21-Month-Old Child

Gone are the days of making a quick run to the grocery store. (In fact, gone are the days of doing anything quickly.) Now, shopping trips are more like shopping expeditions — you spend more time wrangling your tot into the cart than you spend picking out produce.

To make shopping more fun, recruit your little one to be your assistant. Let your tot help you find the food on your list or “choose” which aisle to go down next. Some stores also have specially designed carts, in the form of race cars or fire trucks for your toddler to sit in, which can make the ride more appealing.

Has your daily dressing routine turned into a marathon session, with you chasing your tot from room to room? Toddlers are full of energy, but he may also be trying to get your attention when everyone else is getting dressed themselves. 

Make a game out of getting ready by saying “peek-a-boo” before slipping a shirt over his head. Or ask “Where’s your foot?” as you put on his pants. This way, he’s more likely to squeal with delight than shriek with annoyance.

Sure, you’re the one making all the decisions (and for good reason), but it never hurts to give your toddler the occasional choice between two options. 

For example, if your child dislikes getting dressed in the morning, hold up two shirts and ask him to point to which one he wants to wear. At the breakfast table, ask whether your tot wants to eat cereal or toast. Sometimes he’ll respond with a “no,” but other times, he’ll make a selection on his own— something that will boost your toddler's decision-making skills and confidence.

Even the most calm and collected parents feel an occasional urge to spank their child. After all, there’s a good chance that you were spanked, and your parents were spanked, and your grandparents were spanked … and everyone turned out fine, right?

Maybe so. But nearly all experts agree that spanking isn’t a good disciplinary tool. Not only does it reinforce the fact that it’s okay to use violence — and research shows that children who are spanked are more likely to use physical force against their peers — but it can also lead to a serious injury, especially if the situation escalates.

If, despite your best efforts to avoid spanking, you lash out with a slap on the bottom in the heat of the moment, you can apologize right away, and offer an explanation of why you did it: “I’m sorry I hit you. You scared me when you ran into the street.”

Art lessons, dance classes, gymnastics — there’s no shortage of educational and extracurricular activities that are aimed at the toddler set. They aren’t a must-do by any means, but they do offer some benefits.

For starters, these activity centers are usually stocked with materials and equipment that you may not have (or want to keep) at home, like tambourines and drums, paint and markers, or foam climbing mats. And your little one won’t be the only one getting a chance to interact with people his own age — they also give you a chance to meet new parents too.

If you’re still on the fence about signing up your toddler for a class, ask if you can try one out for free or observe it virtually. This should give you a sense of whether you want to make the commitment.

It’s a fact of life: If you have a toddler, he will have tantrums. Yes, they’re frustrating (and occasionally ear-splitting), but they’re also developmentally appropriate, and can be a release for some pent-up feelings of frustration.

Put yourself in his toddler-size shoes: Your tot needs to communicate with you, but doesn’t yet have the language skills to do so. He may be hungry, tired, overstimulated, bored or simply lacking impulse control (or all of the above!). Add it up, and it’s no wonder that you have a recipe for a toddler meltdown. 

To ward off temper tantrums, stick to a regular schedule whenever possible (meals and naps at the same time every day), keep snacks on hand, and encourage your child to blow off some steam by throwing a ball — as opposed to banging his head on the wall.

Most importantly, try to stay calm yourself. Getting fired up will only add fuel to your toddler’s already raging fire.

Is your toddler talking the talk … minus any actual words? At this age, his “language” probably sounds a lot like gibberish, but if you listen closely, you can likely pick out some single- or double-syllable sounds that (to him) mean real words. “Ba” may mean ball; “uh” may mean “up”; and “ma” may mean milk.

It’ll take another year or so for your child to speak clearly enough for close family members or caregivers to understand him, but you won’t be playing charades for much longer. Every day, he gets a little better at communicating, and you get a little better at understanding your toddler.