Last week I was perusing Pinterest, yes I’m addicted, and I came across an article that was titled 10 things you wish you had known about raising a toddler. Well that peaked my interest.

I am 50 so I am well past the age of raising toddlers. However I have 4 grand daughters toddler age and I see their moms often exhausted and puzzled about what in the world to do with these children. There are sleep issues, potty training issues, tantrums, all the things every mom goes through but is somehow positive no other mom has ever been through. So I read through the article to see if there was anything new to learn.

I raised 5 children, I like to think well, but I like to learn and I like to see if there are things I could have done better. So I read the article with curiosity and an open mind. Like most things online I learned nothing new, there is a great deal out there though that can be seriously harmful. I was grateful to find that was not the case this time. The article was dripping with my favorite thing……common sense! Common sense is what’s missing most in the world right now and I was thrilled to find it again.

I have decided to boil it down to the basics for you here. Whether you are suffering with tantrums, pooping, eating or not eating, sleeping, coloring on the walls, there are just a few things you need to know and or do.

1: Nothing works better or will bring more long term results than consistency

2: Follow through, follow through, follow through, always keep your promises. Don’t promise reward or punishment that you cant follow through

3: Don’t be afraid to say you’re sorry, it builds your relationship and teaches an important skill

4: Routine will save your life! Your child will have fewer issues if he knows what to expect when.

5: Don’t think one day is the end of the world or the destruction of your child. Breathe, get some rest, start again tomorrow

6: Parents often benefit from a time-out. Take 10 minutes to breathe and you will be able to think clearer and deal better. Don’t hit, don’t scream, take a time-out. Everyone gets overwhelmed sometimes, we are human, but because we are human we may really need a time out.

7: Let your child suffer natural consequences as long as they are not dangerous. Nothing teaches faster than natural consequences.

8: These toddler years won’t last forever, they will grow, they will learn, they will move onto other seemingly impossible years to come. It’s a very busy time in your life and theirs but these years won’t last forever, and at some point you will be me, 50 years old and only able to remember the best things about having a bunch of babies running around the house.

Don’t every believe that you have the worst child or the best  child or that you are the only one in the world whose child has every done………..I hate to burst your bubble but your child is just normal! So love them, hold them, read to them, cuddle them, teach them, let them help, be patient they will grow.