Today Tile Triggered Content

Do you feel like you hear, “MINE,” a million times a day? That could be an exaggeration but, “mine”, like “no”, can seem a powerful word to a toddler and might be one they use a lot as they seek to become more independent. This isn’t always easy, especially if your toddler lays claim to something that clearly isn’t theirs! But, did you know awareness of ownership might help your toddler learn new words?  

Learning new words is a complex process; your toddler will hear lots of words – but they won’t remember all of them.  

Have you found yourself saying, “You have to share” to your toddler yet? If not, it might happen soon. Sharing is really complicated and involves some difficult skills, which your toddler probably hasn’t mastered yet. One of those skills is understanding ownership – so the “It’s mine,” phase of development might just be a step towards sharing.  

Why does sharing matter to us?  

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.  

Sometimes our toddlers do something that maybe they shouldn’t – but is really funny or cute. And our reaction to these moments can lead to behaviour we would prefer wasn’t being repeated over and over again!  

One of the really difficult things our toddlers are learning is that what can be ok and even encouraged in one situation, might be something they can’t do at another time or place.  

Do you find it almost impossible to have your turn when playing with your toddler? Don’t worry, you aren’t alone! Learning to take turns and share is not easy and uses social, emotional and cognitive skills your toddler hasn’t mastered just yet. 

Things to think about that might help... 

Your toddler is learning a lot about themselves, the people around them and the world in which they live. They’re learning about how people behave in different situations; how to get along with other people; how to regulate their emotions and how to make decisions about what they’re going to do.  

Sometimes we might feel we need to manage our toddler’s behaviour through disciplining them using punishment, but for toddlers to learn about behaviour it is much more important to think about teaching, not telling off. 

We know toddlers can get overwhelmed at times, we all can when you think about it, but your toddler probably finds it more difficult than you do to calm again – and this could be explained by their brain development.  

What are executive functions and why are they important in emotions?  

American author Robert Fulghum said, “Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.”  

This can be a useful thing to remember as your toddler grows and develops – they learn not only when you feel like you’re teaching them something, maybe when playing or chatting, but also by watching what you do every day.  

What is social learning theory?