Toddler

Years 1 to 5 in the emotional life of a toddler are the crucial developmental years where all the magic happens! This is the time where your baby has moved up to the next phase of life and is now learning to control her body and its movements, increasing her ability to communicate with language, and eager to explore her ever expanding universe.

Along with constant supervision, discipline is introduced to the toddler’s world in the form of positive reinforcement of desired behaviors. It is absolutely critical that parents begin to establish household rules, set limits and enforce them with consistency.

A toddler is not yet emotionally developed enough to understand right from wrong and make decisions about their own behavior. Therefore, it is up to his parents to set the tone for “right actions" and “right behaviors”, or what is permissible and what is not. This is the time to make crystal clear who runs the household. Hint: it’s not the toddler!

The next four years are so important in the emotional life of a toddler. There is no better time to establish the ground rules than right now. A safe, predictable, happy home is what your toddler needs to grow and blossom. Learning will occur daily at an exponential pace that will astound and amaze you. Make sure you have the 6 Basic Principles of Good Parenting down pat, and then stand back!

For more on what to expect in the toddler years, enjoy the following articles:

Boys Are Different
Teaching Children Good Manners
Best Toddler Activity
Toddler's Toys
Toddler Activities
Toddler Routines
TV and Your Toddler
Potty Training a Toddler

Mom's Home Safety
This site, written by an Emergency Medical Technician (mother of three and grandmother of two) gives loads of tips and information on how to practice Home Safety, as well as how to perform First Aid if things go wrong (as they sometimes do), with some hair-raising anecdotes along the way.