Really, not everyone is cut out to be a good parent. Luckily, there are professionals out there to teach us the most important lessons children need to learn young. Working at a daycare for two years and babysitting for several more, I have learned many things about the miraculous brain of the human child. So as a guide to parents of toddlers, the age where children really begin to absorb everything like a sponge, here’s my list of the most important things to teach your children.

The Foundations of Schooling:

Perhaps the most obvious topics that must be taught to our children, basic school knowledge is very important for children to learn. Especially once they start to get to the age where school is required by law. If you are really determined and teach your kid these things as a toddler, life will absolutely be easier later on. Now, I’m not saying teach your kid what everything in a classroom is called or how to write poems, but it is vital that you start to teach your toddler at around one-year old, their colors, shapes, how to count to 10, the ABC’s, weather, and the days of the week. Along with that, other important lessons include the months, seasons, transportation, food names, animals and what sounds they make, family members, holidays, parts of the body, etc. By the time they’re in their last couple of months of being two, your toddler will be really smart if they can tell you most of this stuff and more importantly, if you start teaching them this content from the beginning, they WILL be able to learn and remember it. Great ways to teach these things to kids is through songs, pictures, videos, projects, and more than anything, REPETITION!

Manners:

No one wants their child to grow up a rude little brat, so start young and teach your child how to behave in public and with others. When you give them something, teach them to say, “thank you”. When they want something, teach them to say, “please”. Teach your child to say, “sorry” when they bump into someone or if they hurt a friend. In addition to that, teach them to use gentle hands with people and animals. Being rough is not being a good friend and we want to be nice to others. Using words with them isn’t enough though, show them. Take your child’s hand and gently rub it against their friend’s hand or on furniture they’re hitting/kicking. Then repeat “gentle hands”. Eventually, they will begin to understand that we use soft hands with others. Other social skills are important too. When you hear someone sneeze, show them that you tell that person, “bless you”. When you burp or pass gas, make sure you say, “excuse me”. Over time, they will pick up these little things and copy you.

Socialization:

In public, when you go out shopping or to the park, you make sure to also say, “excuse me” when getting around people. And don’t just do it quietly, narrate yourself to your toddler. Explain to them what you are doing and with a simple reason why. If your toddler ever throws a temper tantrum in public or within the home, let them fuss it out. Temper tantrums are the best way for kids to get whatever they want. Parents often fall for the kid’s tricks in the haste of getting them to be quiet. Children are clever and sneaky. If they can weasel what they want out of you, they will. Let them get all red. Let them kick the floor, hit themselves, shake all over, and get all snotty. Temper tantrums always stop. Some kids go far enough as to passing out from holding their breath too long. Guess what, they will always start breathing again. It’s due to physics. Pressure in our lungs forces us to take a breath again no matter what we do. Let them cry it out. When they stop, speak calmly to them why they cannot get what they want and remove both of you from the situation. Another thing we want to teach our children is empathy and sympathy. If another friend is hurt or sick, we want to take our children to them, show them that we use gentle hands with our hurt friends, and ask them if we can help them. Show them that we ask, “are you okay?”. Show them that hurt friends get ice and medicine. With this being taught at a young age to every child, imagine how much compassion would be in the world. The two best ways to teach children these skills are to let them actually experience life by going out and doing things with them and letting them play with other children and by setting up complex dramatic play areas for them. What is dramatic play? It’s when you have little play-pretend areas for kids to act like they’re in the real-life situation. For example, putting out towels, beach hats, a plastic pool full of sand with buckets and shovels, beach balls, and playing the sound of ocean waves. That would be dramatic play for children as if they were going to the beach. Kids learn through playing. Switch things up for them in dramatic play and play WITH them too. Over time, they will become very competent socially.

Safety:

Obviously, no kid is born with an immediate sense of caution. They don’t know any better when it comes to what can hurt them, so we have to teach them. Don’t get frustrated with them, you must be patient. They will be persistent and will do everything they can to push their boundaries and it’s all natural. If they try to climb something not meant for climbing, tell them not to climb it. Some of safety is pretty clear. If it seems like a clumsy person would get hurt doing it, a toddler is ten times more likely to get hurt doing it. Tell them to stop, give a small reason why, and redirect them so they can do something else. Never let a toddler be alone. Don’t leave them in the tub unattended. Watch them when they eat, cut up their food, and avoid foods hard to chew/swallow. Sharp objects should be far out of reach and locked away. Chemicals should be locked away. Outlets should be covered. Children should be buckled in when sitting in chairs and should have a car seat fastened securely in cars. Use common sense and demonstrate it to your toddlers too.

Self-help and Hygiene/Grooming:

You cannot do everything for your child their entire life. Independence is something you must teach them early on. To start, let them use utensils to eat. Show them how to use a fork and spoon… CONTINUOUSLY and remind them to use them. When their hands are filthy, take them to the sink, show them how to turn the water on, wash, and dry their hands. Over time, they’ll learn how to do everything up to pumping soap into their hands. When you change their diapers, let them pull their pants up as they get older. If they grow longer hair, show them how to put a comb through it. If it’s time to put their pacifier or lovey away, show them where it goes and let THEM put it away. Don’t always put their shoes and socks on them for them. Help them, but instruct them on how to do it by themselves. And give them TIME. It will not be easy for them to learn any of this. So, let them try for a good long moment and then show them. They will eventually figure it all out. The more and more you show them to do by themselves, the more they’ll learn to do, the more they’ll want to do, and the easier your life will become. A big part of self-help is self-soothing. If your toddler is crying, it does not necessarily mean they need to be hugged and soothed. Even as a baby, you should NOT pick up your child every time they cry. They will become used to it and will become the biggest whiniest brat ever. They will literally learn that crying all day will get them love. So, what would you do? If it seems urgent, serious (even only a little bit), or necessary, pick them up and show them affection, but do not hold them for every little scrape. Or at least give them time to cry it out on their own. This will build self-soothing skills. Over time, they will be able to make themselves feel better which is all very important, especially as the child grows into an adult. Everything we learn comes from our childhood after all.

Communication:

Learning to talk is hard. It doesn’t happen overnight, but language is very easy for babies and toddlers to start to pick up on and understand. Even if they can’t form the word or sentence, they may completely understand what YOU say. Getting your tongue and teeth to move the right way and shape the right words is hard. Their head might get it, but their body might not. It’s a process and they will get there, but you need to be patient and determined. The best way to teach kids to talk is through saying words, showing them pictures or carrying out actions, and repeating these words over and over again. They will understand and repeat over time. A great trick for teaching toddlers to communicate is by using sign language. Not only will you be able to recognize what they are trying to tell you, but it will be evident that they not only know the right thing to say at the right time, but that they can connect it to a signal with their body. Reading books to children helps this out a lot. It helps them learn basic life knowledge as well. That takes a lot of brain power and it’s incredible! Kids can be very smart, you just have to give them the time of day and help!

Other:

Some more minor things that children should be taught from a young age include: music, sports/playing outside, art, technology, and potentially a second language. There are so many things you can teach your children. What’s important is you take advantage of your time and show them the ropes of what must be learned and what you also want them to learn.

If you work hard to teach your child some of these basic things, I assure you that you’ve done well and they will grow up very smart. Dealing with toddlers is simply all about patience, repetition, consistency, and fun!