RAISING TODDLERS

Foreword 

“Every child is a different kind of FLOWER, and all together, makes this world a beautiful GARDEN.” – Anonymous 

By nature, children are full of happiness and enjoyment in life. They live what they see and believe. However, it is inevitable that children will feel afraid of something most of the time. Just like adults, children also struggle with some challenges that hinder them from making the most of their childhood.

Children need to deal with a number of fears as they grow up. From entering a new school to taking a big shot to coping with a bully in school, they are facing intimidating situations from time to time. Unfortunately, there are many parents who don’t care about their children seriously even when they display their fears. This is an incorrect parenting method, which could make a child suffer from panic attacks and depression. If you love your kids, this is the last thing you do not want to happen to them, so make sure to give them the support they need whenever their fears take place. 

This is why this book has been created. This book contains information you need in order to help your child overcome his/her challenges in life. So, start reading and discover all the possibilities you have for the development of your child’s life. 

Chapter 1: 

Making School Less Scary For Your Kids

The biggest challenge for most preschoolers and kindergartens is the thought of being separated from the things that are familiar, particularly their parents. Learn how to make the whole thing smoother and easier with the following ideas. 

Make the Transition Smooth 

If it seems that your child is afraid to enter the school, he/she is probably thinking about being separated from you. You can handle it by taking the child to the school for a visit and do it a couple of times prior the start of the school year. Organize a tour, participate in some school events, and let them use the playground. Each time a child visits his/her new school and goes wearing a smile on his face and looks at you smiling, he is getting the message, saying that he could be happy while being there. 

When your child still stays with you like a fastener when the class session goes on, you must make morning habits predictable, while making goodbyes short. Once you leave, the teacher may have your child distracted through letting him participate in the activity he loves. Place a note on his lunch box or even a huge heart is good for nonreaders. Or perhaps, give him a seashell or “magic” acorn to keep inside his pocket and tell him that he will know that you are thinking about him each time he touches it.

When your child displays anxiety with bathrooms then you should find out the reason behind that. He is afraid maybe because he worries of not having enough time to get there. Does he feel scared of toilets as they flush really fast? Is there a scary experience wherein his classmate crawls beneath the stand door? Open up his fears, and then determine and discuss some techniques he can use to deal with them. You can also ask his teacher the time when the restroom is most quiet, and let her tell your kid to go during those times. 

When making your visit, you can recommend visual cues, which could aid your child in navigating the school by him alone. Let him go around, including the bathroom area, and then show him the school’s floors. A lot of buildings contain varied tiles or carpeting on every corridor or level. Discuss with the teacher something about the rooms which your child needs to get into during school days. After which, you can organize a map or make a shoe-box model in order to aid her in knowing more about the surrounding area. 

The teacher is another factor that concerns many children entering the school. So, you should work on this too. As the first day of school approaches, many young students visualize a “child-crunching” monster who sits behind the desk of the teacher, particular when older siblings teased them such exaggerated stories. Before the school year starts, you may introduce your child to the teacher, and let him think of your relatives or any family friends who are also teachers. Once the school year begins,your child might also think of his teacher as someone new when she differently does things from his daycare provider. It offers you the perfect chance to discuss classroom rules and the way people perform things in their unique ways. 

Children by nature are good learners. You only need to make things easier for him to understand and learn. The fact that he feels scared for being at school should be addressed correctly and properly to allow him go through and deal with the challenges successfully. This should eventually make you a better parent for him. So, make sure to keep these pointers in mind when looking to enroll your child to a school new to him.

Chapter 2: 

Stop Your Kids from Hitting, Biting, Pushing, and Shoving

Sometimes, some children become aggressive in an unknown reason. They hit, bite, push, and shove, which leads to hurting other people. You don’t want your child to keep up this behavior, so knowing how to stop it today should be a good help. 

Stop Children Aggression 

Parenting is never easy and parents are all humans. Each time your child expresses himself in a rebellious way, you are feeling much stress. Talking about this matter should be a great help for parents facing openly insolent children or when coping with aggressive kids. 

This is not an easy thing to deal with and it is simply easier said than done in several cases. However, the little methods disclosed in this chapter should help you stay calm and cool whenever you child pushes those alert button. These methods are as follows: 

 Count to Ten. This might sound funny yet it really works wonders. Allow your child to see this as you do it. As you do the counting, take deep slow breaths. In addition, image yourself as calm, while going through the scenario with good results. 

