Be the Perfect Parent and Role Model for Your Toddler. Your Guide to Parenting Toddlers and How to Give Them the Childhood They Deserve (2020)

The day you become a parent, is the day everything changes your life, and you start following your instinct to be a perfect parent for your little munchkin. You want to be a parent who would instil good manners, habits, and behaviour. The trick is recognising those crucial moments of being a toddler's parent. If you can follow a few tips in your beautiful journey of parenthood, you can undoubtedly keep yourself on the right course of life while teaching your kid.

It is a misconception that it's premature to teach a preschooler about values and life guidance. In fact it is the right time to start with all the proper nurturing so that it becomes a habit for the child in the future. To encourage them in every positive aspect of life, you need to be the ideal role model. Before their fifth birthday, a few values should be taught to them and then trying to keep them stuck with those values, which is the more natural part rather than teaching.

Telling the truth and being honest is one of the first things you should start with. The best way to encourage truthfulness is to be a truthful person yourself. If you want your kids to internalise the real sense of justice, then you should encourage them to take some action against the wrong in the right manner. You should encourage them to take up challenges and teach the values of determination. Praise them for their initiative of anything new. Children are naturally loving and generous with their affection. You give more hugs and kisses and say 'I love you' often, which will help them reply, 'I love you back.'

Making time for your kids is an essential part of your toddler's life. If you rise a few minutes earlier than your kid's morning wake-up time and keep some quality time, especially for the little one, it will be the best start of your day. Conveying your message is one-way communication. Excellent communication goes further by listening to the other individual, which builds trust and boosts confidence. It is the root of strong self-esteem and a healthy relationship. You and your children might have a different communication expectation as per the age difference, but you can make an effort to talk effectively to make the bonding strong.

There is a notion that if a mother does not shower love all the time without feeling tired, she is not a real mom! They feel guilty and to combat that guilt, they start spoiling the kids by trying to make them happy. But love is so much more than making your kids happy. It’s a way of life, something that is far-reaching and long term. It is long term and not short-sighted. A parent’s love is strong and protective. There will be many affectionate, warm, and happy feelings along with anger, frustration, and loss of patience. Make your expectations clear, describe the problem, if there is any, and invite your kid to solve the problem with you if there is a problem, and this indicates that you are human too and a learner in the way of parenting toddlers.

Being a parent of a toddler, you will find yourself imperfect many times – face it and admit it. You have your strengths and weaknesses as a family leader, and you are also a learner. Focus on the things that need more attention rather than trying to make everything perfect. Try to take a break from parenting and do something that will make you happy as a person or a couple. Focusing on yourself does not mean you are selfish; it means you are taking care of your well-being, health and mind. Setting limitations for yourself and doing things that your heart craves is one of the essential values to model for your children.

The more flexible you are rather than enforcing strict discipline all the time, the better your relation will be with your little one and you will create an environment of understanding. Flexibility means opening up of new possibilities, viewing one single situation from many perspectives and proceeding in a considerate way that will be a good start for both child and the parent. Flexibility can return calmness in the child and help in improving problem solving and decision making skills.

A family rule helps create a structure that means a clear statement about the behaviour you expect from your toddler. Rules are beneficial when there is consistency, predictability, and follow-through. Children need to understand what actions are okay to do and what are not. As children grow, they will be in various places where they will have to follow the rules. Following rules at home from an early age can help them understand the practices of other places later on in life. Kids can sometimes forget to follow the rules, but you need to be consistent and respond, in the same way, no matter what the reasons are to break the rules.

Some kids have frequent temper tantrums when they are toddlers. Tantrums mostly happen when kids are hungry, tired or uncomfortable. It is a normal part of a child's development, and they learn over time to deal with their frustration. Toddlers love independence in their life more than they can handle, which starts the power struggle. But you can prevent these unwanted tantrums by some simple changes in behaviour. Try to give them plenty of positive attention and reward them with praise for their excellent behaviour. Offer them some minor choices to control over little things that may look silly but are essential. Consider their request, but know your child's limit. Always remind yourself that you aim to make your child learn how to calm down and accept the fact without making further tantrums.

