3 Months Old: Brain Boosting Play

3 Months Old: Brain Boosting Play

April 28th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

At three months old, your baby is really beginning to interact with the world around her. She is starting to be able to grasp toys and respond to you with smiles, laughter and coos. Her eyesight is improving and she can see her surroundings much better, allowing her to respond.

Talk to Me!

Language skills are just starting to develop at this time, and the more you speak, sing and read to your baby the more she will learn about sounds and words. If you haven’t yet, this is a great time introduce books. She can hold her head up relatively well, and will be able to sit in your lap while you read and look at the pictures. Point things out to her and talk about what is on the page.

Singing will not only entertain baby, but will further advance her introduction to sounds. Try songs with entertaining hand gestures such as “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”. Take baby’s hands and help her to perform the motions as well. This will help to develop her awareness of her body and learn what she can do.

When baby starts to vocalize, be sure to respond to her as much as possible. Hold a conversation with her as she talks by asking her questions like “And then what happened?” and “Are you sure?” She won’t know what you are saying, but she will begin to pick up the rhythm of conversation from these exchanges.

Body Language

Your three month old is just starting to be aware of his body and how he can use it to get what he wants and interact with the world. Part of this learning involves his developing understanding of cause and effect, object permanence, as well as hand-eye coordination and motor skills. Remember that physical development requires brain development! Every time your baby practices a new physical skill, his brain is forming new connections that will keep moving him forward.

Help baby’s brain figure it out with physical games. Hold a toy out to him and encourage him to reach for it. Pull it away, and then bring it back, making sure he catches it regularly so that he will remain entertained and not become frustrated. At this age tummy time becomes very important. Get down on the floor with your baby and play too! Hold a toy in front of his face, and lift it slowly into the air. As he tries to follow it with his eyes, he will lift his head and shoulders off the ground, strengthening important muscles. These skills will lead to baby’s ability to roll over, push himself up and eventually crawl.

Touch and Learn

Now that baby can hold and examine objects, he will begin to learn more about his world through touch. Offer him objects with varying textures and sizes to touch and hold. Let him touch your face, hair and clothing. Every new thing that your baby gets his hands on will help his brain to categorize and understand the things he encounters. Books that offer textured pages for baby to feel will make him a more active participant in reading and learning.

This age opens many new doors for baby, and every minute that he is awake he is learning something new. You are baby’s first teacher, and building his brain is as easy as being aware of the ways in which he learns from you every day, even at play!

Help your Baby Learn Through Games

Help your Baby Learn Through Games

April 26th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Playtime with your baby is more than just entertainment; through fun and games your baby is learning about how the world around him works, as well as developing his motor skills. Making time for play every day is not only a great way to spend time with your baby, it’s also vital to his development. So give these simple learning games a try and watch him discover his world!

Little One, Big One

Teach your baby all about opposites by gathering common items and toys together from around the house in contrasting pairs. Try items like a small teddy bear and a large one, a baby spoon and a soup spoon and a washcloth and bath towel. Hold the smaller one up first and say “Small!”, and then the larger one, saying “Big!”

Size isn’t the only comparison you can start to teach! Show him the concepts of in and out by placing toys in a bin and then removing them. Lift him up into the air saying “up!” and back to the floor with “down!” Let him touch opposite textures, such as soft and hard, smooth and rough. It will be a while before he learns all the words, but before you know it, when you ask him which one is soft, or which is bigger, he will surprise you by choosing correctly!

Where Did It Go?

Babies aren’t born with an understanding of object permanence. They have to learn that when something (or someone) disappears, it doesn’t cease to exist. Simple games to help your baby grasp this concept include various versions of peek-a-boo and hide and seek. Hide behind the couch and pop up at different angles, sometimes on the side, other times at the top. Once baby is on the move, you can call out to him saying “Where’s mommy? Can you find mommy?” and let him follow the sound of your voice to discover your location.

Hiding a toy behind your back and then bringing it out, or throwing a blanket over something and then removing it are basic playtime ways to teach object permanence. At first, baby will wait for you to reveal the object, but soon he will begin to crane his neck to see behind you or lift the blanket himself as he starts to understand that the object is still there, just hiding!

Did I Do That?