 Show Some Authority. Determine that nobody has the true authority over you except when you allow them. Furthermore, it is your choice to get upset or angry. Keep yourself reminded that if you give away more power, your insolent child will have less power to take from you. There is nobody else, but you will hold the key to your individual actions. 

 Always Monitor Your Progress. Create a list of the incidents wherein you have been successful when coping with aggressive behavior of children. And then, if you seem to falter, just keep yourself reminded of the good times when you’ve prevailed in and get the best of the situation. 

 Tell Yourself that It Won’t Last Long. Always remind yourself that it won’t last more than a couple of moments. Think that it will simply pass and that nothing would last forever. And, your child will eventually grow up, whether defiant or aggressive, more likely quicker than you actually like them to. 

 Feel Good For Being Responsible. Keep yourself reminded of how good it feels to take responsibility for your emotional reactions. Give yourself some time for positive thoughts and feelings. 

 Always Take Things Positively. Consider the idea that someone else always takes it more difficult than you and that your experience can’t be compared to what somebody else may have. Remember that a greater trial, the more fulfilling and greater the triumph would feel. Make use of it as your motivation until you get there, and eventually, you will.

 Don’t Respond To Aggression With Aggression. Keep in mind that responding to aggressive behavior with another aggressive behavior is never a good idea. This will just validate and enforce the behavior of the child. Your child desperately wants to become just like you and he or she would imitate any attitude you show. 

 Become An Example. If you want to teach your child with good behaviors, you will need to practice the things you preach so as to guide his misbehavior effectively in the correct direction. Always teach and show your capability to manage your emotions. Keep in mind that the spotlight strikes on you. Hence, each time you feel enticed to curse or yell, stop and then reconsider that line of thinking. 

 Teach Your Child The Alternatives. Show and teach your child some alternative techniques to manage his emotions. Provide approaches that are more constructive and more positive. Let him learn the ways to direct his emotions with creative expression. Encourage him to inform you whenever he feels upset or angry when possible. 

 Recognize Their Efforts Consistently. Providing kids some reason to like changing is normally as simple as sharing affirmative recognition. No matter what, always remember that every child demands attention. Bad attention is quite better than totally no attention. Always provide your support, and apply positive encouragement with your efforts whenever possible. All those methods mixed with positive encouragement should aid you in shaping an aggressive child into the more controlled and developed person.

These tips mentioned above are only a few of the many ways that you can use to stay with composure when coping with aggressive kids. You have all the capability to stay calm when coping with aggressive kids and what it only takes is to know the best ways to respond in advance. When it comes to parenting, you will certainly appreciate the outcome of using the most applicable information available for dealing with misbehaving children. It doesn’t need to be very hard, as all you really require is some fresh perspectives

Chapter 3: 

Control Your Children’s Anger

Just about every child feels angry seldom, yet when angry, negative comments and aggressive acts become a norm. It is crucial for parents to do the right action to aid their children. Parents may help their children learn to deal with their emotions and display anger in proper ways. Learn how to make it happen in this chapter. 

Anger Management among Children 

A lot of child behavior issues focus on kids struggling with anger management. Disrespect, conflict, aggression and oppositional behavior may normally be alleviated through helping your kids know better handling of their anger. Once you teach your child with effective anger management skill, this will develop behavior, while providing him one of the most essential skills in life. 

If you want your child to become a better person, teaching him how to better manage his anger is important. Start today by considering the following pointers:

 

 Distinguish Between Behavior And feelings 

Normally, children face difficulty in knowing and understanding the distinction between aggressive behavior and feelings. Let your child know about feelings, allowing them to learn verbalizing the feelings of disappointment, frustration and anger. Basically, feelings, such as hurt and sadness are covered by aggressive behaviors. Teach the child how to determine and verbalize his feelings rather than acting them out. 

Furthermore, mention that feeling angry is fine. Anger is similar to some other emotion. Just know the right times when to feel it. Considering this will help children understand that discussing anger and feeling angry are not bad. 

 Mold Proper Anger Management Skills 

It is important for you to become a role model of appropriate behaviors, teaching them the better management of their anger. When your child sees you losing your control, he will be more likely to experience trouble dealing with his own anger or distinguishing what’s right from wrong. 

There are times when parents choose to hide their frustrations and feelings from their children. Even though it is right to protect children from adult issues, they also have to witness just how you manage your feeling of anger. Produce chances to discuss feelings and allocate right ways to cope with them. Citing some instances when you get frustrated can teach children how to discuss their feelings. 

Be responsible for your own behavior, especially when you lose control in front of your kids. Say sorry and talk about what should be done instead. 

