Parenting Toddlers And What 'They' Don't Tell You

 When you bring your sweet new baby home for the first time it can be a confusing and terrifying time for many people as well as one of the most exhilarating and wonderful feelings in the world. This emotional rollercoaster doesn’t tend to end immediately either. Babies grow at an astronomical rate, and before long we have a toddler on our hands. Of course, it’s always important to make sure that if your mood is very low And you are concerned that you speak to a health professional immediately, but there are some amusing, and not so amusing things about raising toddlers that other parents sometimes forget to tell you about before you experience it yourself. There are some books out there on this very subject, and depending on whether you want brutally honest, or rose-tinted glasses view, will depend on which book you pick up. But here are a couple of things that you may experience whilst parenting a toddler.

Photo by Paloma A. on Unsplash

This is a collaborative post 

Illness

Toddlers pick up all sorts of illnesses, there is a school of thought that it helps build their immune system, and often you will find them trying to shovel a handful of mad or something equally as disgusting into their mouths, so it can seem like an impossible task to keep them away from dirt and injury to. So you may find that most days are filled with running around after your toddler making sure they are safe and healthy. When they come down with a cough or cold or complain that they have an itchy throat and ears, you will find yourself panicking, and most of the time your toddler will keep you awake at night for a while and then bounce right back whilst you deal with the sleep exhaustion effects. We would never change it for the world but this little rollercoaster can be exhausting.

Mess

Toddlers love exploring and playing and climbing and making a big mess, this is a well-known fact. But sometimes we are taken aback by quite how quickly they can make a mess, just quite how loudly they can make a sound, and quite how often they find themselves in a tricky situation that we need to save them from. You do really need two pairs of hands to be able to keep one toddler clean, tidy and safe, and sometimes the clean and tidy goes out the window. This is a common theme, and you will often hear parents laugh about An incident where a toddler will get hold of a permanent marker, or some Sudacreme and make a big mess with it. Childproofing your home thoroughly will, of course, help you stay on track, and seen, and there are even professionals willing to come to your house and help you with this. It’s worth investing your time and energy on this at the very beginning because before long your toddler will be exploring and pushing boundaries all over the place. Some good ideas for keeping track of this is to have specific activities that you can layout for the children to keep them Entertained if you need to get on with cooking, or cleaning for example. Just be aware that toddlers brains move on quickly and they can’t always be entertained for very long. ‘This too shall pass’ is a saying that toddler parents like to hold onto.

Tantrums

Toddler tantrums are sometimes referred to as the “terrible twos” but ultimately most children go through a period of time where it’s difficult to articulate what they would like to say, find things a little frustrating when they want to be able to do something, but can’t or aren’t allowed. And sometimes this can be difficult for everybody. But fortunately, toddlers can be easily distracted, and as long as you don’t end up in too many intense arguments with them, stay consistent, and are very clear with your instructions and expectations, then most toddlers will find their feet, and you should be able to find a way of working together to help the tantrums pass. Children don’t enjoy being upset obviously, so keep an eye on any potential problems that may trigger a tantrum, and try to avoid them if possible. Always remember that if you go back on what you say it can confuse children at this age. Toddlers thrive on routine generally.

So don’t forget that your toddler is learning how the world works, it’s an important and exhausting task, but you are there to guide them through it, and it should be a wonderful adventure.