One of the major concepts your baby will develop through play is an understanding of cause and effect. As she starts to interact more with the world around her, she will slowly start to realize that she can make things happen! Take baby around the house and find fun things she can try out. Put her hand on a light switch and help her to flip it, or help her to turn on the faucet. Musical toys are great for teaching cause and effect, as she will learn how to make new and interesting noises. Let her bang on pots and pans with a wooden spoon, or fill an empty plastic bottle with a tight-fitting lid with beans to create a home made maraca.

Bath time offers opportunities to teach cause and effect as well. Give baby a sponge and show her how to wet it and then squeeze the water out. Let her fill a cup with water and dump it out. Even simply splashing in the tub is helping her to learn!

Simple games like these turn playtime into learning time and will keep baby stimulated and happy too!

What Children Learn Through Play

What Children Learn Through Play

April 23rd, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Playtime isn’t just fun and games. It is the most important tool children have for learning. From the infant years where babies learn simple concepts like cause and effect, through childhood, where play encourages learning of social skills and more, a child at play is a child developing.

Infants: Learning about the World

The earliest forms of play in infancy are the ways in which a baby discovers what is in his world, how it works, and how he fits into it. Through play a baby learns about cause and effect; how he can have an impact on objects and people, and how to elicit responses in different ways. He learns how to move his body, improve his motor skills, and make his way through the world. Play encourages an understanding of spatial awareness, object permanence, differences between objects and more.

Through play, an infant is also learning how to use his voice, how to communicate his needs and desires, and creating the building blocks of language. Games involving a lot of interaction with mom and dad are vital to this learning process.

Toddlers: Independence and Personality

Entering the toddler years, play is an avenue for a child to develop a sense of who he is as a person, and what his role is in the family. Play encourages your toddler to test his independence while learning – and then pushing past – his limitations. Toddlers begin to build a foundation for social skills and also develop imagination, both of which are important to future endeavors. As independence blossoms, your toddler will learn to play by himself and to solve his own problems

Your toddler is also swiftly adding to a wider knowledge base about the world, as he learns colors, numbers, sizes and even more abstract concepts like feelings. Vocabulary is expanding at an incredible rate as he learns the labels for more and more things and can relate experiences to each other. All of these things are learned through play, which becomes more imaginative and involving during these years.

Preschoolers: Social Skills and Problem Solving

As your preschooler begins to interact more and more with her peers, the play they engage in together will teach her vital social skills. Your preschooler is learning to share, and to think about other people’s needs. She is learning how to cooperate with other children, through negotiation, compromise and exploring options. She is learning patience, taking turns, and how to deal with delayed gratification. Play with others also teaches preschoolers about empathy; she is learning to consider other people’s feelings, and to understand how others might feel in various situations.

Although problem solving skills begin at a very young age, in preschool they go to a whole new level. Your preschooler is working with more abstract concepts and solving problems that are not always right in front of her. In addition to teaching cooperation, working out the issues encountered while playing with others teaches problem solving. At this age, she is also practicing these skills through role-playing games which allows her to see things from a different perspective.

Throughout childhood, the most important task at hand is learning, and the number one way children do this is through play. From infancy through into school, the skills learned at playtime build upon each other to help children to make sense of their world and prepare to be citizens within it.

Helping your Baby Explore

Helping your Baby Explore

April 20th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

The more aware your baby becomes of his surroundings, the more his curiosity and desire to explore will grow. Exploring his world is an important part of learning and developing, so encourage your baby to check things out. Remember, he doesn’t know what is safe and what is not, so supervise his explorations closely to keep him safe!

Exploring the Senses

Your baby is busy making use of his senses to get to know the world around him. Things catch his attention either through sound or sight, and from there he wants to engage the rest of his senses to find out more. Encourage baby to touch the things he comes into contact with. Give him different textures to feel, such as soft blankets, a rough sponge, a smooth plastic ball.

Next, you will notice your baby putting all kinds of objects into his mouth. Don’t discourage him from doing this unless the object is dangerous to him! Let him put clean toys and other objects into his mouth, as long as there is no danger of small parts coming loose and choking him. Exploring things with the mouth is a normal part of your baby’s development. He is not only learning this way, he may also be showing the first signs of teething with his desire to chew!

Baby will do more through sight and hearing than just find things to touch. He is exploring the sights and sounds of his world all the time. Give him a mirror, and he will stare at himself for a long time, taking in this interesting new face. Sing to him, or play music to him. Try different types of music to see what he responds to most. Some babies may enjoy soothing classical music, while others enjoy bouncing pop music beats.

