Toddler Info

Parenting a toddler raises quite different questions from parenting a baby.  Sleep generally falls away as the main concern and decisions have to be made instead about things like discipline practices and how to keep one's loveable munchkin occupied.

General

• 5 Great iPad Apps for Toddlers

Posts with research

• Early literacy - research on factors in early childhood that influence literacy ability, and ideas for developmentally appropriate activities
• Early numeracy - research on how numeracy develops, what is innate and what is taught, and the 'normal' age for development of understandings that form the building blocks of numeracy

Posts on discipline 

I prefer to use discipline techniques which teach boundaries without using punishments such as smacking or time-outs, and which go easy on the star charts.  This involves using a lot of preventive strategies for potential behavioural issues, lots of repetition and positive guidance, and a general view that behavioural issues are opportunities for learning problem-solving skills and emotional self-regulation skills.  I had to do quite a lot of reading before I understood how to approach a non-punitive discipline style effectively, because it requires a good understanding of toddler psychology as well as a large toolkit of techniques for managing certain difficult situations.  The following posts provide a summary of some of the key information and techniques I took away from that reading:

• Discipline through play (review of Playful Parenting)
• Discipline without rewards or punishments (review of Discipline Without Distress)
• Practical ideas for gentle discipline (review of The No-Cry Discipline Solution)
• The argument against over-using praise (review of Parenting for a Peaceful World)
• Understanding tantrums (review of The Emotional Life of the Toddler)
• Modelling (review of Baby Hearts)

(By the way, my daughter is only 19 months, so take this with a grain of salt, but so far I have found these techniques are wonderfully effective.  More effective, in fact, than the few occasions where I have used punishment to deter behaviour.  Don't get me wrong - she will go through days where she's right into pushing boundaries.  But I can see that she is slowly internalising key boundaries, she is cooperative and listens well to instructions (for her age), we can address most issues before they get anywhere near tantrum levels, her social behaviour is generally positive, and she is developing an increasing ability to tolerate frustration, sadness, anger and other strong emotions.  Still very happy with choosing these methods!)