Happy Toddlers, Happy Parents: Tips For Parenting Toddlers

“Do you have househelp?”
“No.”
“So who cleans the house?”
“I do.”
“Who cooks?”
“I do.”
“Who does the laundry?”
“I do.”
“And you still find time to work from home and spend quality time with your husband?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I seriously don’t know.”

This is usually how conversations go whenever people ask about my life as a housewife and mother to two toddlers. Yes, I do everything at home because if I don’t, who will? It’s easier said than done, though. With a husband who is often on 24/7 duty and two toddlers who can devastate a house more than a typhoon and tornado combined, homemaking and parenting is nowhere near easy.

Aside from worrying about house chores, I have to deal with two tantrum-throwing toddlers every day. The minis may look all happy and smiley in the photos I post on Instagram, but that’s not their only side. They have off days when they just whine and cry and kick just because. You see, toddlers are infamous for tantrums and testing their parents’ patience and understanding. But days can be made less difficult through positive parenting.

In a post by Dr. Laura Markham, she talks about positive parenting as:

…guidance that keeps our kids on the right path, offered in a positive way that resists any temptation to be punitive. Studies show that’s what helps kids learn consideration and responsibility, and makes for happier kids and parents.

At home, we practice positive parenting by encouraging listening and cooperation. Arjay and I are aware that The Princess and The Little Man are in a stage where they are eager to practice independence. This often causes frustration (which leads to tantrums and misbehavior) because there are things they still can’t do on their own and words/feelings they can’t express. As their parents, we must give them love and attention, support and encouragement, and some sort of routine that will give them a sense of stability.

4 Tips For Parenting Toddlers

tips for parenting toddlers

Parenting Tip #1: Show ’em some love!

Is your toddler throwing more tantrums than usual? More than The Little Man, it surprises me when The Princess throws seemingly never ending crying fits. “Use your words,” I would often tell her. “Tell Mommy why you’re crying.” There are days when she would stop crying and talk to me. There are also days when she would cry even louder and would not stop no matter how much I try to shush her.

I’m not going to lie. When she does this on days when I am busy and tired, I would sometimes just shut her cries out until she cries herself to sleep. By the time she wakes up, she would ignore me totally like an angry teenager would after being told that she’s grounded (this is why we call her a threenager).

Let me tell you that ignoring will not help ease toddler tantrums. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, prevention is better than cure. I think that can be applied when trying to avoid or correct toddler misbehavior. What can prevent or lessen tantrums and behavior issues? Positive attention always does the trick. Give your little one lots of hugs and kisses; participate when she asks you to play pretend with her; and frequently praise her for a job well done.

As for The Princess, I’ve learned that she throws tantrums every time we give more attention to her little brother. Since we don’t want sibling rivalry to creep into their relationship, we make sure that we give both of them equal attention. Aside from family days out, we also dedicate at least one afternoon for one-on-one time with each child.

Parenting Tip #2: Accept Your Child

As our children grow, they start to show certain traits – some may be similar to yours, others may be totally different. Respect and nurture your child’s individuality by avoiding labeling bad traits and by building on his/her strengths.

For instance, The Princess is known for being strong-willed. Instead of labeling her as pasaway (stubborn), which other people sadly tell her in front of her face (ugh!), we treat this trait as her strength and build on it by giving her toys and learning materials that can challenge her. For us, she is not stubborn but determined.

The Little Man, on the other hand, can be a bit mischievous. Remember the poop facial? Who wouldn’t forget that, right? And he likes sliding his arms through a table full of stuff and would laugh when everything slides off. He finds pleasure cleaning tables this way for some reason. It’s easy to get extremely angry when this happens, but we’d like to think that he is just a curious and playful young man. What Arjay does, which I believe really works, is to be playful as a response to our boy’s behavior. When The Little Man makes a mess, Arjay would start a clean-up through a basketball game. Since it’s a game, the minis would excitedly participate and would shoot all the toys back into their respective baskets.

Side Note: This is also a nice way to insert lessons during play. You can teach toddlers colors, shapes, or counting!

The bottomline really is to accept your children as they are. If you notice a bad behavior or trait, turn it around by introducing them to fun activities.