Baby on the Move

When your baby starts to crawl and make her way around the house, it’s really time to step up the safety patrol. While you want her to be able to practice her new skill and check out all the new sights, make sure she does it safely. Install gates, outlet covers and door latches to make sure she doesn’t get into anything. Then, set her free!

Help your baby get the most of her movements around the house by letting her check out some new things she hasn’t seen before. Keep one cupboard or drawer in the kitchen unlatched for her to open and dig through. Make sure it’s filled with safe items such as plastic bowls, storage containers and maybe a few measuring cups or wooden spoons. She will make a mess tearing everything out, but will have a great time with it.

Let baby follow you as you go through your daily routine, doing chores and preparing meals (use caution when preparing hot foods however), as she will be fascinated by what you have been up to! It might be tiring to have to re-fold all the laundry, but letting your baby check it out is helping her to learn about her environment.

Babies are little explorers, and they have a lot to learn, so encourage her inquisitiveness and engage her with new things as much as possible. Exploring doesn’t have to happen all at home either! Take your baby outside, and let her explore the yard or a park. There’s plenty to be learned out there as well.

With careful attention to safety precautions, your little one can satisfy her curiosity and learn more every day!

What is your Preschooler’s Favorite Type of Play?

What is your Preschooler’s Favorite Type of Play?

April 19th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

In the preschool years, play becomes more sophisticated, and so does the learning process behind it. What your preschooler enjoys most at playtime can tell you a lot about what is going with his development and learning. Children at this age engage in several different types of play, and each provides a different method for a preschooler to learn about his world and how to become a part of it.

Symbolic Play

Does your little one like to pretend his building blocks are a birthday cake, or his teddy bear is a baby? He’s engaging in symbolic play. This important stage in cognitive development is allowing your preschooler to place a symbolic value on an object, which is important for his understanding of how the world works. By pretending his teddy bear is a baby and imitating the same behaviors he has seen in you and other mothers, he developing an understanding of his place in the world, and the roles of others around him.

Parallel Play

You may notice that when you get your young preschooler together with other kids, he doesn’t really play with them so much as next to them. This doesn’t mean he isn’t aware of the presence of his friends, or that he doesn’t want to play with them. This type of side-by-side play is just the beginning of social play for children. While two children may sit next to each other playing with different toys, they are learning to share space with others and also the very first rules of interaction, which they will build upon later in the preschool years.

Watch for things like imitative play, verbal communications that may seem unrelated to the play at hand (but make perfect sense in your little one’s mind) and the important first steps towards sharing. When the little girl next to him suddenly develops an interest in the toy he is playing with, he will likely be defensive of it. But this reaction is an important starting point for learning about cooperation and sharing, so as much as you can, let the kids work it out amongst themselves. You might just catch the kid who took away your son’s truck offering him another toy in return!

Imaginary Play

Is the bathtub an ocean or the couch a space ship? Does your preschooler present you with invisible cookies to eat, or talk to someone who isn’t there? She is developing her imagination, an important tool for her social development. The ability to imagine herself in the shoes of another person is the beginning of developing empathy. Imagination will also help her to begin anticipating events and guessing (correctly!) at the outcome of her behaviors.

If your child has an imaginary friend, don’t worry about it at all. This natural phase of development is a mark of a very active imagination, which research shows is a positive sign for future social interaction.

Collaborative Play

As your child head further into her preschool years, you will start to see more direct interaction with other kids during play. As she plays more with other children, she will learn all about the rules of society. This play is crucial to helping your child learn how to have successful work and personal relationships.

She is learning things such as sharing, taking turns, how to work out differences through negotiation and compromise, and how to follow social norms and rules. Collaborative play will help her to learn to keep her impulses in check and delay gratification, all things which are difficult for children, who are naturally self-centered.

Every type of play is important to preschoolers, but if your child enjoys one type more than another, don’t worry. Remember that personality plays a role as well, and your little one might be focused on one area of learning right now, but will move on soon.

How Green Things Grow: Helping Your Preschooler to Learn

How Green Things Grow: Helping Your Preschooler to Learn

April 18th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Teach your preschooler to love and respect the natural world while introducing him to basics of science by spending some time learning how trees and plants grow. A great springtime activity and learning opportunity that you can pursue both indoors and out!

