Toddler
Opinions arrive.
Tantrums, toilet timing, fussy dinners, bedtime. They get louder and cleverer. Your job stays the same: steady, boring when it counts, close when they lose it.
The first one to read
The tantrum is not a debate
They lose it in the fruit aisle and you feel every adult in the shop watching. Let them watch. Your job is the child on the floor, not the audience.
The tantrum is not a debate
Tantrums are common from 1 to 3, so keep them safe, name the feeling in a low voice, and stay close. Do not argue with a child who has left the building, and do not shop when they are hungry and tired.
Open the toolkitPants when they are ready
Dry for two hours or more, and able to pull pants up and down, is a readiness sign, not a birthday. Daytime undies or training pants, a nappy still for naps and night, and no fuss if the floor loses.
Open the toolkitThey will not eat the dinner
Fussy eating is common, and it is often them practising being a separate person. You put the food out and they decide how much, about 20 minutes, then the plate goes without a speech, and you never force a mouthful.
Open the toolkitBed is a routine, not a fight
Most toddlers need 11 to 14 hours, usually 10 to 12 at night plus a nap of 1 to 2 hours. A late long nap steals bedtime, so keep the same short routine on Saturday as on Tuesday.
Open the toolkitThe bite, then the boring no
Say no, move the mouth or the hand, and turn away, because attention feeds the next bite. If a tooth is coming, give them something else to chew, and if they hurt another child you apologise without a speech.
Open the toolkitThe year they get loud and clever
Around 2 they may use two or three word sentences, and by 3 many manage three to five words and a short back and forth. Tantrums are still normal, they need you, and they also need to try the spoon themselves.
Open the toolkitThe tantrum is not a debate
They lose it in the fruit aisle and you feel every adult in the shop watching. Let them watch. Your job is the child on the floor, not the audience.
Read itPants when they are ready
Do not start because a childcare form has a box. Start because the child is showing you they can.
Read itThey will not eat the dinner
You cooked the thing. They looked at it and ate the bread. This is so common it has a page, and the page does not tell you to win.
Read itBed is a routine, not a fight
A toddler who will not stay in bed is not a mystery. They are a person with a new set of skills and a strong wish for you to stay.
Read itThe bite, then the boring no
They bite you and your first feeling is outrage. Fair. The useful move is smaller than the outrage.
Read itThe year they get loud and clever
Two to three is the year the toddler stops being a baby who wobbles and becomes a person with opinions and a small vocabulary to miss the point with.
Read it