Five toddler things that are not personal but developmental
From a Toddler Developmental Specialist...
Early childhood development can be difficult to understand. It is a field that requires much explanation and for parents, it can be a losing battle at times.
Just when you apply one way of doing things as per the experts, you face backlash from your kid/s or worse, society, and begin questioning the idea altogether.
But like most things in life, consistency plays a big role with anything new.
READ MORE: A toddler couple has Mzansi in awe
A Toddler Developmental Specialist who posts advice regularly shared something rather insightful recently.
It had to do with their behavioural development. This is what she said in the post.
We have to say after reading the below, it did give us some sense of peace that we are not the only ones who feel stressed or overwhelmed with parenting.
When we understand what is happening behind the scenes for our toddlers, their behaviours that push our buttons and make us internally scream "WTF!??" lose a bit of their weight and power. If we can understand that they aren't trying to drive us mental, they are just trying to figure themselves, their world and us out, it is much easier for US to regulate OUR emotions and to find empathy in these moments. That's not to say we aren't still pushed to the edge some days, because let's not forget that we are human too!
Mandy said that five things are not personal but are part of a toddler's development. As per her Instagram post, she says that taking things personally isn't the way to go.
Rather, taking a few breaths and realising that your kid/s are coming from a place of development is the way to go.
1. Hitting, biting, or pushing when they have big feelings; sad, angry, or even happy and excited.
2. Not following instructions when they are in the middle of doing something.
3. Saying no and disagreeing with anything or everything that you are saying.
4. Having a preference towards one parent over the other.
5. Loving something one day, then seemingly hating it the next.
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