The Parts of a Plant

Start by sitting down with some paper and crayons and drawing pictures of plants. Ask your little one what types of plants there are, and point out some he may have missed. Explain how plants and trees are similar, no matter what their size, by pointing out the characteristics they have in common. Draw a diagram of a plant, showing all of the parts; the roots, the stem or trunk, branches, leaves and flowers.

Next break down the parts of the plant for your child, and explain what each does to help the whole to thrive.

  • Roots: draw water and nutrients up from the ground to help the plant to grow. Help children to understand this concept by comparing roots to straws through which the plant can suck up water and food.
  • Stem or trunk and branches: carry the water and food from the roots to the rest of the plant.
  • Leaves: Absorb sunlight and make food for the plant
  • Flowers: Make seeds or fruits so that new plants can grow

How Plants Grow from Seeds

When you reach the point of explaining how new seeds are created, it’s a great time to check out some seeds with your little one and plant a few together. A sunflower is a great choice because the seeds are large, they grow easily, and they will eventually produce new seeds that your little one can easily recognize, completing the cycle.

Explain how the seed needs the soil and water you pour over it to sprout those roots you discussed in your diagram, and that it will grow all of the plant parts if just given enough food, water and sunshine. Let him help you choose a sunny place to set your new plants, and give them time to grow. Every day, let him water the plant and watch for new growth.

When your little plant starts to get bigger, you can transplant it carefully to an outside garden or larger pot. This process will allow your child to see the roots and connect the plant before him with the pictures you drew. Ask him to point out all the parts of the plant from the diagram before you set your little sprout up in a new and bigger home.

How Plants Become Food

A visit to a farm or orchard is a great learning opportunity to help your preschooler understand how plants create food that we can consume. Examine various plants and see what sorts of fruits and vegetables grow from them. Pick some samples and cut them open to locate the seeds. This will help your child to connect the produce she eats with the same life cycle as the sunflower she grew.

Plant a small garden at home and let your child help to grow food for your table. Not only will she be learning about how things grow, but you’ll also find it easier to get her to eat vegetables she helped bring to life!

With simplified explanations and some hands-on learning, you can teach your preschooler all about how plants and trees grow, and have some fun along the way!

Talking to Your Baby: An Important Learning Tool

Talking to Your Baby: An Important Learning Tool

March 1st, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

The first sound that a baby recognizes is his mother’s voice. In the womb, it is the sound that is most frequently and easily heard. From birth, a newborn will respond readily to this familiar sound, and it has the power to soothe, comfort, and calm. As the baby grows, both parents’ voices also have the power to teach. Talking to your baby is the best and easiest way to encourage his language development.

Why Talking Matters

For most parents, talking to their baby comes naturally. Greeting him in the morning, encouraging him at new tasks, and even holding one-sided conversations are all things parents do without thinking. Eventually, the baby starts to talk back, first with simple sounds and then with more complex vowels and consonant combinations that will eventually become words. What most parents don’t realize is just how much impact they are having on baby’s language development, just by talking to him every day.

The Truth about Baby Talk

While you might feel a little silly using baby talk with your infant, it actually helps your child to learn language if it’s done the right way. You may have heard that using baby talk can be detrimental to language development. The truth is that it really depends on what you mean by the term “baby talk”. Some parts of what we know as baby talk are good for language development, and others are not.

It’s important when talking to your baby to use the proper words for things, so that he can learn them. Your baby may call his bottle a “baba”, but although it may be cute, you should continue to respond with the correct word to encourage him to learn it. It isn’t necessary to correct the improper pronunciation, but be sure that your child hears it pronounced correctly. When it comes to sentences, keep it simple or it will be difficult for an infant to pick up the words. Use short sentences with fewer words, and don’t say more than you need to at once.

When you hear the term baby talk, you probably think of speaking in a very sing-song cadence with a pitch that rises and falls. It may seem instinctive, but there’s good science behind it. Research shows that babies respond well to this tone, much better than monotone speech, and learn to recognize words better.

