It can be very common for toddlers to crave parental attention. Do not beat yourself up emotionally or worry endlessly about this behavior because it is natural and completely normal for your child to want to have you all of the time.
However, you must find the perfect balance between showing your toddler affection while remaining sane.
It can be challenging to understand the line between providing for your little one but still making sure you are healthy. Here are some tips that will hopefully help you get a little time to rest and relax.
Focus on toddler time
As a parent of a toddler, you must teach your little one the value of independent playtime.
During this self-sufficient time, your toddler will be able to explore and use their imagination. Providing your young child with this block of time creates a setting that they will use their creative side and entertain themselves.
This allows you to slip away and complete necessary daily tasks. It also creates a time slot for you to conduct some much needed relaxing while being kid-free.
Plan age-appropriate activities
Having a toddler is very exhausting. They are always on the go and require a large amount of monitoring, so they do not get into mischief.
By creating age-appropriate activities for your toddler, they will be able to sit down and complete these tasks with little supervision.
As a result of a well planned out activity, you will get a much-needed break in order to sit down and be able to relax for a while.
Children learn quickly
Children catch on to different methods that allow them to manipulate their parents beginning from a very young age.
By figuring out your toddler’s tricks that make you pick them up or go running to them, you will be able to turn this negative experience into a positive.
When you create a positive setting and make the toddler believe ideas were theirs first, it will be easier to catch a break during the day.
Set up a daily routine
By getting your toddler on a routine, you will be saving so much stress and hassle in the future. When you practice a daily routine, your toddler will begin to understand the daily schedule.
They will also be able to know what to expect throughout the day. Your child will better know what time frame is mommy and toddler playtime versus independent playtime.
A young child must be provided a structure from an early age. The structure allows him or her to properly understand when his or her parents are available or when he or she is required to play alone.
It also opens up time for your child to express himself or herself so that mommy and daddy may have a much-needed break.
Assign independent tasks
A great way to achieving some much-needed toddler-free time may be to assign the toddler age-appropriate tasks, or chores, for them to complete.
By doing such, you are parenting and providing them with skillful tasks in order for them to learn, but they will also be helping you out.
Your toddler may find it challenging to complete these small, simple tasks in the beginning. Therefore, you may want to start out by having them complete these tasks while you hold them and work your way up to having them complete the task while you are still in the same room.
Once they have mastered the task while you are in the room, have the next step be for your toddler to complete the task while you are in the next room over. You will be able to progress from here and have the distance grown over time.
Focus on your self-care
Above everything else, you must not forget that you are also a person. Yes, you have a very important job of being a parent and ensuring your toddler’s safety. However, you must prioritize your life in order to be sure you get time away from your toddler.
Everyone needs and deserves a break. Therefore, you need to work with your toddler so that they understand this important message. They may want you, but they cannot have you every second of every single day.
You could begin by making small changes such as staying up later or waking up earlier in order to get some alone time prior to your toddler being awake.
By implementing this step into your life may help you work on understanding your self-worth through reflection time or having a special time to do whatever activity interests you.
This time is all about you and what your desires and needs are. By taking a stand for your own mental health, you will be able to work with your toddler better daily in order to get them on a schedule and get them to allow you to sit down and take breaks apart.
Trial and error provide growth
Typically not a single person has every parenting answer. You will need to reach out to family, friends, and maybe even colleagues in order to collect new ideas to test out.
At the end of the day, you must take care of yourself in order to provide the best care for your toddler.
Taking care of yourself means that your toddler must let you sit down and get the appropriate amount of rest.
Learn from experiences
Do not stress about your toddler and their inability to let you sit down. It will be a long process, but you will be able to achieve your end goal together.
You will need to decide the approach and methods you would like for your child to test out and what tips will best fit into your lifestyle.
This process will all depend on you and your child’s will to work as a team in order for you both to maintain a healthy physical and mental state.
You and your toddler will need to work as a team in order to meet your end goal and become stronger as a family. Parenting is very difficult at times, but your toddler still requires your care, and you need to ensure you are taking care of yourself properly.
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