 Implement Anger Rules 

When it comes to anger, most families preset informal family rules regarding the acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. Other families do notmind slammed doors or raised voices, while some might have less acceptance for those behaviors. Make written home rules, which clarify kids the things they could do when they are angry and the kinds of behavior that might lead to certain consequences. 

Anger rules must focus on respectfully behaving towards others. Children have to realize that only because they are angry does not give them the authority to hurt anybody. Deal with areas, like name calling, physical aggression and property destruction, so they know that they cannot throw and break things, or punt physically or verbally when they are mad. 

 Educate Healthy Approaches To Manage Anger 

Children have to be aware of the right way to cope with anger. Rather than simply telling, “Don’t hurt your sister”, say what they should do when feeling frustrated. Use time out as discipline rather than punishment. This way, kids will learn taking breaks by themselves, helping them to cool down. 

Children may also take advantage from knowing some coping skills. Let them learn how to take breaks when they are frustrated. Demonstrate to them some relaxation techniques through doing some enjoyable activities. Furthermore, you may teach them some problem-solving skills, while helping them know how to resolve conflicts calmly. Most especially, tell them to walk out when they are angry to avoid being aggressive. 

 Give Consequences When Needed 

Children demand positive consequences once they follow anger rules, while they need negative consequences once they break them. Positive consequences are particularly crucial for children, who normally face hardships with anger management. A token economy or reward system may offer additional incentive to aid them to stay calm and apply their skills for managing their anger safely. 

For any aggressive behavior presented, there has to be direct consequences. Based on the age of your child, consequences might include loss of privilege, time out or even restitution payment through performing additional chores or giving a toy to his victim. 

It is just normal for children to have a hard time when managing their anger sometimes. However, this difficulty in anger management might result to some serious issues for some children in the long run. When the concern about the behaviors of your child or child anger management issues grows, seeking professional assistance is recommended. A knowledgeable and skilled professional may rule out any fundamental psychological health concerns and may provide producing a behavior or anger management plan.

Chapter 4:

Provide Best Nutrition to Avoid Your Kid from Falling Sic

To become a better person, children need to be emotionally, mentally and physically healthy. No parent would want her child to get sick, so making sure that he is healthy, especially physically, is really important. Offer your child with the best nutrition to prevent sickness from taking place. You have to know how with the following ideas. 

A Healthy Body Is Away From Illness 

Nutrition for children is based on similar principles of adults’ nutrition. Everyone requires similar kinds of nutrients, including minerals, protein, fat, carbohydrates and vitamins. However, children have specific needs that should be sustained appropriately. 

Feeding young children with a balanced diet could be very hard, specifically when he belongs to the group of fussy eaters. With this problem, you might feel worried that he might not get sufficient nutrients to grow and stay healthy. 

A balanced diet contains an extensive range of foods, consumed in varied combinations daily. Through eating a lot of different food items, a balanced diet may help to provide your child all the vitamins and nutrients his body requires. It simply means that you need not to worry about him lacking something that is important in his diet. 

On the other hand, giving your child with a balanced diet daily could be a bit of a challenge. Hence, try not to over think when you do not always attain it because provided that your child consumes well at most times, he would be gaining lots of nutrients he needs. 

Types of Food You Should Feed Your Child for a Balanced Diet 

The main idea to keep in mind is that you do not need to stick with a particular food item to help your child get some nutrients his body needs. For instance, meat would provide your child with protein, yet he may also acquire protein from chickpeas or nuts. 

Furthermore, you may provide your child with primary nutrients in various forms. So, when he refuses a glass of milk and one boiled egg, you may instead try providing him with a pancake. Giving your child a range of foods and remaining to be creative with the meals serve would help in making the consumption a lot more exciting. Also, it encourages him to try different flavors. 

To aid your child in eating well, provide him a range of foods from the following food groups.

    Starchy Foods (Carbohydrates) 

Provide him with starchy foods in every meal and some snacks. These foods include: 

 Cereals 

 Rice 

 Couscous 

 Pasta 

 Sweet potatoes and potatoes 

 Plantains 

 Yams 

Foods made of flour, including bread and crackers, also belong to starchy foods. Your child might not appreciate starchy foods from wholegrain, so try providing a combination of non-wholegrain and wholegrain foods. Doing this would also avoid him from feeling excessively full with highfiber foods to acquire a fine variety of nutrients. Keep in mind that your child has a tiny stomach and it will be easy for him to feel full. 

