What Parents Can Do Today for Children Ages 2-5 to Plant the Seeds of Lifelong Success
How Toddlers Thrive, written by Tovah P. Klein, Ph.D., the director of an internationally renowned centre for toddler development is a great resource about child behaviour and development for ages 2 to 5. It not only provides tips and ideas on how to help your child thrive and develop, but more importantly helps to make your home a happier place.
The first half of the book is about toddler development and stages. While I did find it a bit repetitive, it is very interesting to learn about how a toddler is growing and changing during these important years. This book will help you to understand WHY your toddler may be doing something and perhaps to have a bit more patience while you’re witnessing a seemingly purposeless toddler meltdown. It focuses on seeing the world through a toddler’s eyes in an easy to understand way.
The second half of the book provides tools and techniques for dealing with specific toddler challenges like getting dressed, eating, sleeping, and toilet training. The section on toddler shaming was very eye-opening and has made me much more conscious of this parenting practice. I also found the explanation on how the root of almost all toddler behaviour (or rather, misbehaviour) is separation. Why does your toddler not want to get dressed in the morning? Because he knows that means he is going to daycare soon and will be away from you. The same is true of many issues that parents have with putting a toddler to bed. The toddler sees bed time as a separation from the ones he loves the most – his parents. Dr. Klein really helps you to understand this, have more patience, and offers some helpful tips on how to make these every day occurrences go much more smoothly.
If you’re looking for a book that will help you to understand your toddler’s development and behaviour and give you some tools to help make your home a happier and more fun place, this book will be very helpful. While not a quick read, I would recommend it for anyone struggling to understand why their toddler is an angel one moment and a little devil the next!
IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME!
Prize: A Copy of “How Toddlers Thrive”
2 winners
arv ~$18
Open to: Canadian Residents
Giveaway ends: June 9, 2014 11:59pm EST
This review of ‘How Toddlers Thrive by Dr. Tovah Klein is a must-read for all parents and caregivers. I know I will be looking for it at my local library. Thank you so much for informing us of this valuable book.
Agreed, Elva!
Pingback: How Toddlers Thrive Book Giveaway | Just Sweep
My tip is to be consistent – I found with my first that routines helped, because she knew what to expect and was able to prepare herself and cope. We seemed to have less meltdowns when she knew what was going on. Hopefully it works with our second when the time comes!
Consistency is SO key to happy children!!!
My tip is that sometimes Mommy’s need time outs too!If you feel you are responding in an inappropriate way,count to 20 slowly!
Sometimes when I feel myself getting frustrated, I ask for a Mommy time out – I actually say “Please give Mommy 5” and they know that is their cue to run FAST and give me a few minutes to calm down.
I find what works well is to remain calm (not always easy) and to work with your child’s emotions. It is important to realize many toddler triggers are also adult ones- hunger, tired etc
I received a book called A to Z of Children’s Health – A parent’s guide from birth to 10 years, Hospital for Sick Children. This is the only tip I have. It is a brilliant book – everything from hiccups, fevers, leukemia to signs/symptoms of ADHD.
That is a GREAT book too Christy!
I have that one too and I LOVE it!
Thanks for another great recommendation, Jennifer!
I will leave the room for a mommy time-out if I feel like I am not being patient enough.
Great idea, Heidi!
I think it is important to have patience at any stage of a child’s development – particularly during the toddler years.
Have continual patience and try to see the world through their eyes…
This is so true! When we take the time to see the world through their little eyes and their stand point, sometimes it helps us to understand!