Categories
Parenting and Childcare

What Should You Do If Your Toddler Is Too Clingy?

A toddler’s clingy stage is not an easy phase for a mom. There are many reasons why toddlers want to be carried all the time. It may be because your baby is learning to adapt to changes like a new crib, a new room, etc. Sometimes, kids want to be carried when they are in crowded areas or just because they are tired. It is better to make the child independent during the very early stages of childhood development. Here is a list of things you could do to make things easier for yourself

Encourage independence

Your love for the baby may compel you to carry the child more than is necessary. Curb the urge to carry the child and do so only when your little one asks to be carried; that too, not every time he asks! Let your toddler crawl or walk around the house freely and let him/her explore. Be in the same room and just keep a watchful eye to prevent falls or injury. While going out, use the stroller instead of carrying the child.

Take your kid for walks

Walking to the park is another easy way of preventing clingy behaviour in toddlers. Point out children who are running around the park and having fun. Offer incentives like more pushes on the swing or more ball-play time if your little one walks to the park. But the incentives should not be in the form of more cookies, chocolates, or toys. That will give your kid the wrong signal and he will refuse to walk just so that he can get more goodies. You can carry him while returning because he is naturally going to be tired and probably hungry too.

Avoid giving in

Toddlers who always want to be carried resort to temper tantrums if they do not get their way. To avoid embarrassment in public you may feel tempted to give in. You are doing more harm by encouraging laziness. Your kid will learn to use tantrums as a way of getting whatever he wants. So you will need to be firm and not let emotions get the better of you.

Praise good behaviour

Whenever your child has walked around a mall or park, carried out simple tasks independently or is very accommodating remember to praise such actions. Your kid will develop a sense of self-reliance. He will also get a feeling of achievement every time he walks instead of being carried around. Praise goes a long way towards boosting your toddler’s self-confidence.

Keep your temper in check

Scolding a clingy toddler will only worsen the situation. Both you and the child will be distressed. Instead, use a pleasant, gentle but firm tone of voice to persuade your kid to sit in the stroller or to walk.

Look for signs when your toddler is tired and carry your child. The rest of the time, let him romp around and enjoy his freedom. Set these habits as soon as your baby starts crawling so that he learns to play on his own. As you go on teaching your child more self-reliance, your kid will not be a toddler who clings anymore.

Categories
Parenting and Childcare

What You Say Might Affect Your Child’s Temperament

Does your child defy the majority of your orders, as you continue to ruminate why he/she does it? You ought to revisit how your tone and language was when you talked to your child. Yes, this might seem like a petty thing, but fixing it might bore the fruits you were yearning for. According to multiple studies, even a slight error on the parents’ part while talking to their children affects the child psychologically, emotionally, mentally and physically to a large extent. Let us have a detailed look and delve deeper into this topic.

The Psychological Effect

Reminisce the yelling tone of yours while talking to your child? That affects him/her to a great extent. If you curb their freedom for petty reasons without understanding them properly, it will affect them psychologically both in the short and long run. If not dealt with properly, the child will have a timid response and often grow up as someone who either becomes an outrageous rebel or submissive. On the other hand, a softer tone while understanding the child’s behaviour will help them obey you while their freedom is preserved. They will share great camaraderie with you as well.

Emotional Effect

If you constantly yell at your child, whether it is necessary or not, you are in for some trouble when they grow up. Their emotional quotient might show it as well and outsiders might even take unprecedented advantage of them when they grow up to be adults. Also, such children will not respect you surely and if this continues in their teenage, they might suffer from anxiety and depression. All they want is their parents to understand them without any judgement. Try this – Talk to them in a softer tone and see them grow emotionally at an unprecedented rate. They will understand you and themselves better too.

Insecurity

If you as a parent continuously keep torturing your child, he/she will be bound to feel insecure around you. As they grow up, they will keep secrets from you and let themselves suffer from things that they normally should tell you. However, your behaviour and language make them think that you are of little help to them. This insecurity translates into rebellion, a lack of attachment, lack of respect and very little camaraderie with you. On the other hand, if you make them feel secure by the way you talk with them, they will consider you as a pal from school or college and speak their heart out to you. This will ensure that they share great chemistry with you and be the bulwark of your relationship.

Attitude

Children whose parents constantly yell at them or talk in a way that displeasures them often end up having a pessimistic outlook about life. They develop a rebellious attitude and want to defy all the curbs that people intend to put on them. They tend to undervalue qualities such as care and affection that people show for them. 

Physical Effect

Your bad behaviour towards your child while talking to them can translate to perilous physical effects on them such as constant headaches, body weakness, dizziness and a few others. There is no way that they can sustain physical strength and endurance if they are mentally ill in any way. This also affects their performance in academics and co-curricular activities that are a vital cog for their overall growth. The ball is in your court as a parent. 

A sense of fear

Children who have experienced constant mental torture from their parents tend to develop fear even for the simplest of situations. They fail to deal with it effectively and it results in long-lasting repercussions making their lives tougher.

Hence, it is important that parents learn how to talk to their children, lest it will have major harmful effects on them.