How Do I Teach My Toddler Good Behavior?
Teaching your toddler how to behave can be quite a challenge, as any seasoned parent could tell you. Fortunately, there are a few things that can help the process out. Here is some information that you might find to be valuable.
Practices to Follow
When teaching your toddler, it is important to remember that you have a very powerful tool at your disposal: positive reinforcement. If your child does something that he or she is supposed to do (such as behaving properly) you should be sure to respond by giving him or her ample praise.
This praise encourages the behavior and helps to strengthen your child’s self-esteem. In addition to praising him or her, be sure that you are giving him or her plenty of affection. Children thrive best when they know that they are loved, and by being affectionate to your child, you will help establish a strong bond that will serve you well for decades to come.
Try to be proactive: if you know that a certain situation is going to be too much for your toddler, see what you can do to remove or reduce the temptation or stressor. This will help your child to succeed in handling the more manageable tasks without setting him or her up for failure.
Remember to choose your battles wisely. Instead of trying to correct every minor behavioral issue that you see, focus on the important ones. Remember that your toddler does not have the capacity to track several different instructions at once, and you don’t want to overwhelm him or her by nagging. So focus on the major behavioral issues and let the smaller ones slide (at least for now).
Practices to Avoid
Just as important as knowing what you should do is knowing what you should not do. Certain parenting tactics will not help your child and could even frustrate your attempts at parenting.
Avoid yelling at your child. This will only cause some deeper issues. If you feel like you are losing your temper, try to remove yourself from the situation and calm down before you address your child’s behavior.
Avoid reasoning with your child, as he or she likely can’t follow your logic just yet. And do not spank your child: this only teaches him or her that it is fine to hit someone when things don’t go well.
At Country Club Montessori School of Mansfield, Texas, we are here for you, and here for your toddler. Feel free to set up a visit today!
