Anyone who's raised a child understands how hard it can be, particularly when they're having their sixth tantrum of the day or tossing supper on the floor again. Even on tough days, meeting your child's fundamental needs and showing them love and attention will help them flourish.
Your child's lifelong health begins in these toddler years. The nervous system develops 80% before age 3! Giving your toddler a good start doesn't require child development expertise. Here's how to keep your child happy, healthy, and flourishing.
Give Your Toddler Love & Affection
Kids need love to thrive. Your emotional support gives your youngster a safe place to explore. Not merely touchy-feely advice: Love, care, and affection in the earliest years of life directly influence a child's physical, mental, and emotional development, according to science. Touch and love help newborns' brains grow.
How can you demonstrate love? Hug, touch, smile, encourage, listen, and play with your youngster whenever possible. Respond quickly to calm your kid. This isn't "giving in"—it's helping your kid regulate their emotions. Young children's brains grow when they feel loved. Experts say love can't spoil a kid.
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Meet Your Toddler's Basic Needs
Your child needs food, sleep, clothes, shelter, and health just like you do—they simply need more assistance meeting them! Well-fed kids can focus on learning. However, toddlers are fussy eaters, making mealtime difficult. It's normal to relax during mealtimes, but set positive examples by offering a range of foods and eating together.
Focus on your toddler's nutritional requirements for a week, even if they just eat carbohydrates one day. You can't control your child's diet, but you can provide healthful food during an engaging meal and snack time. Your youngster chooses how much and which healthy foods to consume.
Toddlers require 11-14 hours of sleep daily for health and behavior. Your child's brain cells form synapses during REM sleep. These pathways permit all learning, movement, and cognition. They help your kid grasp all they see, hear, taste, touch, and smell as they explore. To help your kid sleep, stick to a nightly routine and keep active (unless during nap time).
Your kid requires regular medical care. Frequent ear infections might hinder speech development and sap energy. Take your kid to the doctor often, update their vaccines, and don't hesitate to ask questions. Your toddler's growth depends on a reliable, high-quality daycare provider if you work or require a babysitter. Find a caregiver or childcare facility to meet your toddler's requirements while you're away. Find an experienced, trustworthy nanny, relative, daycare provider, or other option. Choose a child-loving, energetic person.
Encourage Your Toddler To Talk
Language skills develop in toddlerhood. Every day they converse and comprehend more. Your youngster may ask questions and use rudimentary words before their second birthday. After that, kids may comprehend jokes.
Avoid baby talk: Speaking appropriately helps your kid learn a language. Talking to your kid before they can speak is the greatest way to help them grow. Research demonstrates that babies whose parents often talked to them had better language abilities and vocabulary. "Mommy is pouring warm water in the tub so you can get washed up," if your toddler can't talk.
Read Books With Your Toddler
Next to talking, reading out loud to your child is one of the best ways to boost their vocabulary, inventiveness, and language abilities. It's also a terrific chance to snuggle and connect. Every day, read to your youngster. Schedule daily reading time, particularly before naps. Take your youngster to story hour at the library or find other opportunities to introduce them to reading. By 18 months, your youngster may enjoy flicking through board books.
Stimulate Their Senses & Encourage New Interactions
Your child needs safe world exposure to learn about people, places, and things. Studies demonstrate that children who grow up in an enriched environment with plenty of novel sensory experiences have bigger, more active brains than those who don't. Every contact informs them about their surroundings and role.
Don't overstimulate your youngster. Let your youngster play with several sensory toys and things. Choose toys with different forms, textures, colors, noises, and weights. Play music and interactive games like peekaboo and patty-cake, stroll and shop together, and allow your kid securely meet new people. Learn the words to your favorite lullabies and how music affects your child's development. Simple everyday activities may boost a toddler's brain growth.
Let your youngster roam: To develop strength, balance, and coordination, toddlers need room to crawl, walk, and run. Safe locations allow them to explore without being told "No!" or "Don't touch!"
Childproofing your house is easy (or at least in the common areas). Keep harmful items away from your youngster and safe ones nearby. Childproof all kitchen cabinets except one. Fill it with toddler-safe plastic bowls, measuring cups, wooden spoons, and pots and pans. Keep your youngster away from the stove, where hot liquids might spill and scald them.
Help Foster Independent Play
While playing with your child is delightful, they need time to play alone and with other kids. Toddlers learn life skills via autonomous play. When they play alone, they pursue their interests and make judgments. When they play with others, they develop social skills and negotiate. Play is youngsters' most essential task. (Plus, your youngster playing alone will give you a break!)
Avoid upsetting your child with toys and activities above their skills, although a little struggle may help build independence. Your youngster must find a different approach to complete an activity if it's difficult. Problem-solving helps them grow. Avoid helping your youngster open a package. If they are struggling, teach them how, then give them the closed box so they may try again.
Don't Forget To Take Care Of Yourself
Healthy parents raise healthy kids. Mental illness might affect your child's growth. Unhappy parents may have trouble responding to their child's needs.
The support prevents overload. Try to share home and parenting duties with your spouse. Helpful individuals should surround single parents. Don't neglect self-care. Parents, particularly busy ones, need time to recharge.
It's okay for parents to seek therapy or medication to improve. Consult your doctor if you suspect anxiety or sadness. Treatment isn't shameful and will enhance your and your child's health.
Before they turn three, your baby's nervous system develops over 80 percent, laying the basis for brain growth and wellness for life. What does your kid need to flourish at this crucial time? You, first and foremost. You're okay if you eat, sleep, have regular medical treatment, and read or chat a lot. Take care of yourself, too—your emotional health affects your toddler's growth.
