This stage of your child’s development is when they soak everything up like a sponge, develop personalities and begin to learn right from wrong. It can be a handful with just one child and having two or more can seem like a nightmare. These hacks for parents are meant to make the journey a little easier for the whole family.
I have just one child at the moment, but I was born in a big (and happy) family. I was the oldest one and I watched my mom handling all of us, so I gathered her best hacks for parents and decided to share them here!
Hacks for Parents
Create Feelings of Sufficiency For Everyone
You can create a conscious awareness of the infant by including the toddler in activities such as feeding time or changing the diaper. Make it exciting for them by creating a song they can partake in or have your toddler tell the baby a story as the diaper is being changed. A sense of unity will be accomplished and your toddler will feel like part of the process.
Make your toddler feel important after they have gone to school or a relative’s house. Pay attention to them. Put your baby down somewhere and have some baby-free time with your toddler. Listen to their stories, ask them questions about their day and do this every time they come home.
Independence
Eventually, it will be necessary for our children to be independent. Be proud of your child when they do something by themselves and acknowledge the act. I like how you did that all by yourself. Let them explore and discover things on their own. The less they ask if they can do something, the more independent they are becoming. Use No for only the most serious cases (sticking things in electrical outlets, running into the street, etc.).
Cooperation
Stop using the word “share“. It’s abstract and not as easy to understand as taking turns. Teach your child to take turns when engaging in an activity. That is something they can see in everyday life and you can use examples to teach them about cooperation and taking turns. You can say things like: “See how everyone is waiting to take their turn to see the cashier?”
Perseverance
Toddlers can get frustrated if they try an activity and is unsuccessful. Without the proper teaching on perseverance, they can develop the mindset that any activity that is difficult isn’t worth trying. That is something we all know will not help them succeed in life. Remember the saying: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” and say that to your child daily. Make a song about it so that every time they come to a difficult task you both can sing it together.
These hacks for parents can make life at home with an infant and toddler a little easier. The older child can even teach the younger one. You can tell them that the baby is smiling because the toddler has taught them something. It makes them feel special and confident that they can do things with the baby too. You all work as a team and create a sense of unity in the family.
I hope these hacks for parents will help someone. You can find more great tips on Quora!
Do you have some hacks for parents with infants and toddlers?
These are great tips, and they all apply pretty perfectly to our daughter’s age right now – thank you for sharing!
I’m glad to see your tip about taking turns! This is something I teach in my classes frequently! #BusyMonday
I have twins and a 5-year-old, so these tips will help with all of them. Thanks for sharing!
I have a little one who is just getting to the toddler stage, so these tips came at the right time. Thank you for sharing! #MommyMeetupMondays
These are great tips. I like the one about showing cooperation rather than just using abstract words.
I have four little ones and your list is spot on! thanks for reminding me!
Thanks for the tips. I’ve actually found my 3 yr old a lot easier to deal with since my 8 month come along. I think it is because we praise him more and have encouraged him to be more independent. Now we need to work on perseverance….although i think we will have to keep persevering to achieve that!
There are some great tips here. Particularly interested in the “taking turns” tip – it makes a lot of sense. Will test it up first thing tomorrow once the kids are up and the squabbling starts! x
I love these tips! I couldn’t agree more with any of these…especially the bit about independence!
Thank you for sharing with us at #MommyMeetupMondays!
Let me know if it works! 🙂
This is a fantastic post! I currently have a toddler and it can be challenging when we are not on the same page. Your hacks are wonderful and I will keep them in my mind as I go about my day 🙂
Great ideas! Thank you so much for sharing these helpful tips with us at the Inspire Me Mondays Link-Up!
I hope to have a second child in the nearish future, and I anticipate the challenges that will come with raising a young child and a newborn at the same time. I love the idea of finding ways of including your toddler in the process of helping with the baby. I have pinned this for future reference!
some really really great tips I’m guilty of telling my girls to share will try your approach, thanks for linking up to kids corner x
I really like the taking turns one! Great ideas! Thanks for sharing (or taking your turn? haha I make myself laugh!!) in #KidsCorner x
Great parenting hacks! I like your ideas about cooperation and not using the word ‘share’. #meetupmondays
Great hacks! One thing we did was keep our older son involved in the whole pregnancy process. The doctor’s appointments and such! Thank you for sharing these at the #SmallVictoriesSundayLinkup!