful. Having the right equipment will help make the process far easier for both you and your child. You can help to prepare them for potty training by reading them one of the child-friendly toilet training storybooks that are available. This will make the whole process much more fun for them and see it as something exciting. Reward charts are a great way to encourage kids to go to the toilet on the potty. Kids love stickers, so these make the perfect reward.
Even when your child is dry during the day, usually, accidents will still happen during the night for quite a while. Purchasing a waterproof toddler mattress is essential to make clearing up any accidents hassle-free, and far more comfortable for your little one.
Make sure that you enthusiastically praise your child when they use the potty. Toilet training should be a positive experience for your child, getting angry when they have accidents will only make an issue out of something entirely normal. With plenty of encouragement, your child will feel incredibly proud of themselves when they manage to stay dry during the daytime.
Helping Out
Many toddler tantrums and tears are caused by frustration. Usually, this frustration comes about as they can’t do something that they want to do. Giving your toddler age-appropriate tasks that they can help you with is an excellent way to alleviate some of this frustration. Of course, there are plenty of things that are far too dangerous for your child to help out with, but simple toddler-friendly chores should be fine if they are supervised.
Tasks such as carrying empty plastic beakers or plates to the table, putting their shoes away, or helping to match up socks are great ways to make your toddler feel helpful.
Teaching them how to do simple self-care tasks such as brushing their hair and washing their faces are also excellent ways for them to develop their self-confidence and independence. They may not be able to do it entirely on their own, but knowing that you are allowing them to do it, and praising their efforts will help them to grow into capable, confident children with a sense of independence.
Kori
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