Stephanie Wicker

Children will stop listening and start acting out if their needs aren’t being met. These needs will generally include connection, empowerment and confidence. By focusing on these three keys areas, you will be surprised at the difference it can make to overall listening and obedience. Here is a quick guide on how you can support your child in these three areas.

While boundaries and rules are important, it is also important to be mindful of the words we use and to teach these skills to our children as well. So what’s wrong with the word No?

Some toddlers can get a bit over-excited at times, which results in silly behaviour and someone getting hurt or something valuable being broken. If you are feeling a little overwhelmed by your over-excited toddler, or want some simple tips to keep calm them in the moment – here are a few simple tips:

Some children rock up to daycare like it’s no biggie from day one, while others might be overwhelmed, and show signs of separation anxiety. If you notice that your child is anxious the night before or the morning of, these simple techniques will help to make their transition a lot easier.

Let’s face it – toddlers are hard! There is no getting around that fact. They are hard because their brain development is so different from our own. They don’t have much of a prefrontal cortex yet, which means reasoning and lecturing pretty much goes out the window. It also means their ability to cope with almost anything not on their terms, is genuinely very challenging.

Last week I had a call with Mum who is struggling with the “big sibling blues” at her house. Her children are now three and five years old however, when her youngest son was first born she noticed that her toddler was acting out more than usual and clearly demanding more attention from mum than ever.