Acquiring new skills

Toddlers have a greater ability to acquire new skills and information than children who are 5, 6, or 7 years old.

Research indicates that introducing reading, language, and math skills in the toddler years may make school success come more easily to your child for years to come.

Milk for babies, toddlers and kids

Breast milk has all the appropriate vitamins and minerals for babies. Best choice of milk for children after age 1 is ‘whole milk.’ It is recommended to switch to low-fat milk after age 2 or 3.

Sooting a biter

Tips to consider if your child is a biter include providing teething rings, teething biscuits or cold washcloths for children who are teething and do not, under any circumstances, bite your child back.

Home safety tip

Place safety latches on all doors and cabinets, especially where cleaning products and medicines are located.

How to explain to a toddler

Babies and young children won’t understand lengthy explanations. Present one idea to make your point.

Discipline and toddlers

Kids raised with authoritarian discipline have tendencies toward anger and depression.

Drinking milk

For children, who don’t care for milk, add a few drops of food coloring and serve with straws.

Easter candy tip

Instead of filling Easter baskets with chocolate or marshmallow candy fill them with fruits and cookies. You can bake natural cookies at home that taste yummy.

Hold your own Groundhog Day party.

You don’t even need a groundhog: any critter (or human) will do for the starring role. Simply have your star emerge from a hiding place, glance at the ground and scurry back.

If there’s enough sunlight to cast a shadow, you’ll have six more weeks of winter; if the day is overcast, spring is heading your way fast.

Parent-Child Relationships

Remember that all relationships take work. Good parent-child connections don’t spring out of nowhere, any more than good marriages do.

Play is productive

Focus on play and process, not productivity. When kids do art to solicit positive comments from adults, sometimes they can’t wait to finish another picture.

Toddlers love a good story

Your toddler loves listening to the sound of your voice. Engage her in a bedtime story to help her drift off to sleep.

Thick coats and child seats.

Parents everywhere bring out their babies’ winter coats or snowsuits to keep baby warm during travel. However, thick winter coats or snowsuits can compromise your child’s car seat safety.

In order for a baby car seat or toddler booster seat to function properly, the straps need to remain tight against the child’s chest.

Vital Records Charts

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers vital records charts for where birth, death, marriage, or divorce occurred.
From: The Center for Disease Control (CDC)

Playgroups

When planning a play group it’s a good idea to have fewer children to keep keep things calmer.

From: ToddlersToday.com

Safety Tip.

Make sure closets can be opened from the inside, so that your toddler doesn’t get locked in.

From: ParentingToddlers.com

Who’s the adult?

Take a deep breath… and another. Then remember you are the adult.

From: HelpGuide.org

Eating a health balanced diet

Be a food role model by eating a healthy, balanced and varied diet. From: Better Health Channel

Hazards of fluoride

A little fluoride is a good thing for your child’s teeth, but swallowing too much of it over time can lead to a condition called fluorosis that can cause white spots to show up on his adult teeth. From: BabyCenter.com

Keep trips short and sweet

Staying inside all day is a bad, bad idea with this age group and will make time slow until it more or less screeches to a halt.