Toddlers Learn from Picture Books

Child development experts have long hailed the benefits of reading to infants and toddlers. Research has shown that reading with your child for 20 minutes a day can make a difference in your child’s language, grammar and reading skills as they get older.

However, according to a study recently published in the journal Developmental Psychology, using picture books can provide children as young as 18-months-old with an even greater advantage.

Researchers from University of Queensland and the University of Virginia worked with a group of 18, 24 and 30-month-old children. They discovered that when reading to children as young as 18-months old with books featuring life-like color photographs and then books with illustrations, the toddlers who were read to with photos were able to effectively mimic what they learned.

Parents would read to their babies a book that illustrated how to put a rattle together. The parent would then give the toddler the same equipment featured in the book and ask them to make a rattle.

At 18-months-old, many of the children who were exposed to actual photographs could reproduce the action and build the rattle. They could not perform the actions as well if they had only seen illustrations. Likewise, at 24 and 30 months, toddlers could assemble the rattle if they have been read to with the photographs and they were able to perform well if they had seen realistic color illustrations. They did not perform as well if the books featured black and white drawings. This research demonstrates that even very young children relate to and learn from books depicting life-like images.

Toddlers and Learning to Share

 Toddlers enjoy playing next to other children. They are not very good at playing with other children. We call this “parallel play.” Sharing is one of the things toddlers tend to have trouble with. They just don’t understand the concept of sharing, yet. Parents can “train” their toddler to hand over a toy, but the concept of sharing has not taken hold. They think that sharing a toy is the same as giving it away.

It is very common for a toddler to give someone a toy and then expect it to be given right back. It sure makes for a fun game for awhile.

When toddlers are together it’s better and easier to give them similar toys to play with. For example, two trucks can prevent many squabbles and may even help children to cooperate and communication better. Of course, it doesn’t mean that one or both toddlers won’t insist on having the other child’s truck!

If your toddler does share, praise him or her for it. But respect s toddler’s need to protect and guard the things they treasure.

How Do you Teach a Toddler Good Manners?

With Thanksgiving and Christmas, just around the corner, how do you get your two to four year olds to say “please and thank you”? It’s never too early to teach them good manners. Try the following steps:

1.    Begin with two or three nice words such as "please" "thank you" and "excuse me" and then introduce more as your child begins to grasp their understanding.

2.    Be persistent and consistent. It may take time, but young ones are smart and will get it. Teaching manners early in life will help your children once they leave the house.

3.    Lead by example. Teaching good manners begins with you. You must “walk the talk and talk the talk” yourself. If you do it first, your children will mirror your actions, so you want it to be a good reflection!

4.    Give positive feedback when they use the right words or when they show you how to wait in a line patiently or help a friend put away toys. Let them know how polite and thoughtful their actions are to others.

5.    Have fun with it. Teaching manners is the first step in getting your child to think beyond himself. The first time you see the benefits could be when you’re out of the house, around others, or visiting Grandma and Grandpa.

Source: www.newparent.com

The Wonderful World of Toddlers

When children begin to walk, they are called toddlers. Usually this term is applied to one and two-year-old children. This is a stage in the growth of a child and not a specific age. It is a time between infancy and childhood when a child learns and grows in many ways. Everything that happens to the toddler is meaningful. With each stage or skill the child masters, a new stage begins.

During the toddler stage, most children learn to walk, talk, solve problems, relate to others and more. One major task for the toddler is to learn to be independent. That is why toddlers want to do things for themselves, have their own ideas about how things should happen, and use “no” many times a day. I often tell the parents in my parenting classes that toddlerhood is just practice for the teenage years!

The toddler stage is characterized by much growth and change, mood swings, and some negativity. Toddlers are long on will and short on skill. They are bursting with energy and ideas, needing to explore their environment and begin defining themselves as separate people. They want to be independent and yet they are still very dependent. One of the greatest challenges for parents is to balance toddler’s need for in-dependence with their need for discipline.

Although the toddler stage can be difficult for both parents and toddlers, it doesn’t last forever. In fact, it can be fun!

Dealing with Toddler Temper Tantrums

Most parents have experienced the incredible tantrums of toddlers. My oldest child had perfected her tantrums to award-winner status until I finally figured out I had to change the way I reacted to her. After that, the other two seemed much easier at this stage. All toddlers have tantrums because they get frustrated easily and have very few problem-solving skills. Most likely, a tantrum will happen when toddlers are hungry, exhausted, or over-excited. Let’s face it - we adults are not at our best when we are hungry, exhausted or over-excited either!

So what are we supposed to do when faced with a tantrum? First, try to remain calm. Shaking, slapping, spanking or screaming at your child will make the tantrum worse. Set a positive example for your child by remaining in control of yourself and of your emotions.

Second, pause before you act. Take at least 30 seconds to decide how to handle the tantrum. Consider distracting the child or taking him to a private place to calm down if you are out in public - and isn’t that where the best tantrums happen? “I need help finding the biggest box of chocolate pudding, can you help?” or “Let’s go outside where we can get some fresh air” might be enough to calm your child.

Some children do well if you lower yourself to their level, calmly look them in the eye and whisper or sing soothing words to them. Other children simply need a caring adult to gently put their arms around them to let them know everything’s going to be OK.

One of the best ways to react to a tantrum is to give your child no reaction at all. If they don’t get attention, they may quickly learn that a tantrum isn’t the best way to get what they want. If you give in to their wants just to make the tantrum stop, you are only encouraging them to act this way.

Third, always wait until your child calms down before talking about the situation. You cannot reason with a screaming child. Tell your child how she can act when she feels a tantrum coming on. Comfort and reassure your child that you still love him, even though you disapprove of their behavior. Remember to give plenty of praise when your child is cooperative, too.