Labeling and Learning

The concept of pointing out and labeling objects when talking to babies isn’t a new one. Parents have been doing it since the birth of language. But recent research shows that there is a new dimension that can really help your child to pick up new words. In their recent bestseller NutureShock authors Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman reveal the concept of “motionese”. It’s a simple idea – just move each object around in the air while you name it, drawing her attention and keeping her focused on that object. This easy to use tip will help your baby pick up new words faster.

The authors of NutureShock also share research supporting the theory that how much you talk to your baby is just as important as what you say. The more you speak to her, the quicker language will develop. Furthermore, how much you respond to your baby’s vocalizations is important too! Respond to her attempts to communicate with you as much as you possibly can, and you will see, or rather hear, the results.

Talking to your baby is the most important tool any parent has to teach language and improve communication. With a basic understanding of what works and why, parents can maximize the effect of every spoken word.

Choosing the Right Books for Your Child

Choosing the Right Books for Your Child

February 28th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Reading books with your child is crucial to his development of language skills, and of course, literacy. But the children’s section at a bookstore or library can be daunting, with thousands of books to choose from. Luckily, there are a few simple things to look for based on your child’s developmental stage.

From Birth to Twelve Months

In the early months of life, babies are drawn to high contrast images and more than anything to human faces. Eyesight is still developing, and babies focus best at a distance of about a foot. Choose books with simple, large images with contrasting colors, especially black and white, and simple patterns. Books with a lot of close-ups of faces are a wonderful choice at this age.

After about 6 months old, your baby will start to interact a lot more with toys, people, and books too. In addition to wanting to touch books and turn pages, you will probably catch him chewing on books as well, as babies at this age explore the world with their mouths. Because your little one is now so hands – and mouth – on, look for sturdy board books that can withstand baby’s attention.

This age of learning by touch is the perfect time to introduce books with tactile features, such as a book about animals that offers fuzzy patches of fur for little hands to feel. Your baby will also start to recognize familiar images of things that are a part of his daily life, so books that include simple images of these things are a great choice.

With baby learning to sit up in the tub, this is also the age to check out bath books. Books made of waterproof materials, with simple stories and colorful images will make bath time as much about learning as it is about fun.

The Second Year

Around the time your baby smashes his first birthday cake, you will be noticing great strides in language and communication skills. At this age, the words in the book will start to become more important. Look for repetitive, rhythmic and rhyming text, and simple stories involving everyday things. Images are still important too! Look for colorful illustrations that help to tell the story, and that she can start to associate with the text.

As the second year of your child’s life unfolds, she will be learning at a very fast pace, and books are an important part of improving vocabulary skills. Books that have only a few words related to what is on the page will help her to recognize and learn the names for the objects pictured. It’s a great time to start a dialogue about the book by having her point out what she sees on the page.

Toddlers and Beyond

Further into the toddler years, your child will start to enjoy the story as much as the images. Understanding the text and being able to ask questions, point things out and even read along as familiar books are committed to memory, children at this age become truly active participants in reading. You will even start to catch her repeating the words to the story aloud while thumbing through the pages without your help. This is a great time to choose books with more involving stories. Books that address common childhood hurdles and fears are a good choice, and as her sense of humor develops, funny stories will be a hit.

Choosing the right books is not hard when you are aware of how age and development play a role in reading. With the wide selection available in bookstores and libraries, the possible choices are endless, and so is the fun you can have reading with your child. Still need a little help deciding? Take a look at this comprehensive list of the best books by age from Parents magazine.

How Reading Aloud Benefits Your Child

How Reading Aloud Benefits Your Child

February 27th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

Reading is one of the most important things you can do with your child, and the list of benefits is long. By reading to your baby from early on, you will give him a head start on literacy and language skills as well as expose him to whole new worlds of knowledge. And on top of all this important learning, reading is also a wonderful chance to enjoy quality time together.

A Time for Bonding

Holding your child in your lap to read a book is important bonding time for both of you, and it will help to encourage a love of books and reading. Your baby will learn to connect reading with love and comfort, and he will look forward to the quiet time spent cuddled with you while enjoying a good story. Reading offers a one on one experience with your child that he will come to treasure, and develops a deep connection that will last a lifetime.

Developing Language Skills and Vocabulary

Reading aloud to your child introduces him to all the basics he needs in order to learn how to talk. Your child will hear new sounds, which will help him figure out how to pronounce these sounds and form them into words. While it might be a long time before you hear complete sentences from him, your baby is already picking up the concepts of sentence structure and grammar both from your speech and from the books you read aloud to him. Children who are read to are more likely to begin reading at a younger age, as they have developed a familiarity with and love for the written word, and have more advanced language skills.

