Let’s be honest for a moment—raising kids is never easy! In fact, I feel that it’s one of the most challenging things that you will ever do, especially because you are still learning to navigate life yourself. While your parenthood journey is full of trials and tribulations, and you trying different methods to determine what works best for your child, there are certain tried-and-tested parenting tips that can improve your skills and keep your child protected from any kind of negative experiences. They certainly helped me!
To help you consistently improve your parenting techniques, and also make this journey happier and smoother for you, I have curated a checklist of essential tips that worked effectively for me while instilling good habits and values in my child, and also keeping them nourished and healthy.
17 Parenting Tips For Toddlers
Listen To Your Kids
Have you ever ignored your child whilst lost in your own thoughts? Well, you are not alone. However, when you are spending time with your little one, do your best to avoid distractions, including those intrusive thoughts about work deadlines, household chores, or a ringing phone.
Make it a priority to pay undivided attention while listening to your kids, and know how they are feeling, and what’s going on with them. Also, keep asking questions to them. This way, you will be able to demonstrate that you love and value their opinions, and they can reach out to you whenever they need.
Be A Good Role Model
It goes without saying that your child learns every skill and action by watching you, and if you don’t want them to exhibit a certain kind of behaviour, then you should refrain from doing it first. Be a good role model to them, and manage responsibilities to your best capabilities. Again to be a good role model, you do not have to try and be perfect, just teach your child about the importance of honesty, responsibility, and hard work through your actions.
Stick To Rules
As a parent, it’s your responsibility to teach your child the difference between right and wrong. This means you need to follow the rules too! So if you do something wrong or make a mistake, model to apologise, take responsibility and make amends for your actions. Taking responsibility can help encourage your child to learn the importance of following rules, and also teach them what to do when they make a mistake.
Foster Responsibility
As soon as your child is old enough, give them small chores. It could be as simple as putting utensils on the table, or matching socks in the laundry. Also, teach them to be responsible for their hygiene. For instance, I encouraged my child to make handwashing a habit before eating anything, and coming back from outside.
For gentle nourishment and protection, I opted for a natural foaming handwash for them formulated with the goodness of natural and plant-based ingredients like basil, mango oil, and coconut to provide 99.9% germ protection and also keep their delicate hands soft and smooth.
Give Your Kids Healthy Foods
Get your kids to eat the healthiest foods by putting veggies on the dinner table. If your child is a picky eater, then try to explore different recipes and disguise veggies in the form of smoothies, shakes, sauces, and dips. Make it a habit of eating veggies regularly together during meals, as this will help enhance the health and well-being of the entire family.
Make Sure Your Kids Are Immunised And Provide Them All-round Protection
Vaccines are crucial for children as they protect your little ones from serious illnesses. Hence, make sure to keep up-to-date with their immunisation schedule to ensure their health and safety. Also, try to provide all-round protection to your child whenever possible.
For instance, I decided to invest in a natural mosquito repellent body spray designed with all-organic ingredients to protect my munchkin against dangerous breeds of mosquitoes and insects. BabyChakra’s natural mosquito repellent body spray is formulated with a blend of lemongrass, citronella, and neem that provide 8 hours of protection against disease-causing mosquitoes.
Create Rituals
Create rituals or activities that you can do as a family, at least once a week. Make breakfast together, talk a walk in the park, or have a family game night. Regular traditions and customs strengthen family ties, which in turn nourish a sense of care and respect in your little one.
Safeguard Your Little One’s Skin
Invest in the best baby skincare products that help enhance your baby’s skin and keep it healthy. The best option while purchasing baby products is choosing the all-natural route, and getting products that are designed with naturally-sourced ingredients. For baby skincare, I opted for The Moms’ Co. natural baby face cream, which is created with jojoba oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, avocado oil, and milk proteins that restores the skin’s pH balance, and provides maximum nourishment and moisturisation.
Enjoy Bathtime
Bathtime is the perfect opportunity for strengthening parent-child relationships, so try to make the most out of it. Make it fun with lots of interactive bath toys, and if your child wants to, let them splish-splash a bit in the tub.
Also, use this time to cleanse and nourish their skin with a moisturising baby wash, formulated with plant-based actives like moringa oil, strawberry oil, and pumpkin seed oil that moisturise and clean their skin, and also strengthen their skin barrier to prevent infections and allergies.
Learn To Tame Your Child’s Tantrums
When your child is throwing a tantrum, don’t go straight to yelling, instead, try to redirect their attention by singing a song or giving them their favourite snack. You can also try throwing a tantrum yourself, and mimic your child to surprise them and divert their attention.
Monitor Medication
Always check with your child’s paediatrician before giving them any kind of medicine. Also, make sure to confirm medicine dosage beforehand, and strictly follow that to avoid adverse reactions. Besides this, what I personally do is keep some natural medications handy, such as a tummy relief roll-on, which offers quick relief to your child’s tummy troubles, and also soothes colicky babies.
Be Flexible
Trying to set high goals and expectations, and being a perfectionist parent is not only stressful for you, but for your child as well. Hence, you need to be more flexible when it comes to setting goals, and following parenting techniques. For instance, you might feel that your toddler is falling behind at school as compared to other kids, and instill strict rules upon them. But this kind of pressure can backfire on you and make your child feel overwhelmed and anxious. Instead, approach this problem in a practical manner, and work on determining the cause to administer appropriate strategies.
Shower Lots Of Love
There’s no donut that you love your kids, but how do you show them? By showering them with endless hugs and kisses. Embracing your child will make them feel loved and secure, and so will a kiss on your cheek, and stroking their hair. Another way I show love is by spending time together and engaging in activities that my child loves. For instance, watching my child’s favourite movie together, or going together to play at the park.
See Through Your Child’s Eyes
Many times you may dismiss your child’s feelings thinking they are overdramatic or immature. This can make your child feel that they aren’t heard enough and can upset them more. Rather, when your child is sad, take a step back, and try to view the situation through their eyes. Doing this will help you be more empathetic and help you validate your little one’s feelings. This will also bring you both closer and make your child aware that they can safely share their feelings with you.
Coach Your Child Instead Of Controlling Them
Instead of controlling your child through authoritative or helicopter parenting, coach them to change their bad behaviour. Think of yourself as your child’s life coach, who will encourage them to make good decisions and model appropriate behaviour.
Consider Your Child’s Developmental Stage
Your parenting style should evolve with your child’s growth. This is because a baby won’t understand the same things that a toddler does, and a toddler won’t understand the things that an older child does. Think about your child’s developmental stage before taking any action. Consider whether your little one has certain skills to understand and follow certain conversations and rules.
Turn Mistakes Into Learning Opportunities
Yes, you can turn negative situations into positive learning moments. Instead of punishing your child, shift your focus to helping your child learn from the event. Find opportunities to teach your child about:
- Problem-solving
- Accountability
- Lending a helping hand to others
- Teamwork and cooperation
While these parenting tips will help you navigate your role better, remember, nobody is perfect, and it’s absolutely fine to make mistakes. Just focus on being consistently there for your kids, supporting them, setting rules and boundaries, and showering endless love to them.
Also read:
Different parenting styles: In this post, we have mentioned different parenting types and their effects on your kids. Click to know what’s yours!
Best parenting books: We have curated a list of the best parenting books that will assist you through every stage of parenthood.
How to teach kids to read: Check out these helpful strategies that help build reading skills in your little one.
Best books for child development and pedagogy: Looking for helpful pointers to ensure the best care for your child? These books cover every step of parenthood and help you cope with all kinds of baby difficulties.
Featured image: Neha Dhupia/ Instagram