Lauren from Little Sleep Stars shares her tips for helping your toddler sleep well
Your toddler might have settled into a more predictable pattern of night time sleep now. But periods of interrupted sleep and night waking are not unusual. If you’re finding your toddler’s night waking difficult, Lauren from Little Sleep Stars shares some things to think about.
Lauren says, for carers dealing with problematic night-waking, the first things to check are that:
Helping your toddler to develop and learn – not just what you do, but the way you do it
In 2019, psychologists published results from a study looking at parenting styles and toddlers learning words.[1] While this study focused specifically on word learning, it can help us think about all your toddler’s learning.
Helping your toddler learn involves not only supporting their cognitive development, but also what researchers call ‘affective elements’ – which, put simply, is how your child feels.
One simple way to help your baby build a healthy relationship with their feelings
Your baby might be getting more curious about other people’s emotions, and watch closely when others react with feeling. They are developing an understanding that not everyone is experiencing the same feelings as them. But how can you help your baby build a healthy understanding of emotions as they grow?
The good news is that one of the most important ways to help your child think about feelings in a healthy way as they grow is incredibly simple to do.
Why your baby might seem to be manipulating you, and why it’s a good thing
Does your baby look at you and smile when they want another snack, or become extremely cute showering you with affection when they want to play for longer? This might feel like the start of your baby learning how to manipulate you to get what they want, but in reality, babies won’t have the cognitive skills for intentional manipulation for many years to come.
Instead, this is your baby discovering how social skills can help them, and others, to thrive in the world.
Copy cat pressure – your baby will be watching what you do, so what happens when you have a bad day?
Your baby learns by watching and copying what you do. You might see them starting to bring these actions or activities into their own games now. But why do they mimic adults and what does this mean for you when you act in a way you’re not too proud of?
Your baby might pretend to make you dinner and you notice they shake a pan just like you do, or they might sing like you as they do some tidying up (or at least pretend tidying up – which is not guaranteed to end up with any actual tidying being done, of course).
Pointing to parts of the body: why it's important
Your baby didn't know they had different body parts when they were born, but as time moved on, they became aware of their hands, feet, face and more. As they gain control over their bodies, they are more able to connect body parts to words. Let’s look at how identifying parts of their body will be an important skill for your baby in everyday life...
Language development
Whoops! It happened again. Your baby is investigating the effects of their actions on objects and people
Your baby is learning so much about who they are and what they're capable of. This is a long process, and, just now, they are making sense of how to understand their actions and movements.
Tactile explorations
A crash course in sound – why banging is so brilliant
Toddlers simply can’t resist banging and tapping on everyday objects and items. Give them a tool, like a stick or a block, and off they go: bang, bang, bang. When they engage in this type of play, your toddler is experimenting with music and learning how sounds change. Playing with sounds is brilliant for all aspects of your toddler’s development; let’s see how:
Pitch
Storytime fun with Froggy Gets Dressed – bringing joy to the task of getting clothes on and off
This book is about an excited young frog who just wants to go and play in the snow. Froggy wakes up and tries to rush out to play, but… he keeps forgetting to put all his clothes on. We follow Froggy as he repeatedly gets called back inside by his Mummy to put on the clothes he has forgotten.
This lovely story is packed full of language describing how to put on and take off clothes. For younger children, the story can be shortened to key phrases and the main points. You might be able to use some of the language when helping your toddler to learn how to dress and undress.
Now you see it, now you don’t – your belongings may become toys!
Your toddler has worked incredibly hard to fine-tune their movements, and they'll be fascinated by how many things they can now pick up and move. This is an exciting part of their curiosity journey, so be ready to find items from around your home deposited in some wonderfully creative places!
Play and new achievements
