When I began my parenting journey, I had little experience in working with toddlers. I had not changed a diaper, and provided them with any adequate diet, none of it. I would not say that my parenting techniques were not developed, because I did spend time with kids before, played with them, and tried hearing their vocabulary. As a father, it did not take long before I could hear the different cries of “I’m hungry,” “My diaper is dirty,” and “I need comfort”. If you have not experienced these cries before, it will not take long before you get comfortable with them.
Toddlers and younger children require more attentiveness. They have a complete curiosity with the world and will love the things that surround them, driving their curiosity and mind into different places. With this mindset, it comes as second nature for a parent to try and lay down particular constraints to compel them quicker. If you are a parent like me with a curious child, you will want to give them some freedom to explore themselves and the world which surrounds them.
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Make sure they receive a balanced diet.
Making kids eat better is a point of contention for parents. You will want them to eat natural, baked, or cooked items that do not necessarily involve frying. The child’s palate is young and not as developed, so this may improve your concentration and teaching the kids what tastes good for that food group. If they do not understand the different tastes and textures, they will turn up their nose to food they do not appreciate.
I have not had the greatest diet until I started cooking food on my own. I’ve explored different greens along with fruits and lean proteins. As I have become healthier, I wanted my children to expect a much better diet. I’ve even had food that I wasn’t too crazy about, but I had to fake it so my kids would enjoy the food. Also, with my older kids, I would also talk to them through the taste and texture of the food so they can appreciate it. I believe that my telling them about the taste and texture, they will develop a much better food palate so they know how to distinguish good food.
Find a creative outlet.
If you have a specific play room with your kids, you can setup your own chair, and you watch them explore. Sometimes, they do not know what to do with different toys, so it helps that you can create the imagination of a city, a damsel in distress, a heroine, or any type of scenario to come up with the toys. I have had my moments with my kids that I was able to create these mini stories on a fictional diorama that explore a completely different world. I have personally had a lot of fun and my imagination rekindled in this relationship.
Allowing for creativity gives children a focus on things they enjoy, and are good with. Whether it is drawing, building, or making a fictional diorama for a movie scene, they will look to fill in the explorative minds. They will fill in the gaps of what is missing in the world as they find this enjoyable. Making them think through this process is almost trial and error for your first child, but they will find what they enjoy the most. Also, creativity enhances their overall demeanor and focus for potential learning curves.
Make the kids (and yourself active).
When you are active with your kids, they will emulate your sense of adventure and how you play games. With active children, they will learn how to play and share with other kids. Active children will develop their bodies and coordination. Since you will spend time with their activity, they will grow with better body strength, posture, and a balanced weight. Also, outdoor activity reduces mental stress that screen time will inhibit on a growing child. This will give them reduced stress and in a positive emotional state.
I myself enjoy doing cardio activities. I do like to run and bike, so I will work with my kids on endurance sports and teaching them how to get faster, jump higher, and improve their coordination. Doing strenuous activities with your children also form a bond with each other and nature in ways that screens will never contribute to your kids. This creates fond memories between your kids and you that will find appreciation for life.
Know how to set positive boundaries.
Children will constantly push beyond lines of comfort, safety, and your sanity. Depending on your children’s personality, this can either range from the easiest thing in the world to the most complicated. First and foremost, make sure you are firm with your “no” and make it stern for their understanding. Through safety boundaries, your consistency in saying, “not safe” is important to identify that particular boundary. For the other adults in your life, the boundaries of other adults are not beyond acceptable behavior. Through moments of play, you will often state the words, “ask”, “very nice”, “say thank you”. By teaching them gratitude, you will enforce positive behaviors.
Make sure you understand the children’s social cues, and guide them.
My younger boys are very possessive of toys and are highly focused in their imaginative world. As a father I can see it unfold between two of them, one is expanding a village, and the other is pretending to be a rocket landing on an alien planet. At some point, the truck will be that point of contention for the both of them. The both of them will reach for it at the same time and then contention ensues. Even though this is one case of many types, I have to teach my kids to ask for toys and make a deal on who gets the toy when. I require them to speak with each other instead of fighting over the toy. Fortunately, this social guidance will continue into the point of your kids reaching adulthood, and you work with them as they work on socialization as a young professional.
If you are new to caring for kids, do a kids play date with a friend.
Your friends and their kids will appreciate moments that you can go out together and spend it with the kids. Even if you do not have other adults to be around, many communities in the United States have playgrounds and community centers that are open and free to use. Oftentimes, you will see your kids make friends easily on these playground sets as they run off so much of their energy. If you are newer to your community, you and the other adults may find the same time to connect with their children. In this case, you can be bold like your kids and start talking to other adults and make small talk to break the ice.
If you are married, show your affection for your partner.
I am quite fond of my wife, and will constantly show affection for her in front of my kids. They might get jealous, but my actions towards my wife make my kids develop the sense of security at home. Showing this kind of affection and realizing the mutual feelings we have for each other makes our home much more comfortable in the relationship that we share.
On the other hand, I will spend one-on-one time with my boys. It may not always be the same day or time in the week, but my time spent with them makes them feel valued and connected with the overall family. I will show that my love and affection for them creates a bond that we want to share for a lifetime. The other reason why I spend time with each child is a moment that I get to share for their memories. I want them to grow up with positive memories that I was able to place in their lives where they will cherish it for a long time. This also sets up a great example for them, so that when your kids are ready for their own, they will attempt to duplicate the time.
In conclusion, there are multiple ways to care for your kids. It is much more important that they will continue to know to eat well, find creativity, become active with you, set positive social boundaries, and showing constant affection for your partner. This will create a stable environment for your kids where they will feel secure in the home as you foster the environment. If you like the content, please do not forget to like and share this article. Do not forget to subscribe to our newsletters.