Parenting Tip #3: Encourage Communication

Communication is very important in maintaining peace in our home. As I mentioned in #1, when the minis throw tantrums, we would talk to them calmly about why they are crying. This shows them that we are willing to listen and help them address whatever is frustrating them.

This works well in a marriage, too, so be sure to practice it at home! 😉

Parenting Tip #4: Stick To A Schedule

In my three years as a mom, I can say that having a routine really makes a difference on a child’s behavior. I noticed that we get more tantrums when we are staying at my mom’s or are on vacation since our schedule gets messed up. A routine gives them a sense of security and allows them to have a sort of control or mastery over their lives. Aside from preventing tantrums, routines can teach them self-discipline early on.

hearts

These are just some tips for parenting toddlers among many others that I learned from research and experience. If you have some tips of your own, feel free to share them in the comments section below.

Kimberley Reyes

Kimberley Reyes is an Online Business Manager for entrepreneurs who are ready to get off the hamster wheel and step into their CEO shoes. On top of helping her clients get organized and scale their businesses, she is also happily busy raising her five kids with her firefighter husband.

This Post Has 17 Comments

  1. Chinky

    Great tips as we are currently experiencing the “terrible twos” so to speak. We’re having tantrums already. But we do recognize that its all part of their growth and development. It’s just takes a LOT of patience, care and love. Cheers to us parents! 🙂

  2. thereyoujho

    I love your stories about your kids.:) Nakakatuwa that you document it this way. Thanks also for the tips, Ill surely keep this in mind as I will be having a toddler na rin soon:)

    1. Kim Reyes

      Good luck and have fun with your soon-to-be-toddler! 🙂

  3. Peachy A.

    I think there’s a SUPERMOM in each and everyone of us. Great Job, Kim!

  4. Que Sullano - Gavan

    Schedule and routine really help. My 3-year old has an everyday to-do list and so far it’s working good 🙂

  5. Hahaha! People wonder how I manage to work at home while tending to three kids, hubby and chores too. “I really don’t know” is also my answer. 🙂 Good tips on handling toddlers. We practice all of them with our son, who can REALLY be a handful.

    1. Kim Reyes

      It’s really hard to explain how we do it noh? Haha! Basta kinakaya, no choice eh.

  6. patriciacuyugan

    I don’t have a yaya either, but I do have a super lola (aka my mom) who is always there, eager and ready to help out with Little MrC when needed. So far so good, we’ve done okay over the last 8 years.

    1. Kim Reyes

      8 years without a yaya! You have given me strength! Hahaha. Unfortunately for us, we don’t live with any of our parents so we really have to do it on our own.

  7. We lived without a yaya for Jacob for a good year. I was thankful that there was help around the house, but with the little boy, kami lang talaga ng husband ko. We both liked it that way though, being hands on and knowing what’s going on with him. But now that he’s older and going to Nursery school, I have time to take care of myself (lalo na while pregnant) and go on dates with my husband since we got a new yaya for him. Hopefully she sticks around. I miss my husband when I’m super busy.

  8. Ugh I hate when people label kids! Kids grow up, they change. It’s good that you see it as a strength because it is. It’s just a matter of channeling it towards the right direction.

    I can so relate with drowning out the whining and the crying when tired, I get that way too sometimes because I’d rather not say anything than damage my kids with words and actions that would hurt them.

  9. I learned a lot too in Dr. Laura Markham articles, #ahaparenting. I don’t have nanny nor helper too so routine really works for me.

  10. Mary Joy

    this post is very helpful Kim. I’ll remember these tips lalo na toddler na si baby A and she’s showing na her personality. Bilang new mom, very challenging talaga ang pagpapalaki ng baby, sometimes feeling ko ng te-test sya ng patience, iniisip ko nalang na nag-aaral pa sya and still adjusting.

  11. cheekeegirl

    Nice one Mommy Kim. This is very helpful especially that we’re on the same boat. 2 toddlers is no joke…

  12. Great tips mommy! We have a nanny because my husband and I work full time but it’s still hard. Especially that my 3 year old is having separation anxiety these days.
    I hope you can link this up with the Whatever Wednesday blog hop!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.