How can a person be so sweetly adorable one minute and so completely exasperating the next? Toddlers may have small bodies, but anyone who has ever parented one knows they have voluminous, moody spirits that can cause tremors in a room and test the most patient parent.
Toddlers are fascinating creatures who love to test our boundaries, wherever and whenever the mood strikes. (I admit it. It’s easy for me to say “fascinating” because I no longer parent one!) At what other time in a child’s life does she feel completely free to resist and retaliate against social/cultural norms without worrying what peers, parents or anyone else will think?
In one of my most popular articles to date “When Toddlers Say No,” which appears in this month’s issue of Central California Parent, parenting expert Laura Murphy shares a few best practices for managing our young, free-spirited naysayers while still giving them some sense of control–and saving a frustrated parent’s sanity in the process. Below is a short excerpt and a link to the entire article.
The moment your child utters her first word, you’ll probably want to announce it to the world, while quickly marking the occasion in her baby book. You probably won’t be so thrilled, however, when her word of choice evolves into the very opinionated word “no.” Read more…
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How do you or did you handle the “No” phase during toddlerhood? Help other parents by commenting below.
