If you have ever raised a toddler, then you know — they are incredibly intelligent, willful and enthusiastic little creatures. How can you help them gain the most from their toddler years?
A parenting book to help your toddler thrive
In How Toddlers Thrive Tovah P. Klein, Ph.D helps parents discover tools to nurture their young children. Parenting decisions during the toddler years, from 2 to 5, can help children build a strong foundation for success through empathy, resilience and self-regulation. Her parenting book helps parents both by explaining why toddler behavior is so erratic and by suggesting strategies that work towards your child’s development.
Judgement hurts your parenting
In the book’s foreword, actress Sarah Jessica Parker talks about the differences between her three children and one of the most important things she learned from Dr. Klein.
Tovah taught me that there is no one right way to parent, and no right way for children to experience childhood. Judging myself or the child risks inadvertently imposing a feeling of shame that does more to set back than to help.
Sarah Jessica Parker, in the Foreword to How Toddlers Thrive by Tovah P. Klein, Ph.D
Learning why toddlers act the way they do
Dr. Klein helps parents understand why toddlers act the way they do, from their tantrums to their difficulty sharing toys. The sharing section was particularly interesting, because sharing can be such a touchy subject as toddlers and their parents navigate play dates and preschool experiences.
Though it seems to teach them not to be generous, Dr. Klein encourages parents to understand that not sharing is actually an important step in a toddler’s development of the concept of ownership. People can only truly learn generosity when they can recognize that their needs are being met and that sharing with others will help fulfill others’ needs.
So the next time your toddler is clinging to a favorite toy with a steel grip, simply tell them a friend is waiting for a turn. You might be surprised at how quickly the toy is relinquished when the child is able to make the decision on his or her own time frame.
Parenting methods that help your toddler thrive
Learning about a toddler’s motivation for his or her actions is interesting and will help confusing behavior swings begin to make more sense. However, if you’re frustrated with your child and really feel like you need immediate assistance, Dr. Klein compiled “The Fifteen New Seeds for Success.”
The list outlines a plan for parents to build a strong foundation for resilient, empathetic, successful kids, emphasizing that her definition of success is, “a person who feels confident to explore the world around him with excitement and curiosity, who is not afraid to make mistakes, who feels secure enough to begin to make friends, and who feels well-adjusted enough to bounce back when she is disappointed.”
How Toddlers Thrive isn’t a parenting book that will teach parents how to raise a child to get into an Ivy League school — though your child might go on to do that exact thing. What Dr. Klein’s book does is help parents develop a plan to establish a family framework of boundaries and limits and then let their children explore their world through play, humor and enough love to allow them to make mistakes with a loving, supportive place to land.
Connecting with How Toddlers Thrive
How Toddlers Thrive: What Parents Can Do Today for Children Ages 2-5 to Plant the Seeds of Lifelong Success is available at Amazon — in hardcover and Kindle editions — and Barnes and Noble ($19). Follow How Toddlers Thrive on Facebook and Dr. Klein on Twitter.
