No doubt about it, toddlers are a handful! At times, it will seem like they can be in two places at the same time, and be headed for trouble in a third one yet.

Many a parent can recite nerve-racking stories of toddlers perched on top of the bookcase, or of a fall that resulted in an emergency room visit.

Setting limits and maintaining some kind of control are difficult tasks with toddlers because they are so independent, yet have so few skills to communicate and solve problems. The key to disciplining your toddler includes love, under- standing, and quick thinking!

Understanding toddlers

Toddlers are limited in their ability to communicate Toddlers are interesting little people. Like babies, they still like to be held, talked to, and comforted. And they still often express themselves by crying, shrieking, jabbering grunting, and pointing. Unlike babies, however, toddlers can say a few words, which can mean many things.

“Cup!” may mean “Hand me my cup,” “I want more milk,” “The cup just fell off the table,” or “The dog just stole my cup!” 

A toddler, with this limited capacity to communicate, is therefore very hard to understand.

Toddlers can try your patience

Sometimes, toddlers do things that drive parents crazy. They reach out and grab things (like eyeglasses). They are rather clumsy and awkward with gestures;  a loving pat often turns into an accidental whack. A spoonful of peas may wind up on the floor rather than in the mouth.

Toddlers cannot share

Toddlers are also very possessive. “No,” and “Mine,” are favorite words and they are quite willing to hior bite to get (or keep) a favorite toy. In fact, toddlers may spend as much time carrying around and protecting toys as they do playing with them.

Toddlers cannot plan their own day

Toddlers are always “on the go” and often play until they “run out of gas.” They have very little skill at pacing themselves and can be happy one minute and cranky the next.  Much of this behavior depends on the new skills they are developing.

The same toddler who screams for an unreachable cookie may lead or drag you to the jar and point at another time.  Learning to do things in a socially accept- able way is a big step for a toddler.

 How Parents can Help

 # By setting up a safe environment

 # Establishing a routine.

 # Distracting from bad or unhygenic things, if they cant stop toddler to do it.

 # Ignore as many things as possible, your Toddler will test your patience like anything.

 # Setting up a good example by doing something good infront of your toddler.

 # Help your toddler understanding sharing.