Self-esteem is a word that stays with you as long as you live. A positive sense of self is the most precious gift you can give to your child. Children with high self-esteem feel loved and develop into a confident and productive human being. Give children choices, like if you want to have them eat egg, ask "Would you like to have a boiled egg or a poach?". This kind of question will help them learn about making choices and also help you make them have an egg, which is your goal. Making small choices will help them to make big decisions soon.

Talk to them and open up, not only about being how successful you are but also what are the difficulties you face and how you try to overcome them. It's good to talk about your value of strength and acknowledge your weaknesses, which you can overcome. To build their future children need to take chances, make healthy choices, and take responsibility for them. Praise your children's effort, not only the result. Praising will boost their confidence and give them positivity. This will urge them to take responsibility willingly. Try to make the duties look like a fun game of problem-solving and not a tiring job for them and yourself too.

Being a toddler is a milestone age for language development. At this point, your child will learn a few words and try to make sentences. To ensure that he learns the right way to communicate, you will need to focus on what he is speaking. If you devote your full attention, he will not be distracted too. If he says one word for a full sentence, you will need to complete it to make him understand about communication. Stop saying long sentences with complexities like 'if' and 'but' all the time. Some of you do that generally when you talk, but it becomes difficult for a toddler to understand what point is being made. Also, try to keep your patience while your kid finishes his sentence or try to understand his position.

Honesty is a necessary trait to cultivate, learn, and teach to the next generation. It is a personal development and growth which comes with self-acceptance and self-esteem. If you do not want your kids to lie to you, then don't lie to them and never let them listen to a lie. This way, they will learn the first step of honesty. Every activity is 'age-appropriate' for a toddler, but sometimes parents forget that, as the kids tend to grow. Moreover, some of you may underestimate your child's ability quite often. Do not be impatient whenever your child tries to do something new. Just pause and think if he can do it. It will build up his confidence and determination. Let his confidence nurture and help him to achieve his goal. Help him take healthy risks in the first step of his life by letting him do his job, which is appropriate for his age.

Offering choice is a magic wand that can be used by you to make your life easy with toddlers. The choices can be as simple as choosing between an apple and a banana. Give them limited opportunities eliminating the options that you don't want them to choose. Too big a range of choices can overwhelm or confuse them, so avoid those pressures. If you give opportunities once and forget to do that again, they will naturally get anxious and frustrated. They will feel valued and start recognising themselves as members of the family. You should also not get rigid and authoritative and shut the door on the abstract creativity in them. So let them choose between two things in which anyone is alright to choose.

Emotional safety is essential in the psychological well-being of the children. Emotionally safe relationships between parents and children are more likely to be happier than other bonds. But you need to check on the emotional breakouts when dealing with those little munchkins. Validate your emotions for your kids, but also remember to address your own emotional needs. Listen carefully first to what your kids have to say then react accordingly. Be practical, strict, reasonable and do not get highly sensitive, and remember to keep your voice healthy and low.

If you give a consistent consequence for your child's positive and negative acts, only then will the following rules be enforced in your home. The inconsistent imposition of values gives your child a signal that you are not serious about your words. Consistency is the only key to treat many bad behaviours. Moreover, you need to stick to your terms about consequences and help your kids learn that they cannot get away with any bad behaviour. Be committed to doing what you say and do what you mean, then only they will change their behaviour and listen to you.

Positive reinforcement is certainly focusing on the good in what your child is doing. Using praise or rewards in real time will shape your child's behaviour. If you see that your child is going to the bathroom to brush her teeth, which she never listened to earlier, praise her immediately on that excellent initiative. In return, she will continue to do it for more praising words from you. Show value on learning and getting knowledge rather than test scores; tell 'you are smart.' But take care of words like 'you are the best' because she can think that she needs to be the best to get praise and anything less than that might not be acceptable for you.

An essential segment of parenting is to keep a balance between protection and exposure. Both are essential and extremely crucial decisions to make for your little ones.