There’s never been a toddler in the history of toddlerhood who looked at a piece of broccoli and said, “I choose that over a doughnut because it’s never too early to be heart-healthy!”. Yes, if you’ve been doing life with your toddler for any amount of time, you’ve realized one very important fact: They do not respond to reason. And it makes sense. They’re actually the simplest of creatures, and it’s us that makes them complicated. We want to assign completely formed adult thought processes to their very simple mechanisms of decision-making. We overthink it. And we have access to so much information that would love to help us overthink it. Take a deep breath. We are about to make toddlerhood easier. Yes, we said it. We have been doing this for a long time, and we have some great news. Let’s talk about our Toddler Cheat Sheets!
Communicating with Toddlers
Let’s start by taking all the stress, strain, psychoanalysis, and fear out of communicating with our toddlers. Today, we respond to them as very wonderful toddlers who live in the moment, who are looking for clear direction, and someone who is bigger and smarter than them to keep their lives in control. This is the way that we can communicate with a toddler.
They are basically looking for two pieces of information. “What’s happening, and what do I do about it?” This means that we have such extraordinary power to jump right into that and give them those two pieces of information. We can design our parenting style to meet their development and provide the information that they really seek. Now, we know that you are thinking this sounds too simple. We completely understand after raising eight wildly unique kids. There are actually a few ways to deliver this information that are key to being successful. Today, we are going to cover two things that help us communicate this information so effectively that you are not going to believe the results.
Confidence
It is a gift, and it is contagious. We underestimate our power as parents to set the atmosphere and perspective in our homes. And sometimes, we are new at this, and so there is not a deep well of confidence in place. That is where Moms on Call comes in. When a parent has a look on their face as if there are ‘no other options,’ and our tone is confident, our toddlers respond. They can literally respond to our facial expressions, tone, and body language long before they do our words. Think of that mom or dad with four or more children and the “no other options“ tone that they use to manage what can be abject chaos. It is like having magic in our pockets and sometimes spending too much time trying to understand WHY our children feel the way they do, which undermines crafting a confident and simple way forward at the moment. We are about to make life easier at your house when you need your toddler to do something.
Tell them what’s happening and what you want them to do -confidently. Not only does it help them build trust with you, it helps you build trust within yourself.
Repetition
Anyone who has played throw the sippy cup off of the table recognizes that a toddler learns by repetition. So, instead of explaining things in six different ways, hoping that one of them will work, the true key to unlocking a toddler’s good behaviors is to say the same thing confidently and repeatedly. It just takes them a little time for it to sink in, and it will when we are communicating to them in the way that they are uniquely designed to receive at this stage in their development.
Toddler Cheat Sheets
There is more great news! These simple phrases are broken down in our toddler resources. We know that it’s hard to get them to behave, so we give you a cheat sheet on how and when to encourage the best behaviors in your toddler with confidence and repetition. We structure it in a way that makes sense because at the core of every challenge is a truth. As a parent, our job is to find that truth and act on it. That is how our resources are structured. We identify the ultimate truth of what our toddlers are capable of, and then we let our words and our actions follow suit. We can’t wait for you to see all the ways that make raising a toddler easier. Moms on Call may not always be able to make it quieter, but we can give you the tools to engage your toddler’s world with confidence in ways that feel very effective. But most of all, we believe in you.
So join us in our online class, grab our toddler book (which has cheat sheets in the back!), or engage one of our incredible Moms on Call trained consultants to be your voice of truth and confidence as you become your toddler’s voice of truth and confidence (and repetition).
