Taming The Terrible Twos

09/20/2011

In honour of my little man turning two, I wanted to share some fantastic tips from Victoria Sopik, founder of Kids &  Company about how to handle this particular age group. – Karen

Taming The Terrible Twos

Here are some tips from our Kids & Company early childhood educators, many of whom are moms themselves!

1- Step back and look at the entire situation. Try to determine why your child is not listening. Are you sure he has heard you clearly and understands what you are saying? Are there any distractions around him? Is he tired, or hungry? Does he receive more attention from you when he doesn’t listen? (Negative reinforcement)

2-Ensure your expectations are developmentally appropriate. For example: If giving directions to a two year old, only give one direction at a time. Young children have a difficult time retaining more than one set of instructions.

3-Praise positive behaviour and ignore the unwanted (negative) behaviour.

4-Establish eye contact before speaking to a young child. This ensures, they are focused on you and not distracted by something around them.

5- Changing the tone of your voice will often capture a child’s attention. Whispering works. Try not to raise your voice as this isn’t an effective way to communicate and it let’s the child know you are frustrated. (This can be empowering for a child)

Try these tips out at home and I will share more in the coming weeks. – Victoria

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To see more tips from Victoria, click here.