Life with a family is pretty much the same as trying juggling eggs in the air without letting any of them fall and smash. The bigger your family gets the more eggs you need to juggle.
We don’t have the secret to ‘work, life, balance’ but there are certain things we can help with, one of them being managing your energetic, sleep deprived, or temperamental toddler.
Now, anyone with a toddler lives through this everyday, trying to get your toddler to do something he/she doesn’t want to – what a nightmare! Arghhhhh
Read our 5 ways to trick your toddler into doing what you want:
1) Make it into a game
Although it is hard to be cheery mum all the time, it’s best to try and bring an element of fun into everything, especially if you need your toddler to do something. In the eyes of a toddler, any request is an immediate excuse to exert their will. Make whatever task you want them to accomplish into a game and your toddler will be all over it. For instance, race your toddlers getting dressed, up the stairs to bed, out to the car; play Ispy to keep them occupied, or save all their toys from being taken by the bin man by putting them back hidden away in the toy box (ie cleaning up).
2) Use their interest to your advantage
By this we mean – making everyday tasks about their interests whether it is princesses or magic. For example, if your little boy doesn’t like vegetables, gradually add greens to his plate by saying all magicians eat greens so their magic becomes more and more powerful. If your little girl won’t wear an outfit you’ve picked out for a special occasion show her pictures of princesses in their gowns – tell her she will be just like a real princess if she puts her outfit on. Hunting games are also always a winner – we must hunt all the germs out off your toys – hook, line and sinker.
3) Cool card
The cool card works well for both boys and girls. ‘It’s so cool’, ‘you look so cool’, ‘James wears one and he so cool’, ‘look how cool it is’, ‘Taylor Swift wears one and she is so cool’, this method doesn’t always work but it’s worth a try.
4) Reverse psychology
This has been passed down from generation to generation and when it comes to toddlers, it never gets old. Thankfully, they are too young to understand the mean trick we are playing on them. For some reason toddlers seem to respond wonderfully to doing the opposite of what you asked them to do.
5) Offer choice
This is also another winning method. Toddlers seem to think they are winning because they are been given a choice. Toddlers are the most independent little mites and think they are well able to make responsible choices for themselves after their whole 24 + months on planet earth. Fortunately, we know better – give them mum’s choice one, two or three. Suckers!
maternity & infant
Originally posted 2015-08-31 10:08:53.