Expanding Knowledge

You may not be able to take your child to visit a farm, to another country, on a cross-country journey by train, or sailing on the ocean. But with books, she can experience and learn all about these things right at home. Reading about a variety of topics gives her a wider knowledge base, which will serve her well later in life. Choosing the right books will also offer you the opportunity to teach your child about different cultures and places; this in turn sets the stage for teaching opportunities about diversity. This is one of the many ways in which books can help you to instill values and ethics in your child.

Preparing for School

Learning to read is a basic and necessary skill in school, and the better prepared your child is the stronger her chances of success. Reading to your child helps her to learn the most basic concepts of literacy, like being able to tell words from images on the page and knowing that the words go from left to right. Not only will she already have a good foundation for learning to read on her own, but she will also have learned to listen, as well as to sit still and pay attention. These abilities are all vital to your child’s academic success. Research has shown that children who are read to early do better not just in reading, but in all their studies.

Reading to your child is so important to her intellectual development that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends you read to your child daily from 6 months of age. However, there is no reason to wait until 6 months; you can start reading to your newborn right away. Even if your baby falls asleep, or is more interested in playing with the book or chewing on it than in reading it, making books a part of her day will set her up for a lifetime of literacy.

Great Ways to Encourage Your Toddler’s Independence

Great Ways to Encourage Your Toddler’s Independence

February 26th, 2010 by admin  |  No Comments

The toddler years are filled with many challenges for parents, and one of the toughest to deal with is often your toddler’s newfound sense of independence. The more a toddler grows, learns and accomplishes, the more he will develop his own opinions and a desire to do things his own way. While parents want to encourage self-sufficiency, toddlers are not always quite as ready for the world as they may think.

I Can Do It by Myself!

You might start to hear this phrase, or something quite similar, a lot from your toddler. Learning to do things for yourself is an important part of development, but toddlers are unable to understand the difference between what they can successfully (and safely) do without help, and what they still need assistance to accomplish.

Avoid the meltdown that will surely follow a flat out denial by trying to find some small portion of the task that is more manageable. Does your little one want to pour his own milk from a heavy jug? Suggest that he hold the cup steady on the table for you while you pour. Does he want to climb in and out of the tub on his own? Explain that the tub is slippery and you don’t want him to fall, but allow him to step in and out while holding onto you for support, rather than lifting him in and out. Small concessions will allow toddlers to feel they are doing things on their own, while still keeping it under control.

Learning Responsibility

Toddlers aren’t too young to have a few jobs around the house, and giving them tasks to accomplish will encourage independence and teach responsibility too. There are plenty of simple tasks a child as young as two can handle. Have your toddler carry his own dishes from the table to the sink. Teach him to throw his own clothes into the laundry hamper. If you have a family pet, make feeding the pet together a daily routine. Tasks like these will not only help your toddler feel like a big kid, they will also make him feel like he is an important part of the family.

Offering Choices

One of the most common ways toddlers assert their independence is through food, clothing and activities. A child who previously ate everything set in front of her will suddenly become a picky eater. She might refuse to wear her coat or shoes, and express strong opinions about the rest of her wardrobe as well. Convincing her to take a bath or get in the car takes a monumental effort. All of these things are common results of a toddler’s desire to gain some control over her environment.

Fortunately, many toddlers will respond to being offered a choice. It gives a feeling of control, and prevents power struggles. Keep the options to only a few, however, to prevent the decision making process from taking all day! Lay out two possible outfits for the day, and let your toddler choose between them. Before you make lunch, ask if she would prefer grilled cheese or chicken noodle soup. Taking a bath may not be optional, but you can still let your toddler feel she is involved in the decision making process by asking her if she would like bubbles or no bubbles, the blue towel or the red. The same goes for getting an unwilling toddler out the door. You could offer a choice of toys to take on the ride, or a choice of snacks to bring along.

It takes a little creativity and some understanding of what is going on in your toddler’s mind to find solutions that both allow your toddler to gain independence as well as keep parents sane. Remember that giving a little can go a long way, and you will be teaching your little one to make wise choices, recognize her limits, and also take on a little responsibility!