    Vegetables and Fruit 

Getting your child to consume a range of fruit, and particularly vegetables could be challenging. Keep giving them to your child so that he knows that they are a typical part of the meal. You may also experiment with uncommon fruit, like star fruit, in order to keep the interest of the child. Or, provide a plate of various-colored fruit to lure him, including kiwi fruit, strawberries, banana, and blueberries. 

Try to always provide your toddler with fruit as part of his sweet meal. 

    High-Protein and High-Iron Foods 

Your child has to consume foods which are rich in protein and iron for at least two times daily. Those food items that contain a lot of protein and iron are: 

 Fish 

 Meat 

 Nuts 

 Eggs 

 Pulses (such as beans, lentils and chickpeas) 

Ensure that any products containing meat you purchase are high quality, and are made from lean meat with low quantity of additional salt. When need to feed your child with nuts, you can grind them up and blend them into the meal. This should help in preventing him from choking. 

You may try to keep those foods interesting through experimenting with meat marinades and producing your own hummus or lentil dhal. 

    Dairy Foods 

You can give your child some dairy foods for 3 times per day. Dairy products contain high calcium content that is essential for strong teeth and bone. These dairy foods can include: 

 Milk 

 Yogurt 

 Cheese

When feeding your child with yogurt, choose the plain one or the type, which does not contain excessive sugar. In order to sweeten plain yogurt, you may mix it with some pureed fruit. 

For young children, milk is still a great source of calcium. Choose to provide your child about 350ml of milk per day. It is good not to provide him more than the amount because it would alleviate his appetite to other foods. 

Your child’s health is important more than any other things, so make sure to give him the highest wellness level he deserves by making a checklist of the food items mentioned above. By considering this, you will be able to aid your child in preventing against sickness

Chapter 5: 

Replacing Junk Food with Healthy Snacks 

Who don’t love junk foods? Almost everyone is craving for the delicious tastes of these ready-to-eat food items, which are more loved by most children in several countries. However, parents should know that too much eating of junk foods of their children might lead to unhealthy lifestyle. Know how to replace junk foods with healthy snacks in this chapter. 

Getting Healthy Snacks over Junk Food 

Junk food pertains to any food item that contains low or no nutritional value. However, today, it seems that this type of food has already been consumed by lots of people of all ages, especially young children. You do not want junk foods to consume your child, so how exactly could you keep your child away from these unhealthy snacks? 

As a parent, you know for the fact that junk foods won’t make your children healthy, and it could be difficult to find ways to prevent their craving to it, as they are found everywhere. In this case, what you need is an effective alternative to junk food. 

Junk food has provided “snacking” a bad impression. Actually, taking snacks between meals is never a bad idea, depending on your food choices though. So, if you want to give your child with some healthy snacks, consider the following: 

 Popcorn – The fat within these microwave brands may be the mere negative here. You can go for healthier versions, having 98 percent fat-free. When you choose plain popcorn, it is fine to sprinkle a bit of butter or margarine (no trans-fat). It is better than those full-fat brands in which you cannot control the added fat. 

 Ice Cream – Let’s be real. Everyone knows ice cream is not a daily snack. However, there are some fine choices within the ice cream land. Breyer’s Light Vanilla can be one of the best tasting vanillas. In addition, fudge bars could be very delicious. They will suffice your ice cream and chocolate craving. Furthermore, they have 4g soluble fiber, roughly any fat, 80 calories, and extremely fine flavor. 

 Fruit And Fruit Smoothies – These are really fine snack choices. For a sustainable, complete snack, you can produce some fruit smoothies for your child. The dairy should sustain you. 

 Cookies – This is a healthy choice for a snack. You can make some creative cookies that will lure your kids from trying some on their snacks. Cookies are something that kids will really enjoy, put some effort though. 

 Crackers And Cheese – This can be another great choice only when you choose a reduced-fat cheese, which tastes really good. Reduced fat means greater amount of protein. Crackers must be low-fat wholegrain in order for it to become a healthy snack. More fat contained in a cracker means more trans-fat it would contain. 

 Frozen Yogurt/Yogurt – If your child does not like drinking milk, yogurt can be a great alternative source for calcium. Yogurt does not require sugar in order to taste good. Purchase plain yogurt and complement it with something, such as fruit and low-fat granola, for a really healthy snack. 

 Cereals – This is a good choice for a healthy snack. But, make sure to choose low-sugar, high-fiber cereals such as oatmeal. 

 Frozen Fruit/Popsicles Bars – Another fine snack, these bars can be great addition to your healthy junk food alternative. However, you have to go for the right ones. There are a few excellent choices around, including the 100 percent fruit-juice selections out there. 

