Setting Effective Limits with Toddlers: Parenting Tips

 

Limits and boundaries are great for kids. It is an opportunity for them to learn appropriate behaviors.  You can learn many effective ways to set practical limits for your kids in this blog. Here are some of the best tips to manage your toddler’s time:

Expose Them to Engaging Activities

As we all know, toddlers can be easily distracted. Children in this age group need to have something that can make them focus and keep their attention. Although children can focus by watching videos on a phone or iPad, you need to find balance and a middle ground.   It would be in your best interest to incorporate entertaining books along with minimal screen time. Exposing your child to colorful picture books, touch and feel books or activity books can help spark your child’s imagination and stimulate curiosity along with helping develop your child’s brain.  My books Talk, Play, And Read With Me Mommy and Talk Play And Read With Me Daddy are fun and educational interactive activity books with creative and engaging activities.  These books have developmentally appropriate activities that will help build and expand on your toddler’s speech and language skills.   There are so many fun and interactive activities and games that you and your child can enjoy together including musical-sing-along games, shape games, animal games, counting and matching games and so much more.  These games can be played when you and your toddler have a few extra minutes during daily routines within the home where most of the learning opportunities take place for children under the age of five.

Make Sure to Create a Positive Environment

The best kind of learning environment for toddlers are the ones that have positive and uplifting energy. You can make this happen by establishing a great relationship with your child. Give your child and idea of the rules they need to follow in order for them to attend and focus during daily routines and various learning activities.   Establish clear communication by speaking their language and of course incorporate humor.  You can create a space for them where they can feel safe in order to learn new things, play, interact and watch videos.  You can make their learning experiences fun and educational at the same time.

Be Consistent

Being consistent means everything for your toddler. You need to create a timeframe and even a framework to support their needs as you set limits. It would help if you continue to set limits and boundaries as you go through it the process. Eventually, your toddler will get used to it and will no longer ask for more.  Try not to break the consistency as much as possible. You will surely see a significant difference in how your toddler acts. It might be tempting not to continue setting limits but always think of the end result as you keep set your boundaries.

 Give Immediate Consequences

If you don’t want your child to misbehave you need to provide immediate consequences as soon as possible.  Your child will then understand what he or she did to get the negative consequence. You may say, “You took your sister’s ball. I will have to take away your ball for the rest of the day.”  You need to make sure the consequence is immediate so it won’t escalate.  Your toddler will begin to understand that there will be consequences for inappropriate behavior.

Jo Ann Gramlich is an award-winning author and speech-language pathologist specializing in helping children with communication disorders in Buffalo, New York. She holds a Master of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology from SUNY Buffalo and has extensive experience in early intervention, preschool, and school settings. Visit her on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
Jo Ann Gramlich

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