 Candy Bars – When you give your child the mini-sized ones and not the oversized, candy bars can be a fine choice. Do not deprive your child to eating something, as it will only lead them to compulsively overeating. 

Chapter 6: 

Is Home School Better For Kids?

 

Sometimes, parents choose to let their kids attend home school rather than letting them attend the normal school. But then, there are some parents who wonder if home schooling is really good for kids or not. Know the reasons behind with the following ideas in this chapter. 

    Home Schooling: Is It A Good Choice? 

Parents may choose to teach their children for several reasons. Some of these reasons include the fact that they like to spend more bonding time with their kids, while establishing a more favorable relationship between them. A lot of parents may choose home schooling for their kids when they are unable to carry on with the standard curriculum. 

Actually, the option for home schooling depends on your child’s unique situation. For instance, children with ADHD are more likely to experience writing trouble. With this, they may find problems in dealing with their written tasks since they face difficulties with their planning. This option should enable them to do their tasks at their own disposal. Parents of ADHD children attested that the option has eased them from stress. They customize lessons depending on the learning capabilities of their children. Since schools may overload their minds with unneeded information, parents who choose to home school their kids could ensure that they teach their child in a way through which he/she can easily learn.

Furthermore, parents become apprehensive about schools’ learning environment with their kids learning wrong or bad behavior from other students. On the other hand, when home schooled, kids might not just become better behaved the way their parents like, but also acquire the necessary education. 

Experts suggest several good reasons as to why parents should instruct their own children. With home schooling, parents will no longer need to aid their kids with tiresome homework as well as additional assignments. The tedious schedule doesn’t enable them to be the kids they are and participate and enjoy in other exciting activities. With home schooling, parents will be able to teach their kids with focused content, while avoiding excessively tiring work. 

To make the approach more effective, hiring an educational consultant may be a good idea. This consultant will help you out when dealing with the curriculum for home schooling your child. She will monitor your child’s progress. There are times when families could have mixed meetings and scheduled play dates for the kids in the office of the consultant. 

Moreover, you may also check some online information provided by the local authorities, helping you with successful home schooling for your child. 

Home schooling could become a fulfilling and enjoyable experience with the right methods and assistance at hand. Don’t forget to mix parent’s love and care to the ingredients to make it more successful. 

Chapter 7: 

Does Your Child Have ADHD? 

A lot of parents are afraid of finding out that their child has ADHD. Different from other disorders and problems, ADHD is a condition that bears both social and psychological impacts on just about anyone related to the child. Learn how to determine if your child has one in this chapter. 

    Identifying ADHD in Children 

ADHD, which stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is considered as a neurological disorder. The condition is characterized by hyperactivity, mood swings, and forgetfulness. Not only children, but even adults could be affected by the disorder, with as many as 5-8 percent of children suffering from this condition, while many go undiagnosed every year. 

    What Is ADHD? 

ADHD is a disorder in which the sufferer finds himself distracted, oblivious of what it occurring around, or extremely active in doing his activities. Most of the cases among children are being developed before reaching 7 years old. Its diagnosis might come when there are issues about their development. For instance, they might display behavior, which is wrong in attention or might become very impulsive, leading the condition to other issues. 

Common places where this could be observed include education, peer and family relations, in social and occupational skills. When your child has insufficiency within these areas, it is recommended to seek some professional assistance, such as a pediatrician. 

Symptoms 

There are 3 kinds of ADHD, namely predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, inattentive and the combined type. The following are a few ADHD symptoms: 

 Destructiveness 

 Restlessness 

 Impulsive behavior that includes too much talking, interrupting others, and blurting out the answer before a question should be answered. In addition, people suffering from this condition normally feel the desire to speak what’s on their mind, which typically comes with creating statements without considering about their consequences. Kids might feel the urge to retort to a dare given to them. 

 Inattentiveness that could be both a hardship with persistence to activities or sustaining attention. 

 Hyperactivity occurs mostly in middle and early school age kids and it normally alleviates as they grow. 

 Difficulty in reengaging a recent task is evident as well. 

 In adulthood, it could include restlessness and the need to remain busy physically is obvious. 

For children, who have predominantly inattentive kind of ADHD, symptoms may include: 

 Sluggish behavior 

 Confused behavior 

 Staring frequently 

 Hypo active 

 Daydreaming 

ADHD can be a serious issue that parents should immediately address. So, if you suspect that your child might be having one, do not think twice and bring him immediately to a medical professional, who can suggest ways on how to effectively deal with the problem. Early diagnosis means early treatment, so make sure to make the right decision today!