Turning “Terrible” into “Terrific!”

Parenting Technique 69 – Understand the two-year-old mindset and make the most out of it.

Two Years to Three

Now you will see your child has a real sense of self emerging. You will also begin to notice possessiveness about objects and loved ones.

What to do? Set up routines and stick to them as much as possible. Since resisting change is part of your child’s two-year-old stage of development, make the most of it; and stick to the known as much as possible.

You will also notice many new skills and abilities and how much pride they will bring to your child.

What to do? Acknowledge as many of your child’s achievements as possible. Just your awareness of noticing all that your child can do will help him or her have an increased sense of self-esteem.

Great news is that your child will begin to recognize the uniqueness of his or her own family.

What to do? Interact with family members as much as possible. Being in their company will help your child to feel like a valuable member of the family.

Constructive Parenting…

Developing relationships with family members will help your child feel proud of him or herself, unique, important, and valued.

Craft Idea: Make a family book. Design this one as you wish. The important point is to collect family photographs and label each family member with large, clear letters. Examples are: Mommy, Daddy, Jennifer, Sean, Grandma, Grandpa, etc. The family could be as small as two or as large as twenty. The size does not matter. What is important is the concept.

August! The Month of Dignity

You can enrich this new awareness of family by providing a dignified approach to your family house. Here the focus can be on exploring different items found in your home.

Turn the idea into a play activity. First think of an object in the same room where you are. Then describe that object to your child. Mention the size, the color, the shape, and any other distinguishing characteristics. Then ask your child to bring it to you. Next ask for other objects in a similar way.

When and if your child is ready, expand your game to include objects in other rooms. What fun you will both have collecting various objects from around the house. After you have received all of your requested objects, describe the objects again one by one for your child to return to their proper places.

Tip 69 has been adapted from the information in Constructive Parenting by Sally Goldberg, pp. 73-74

NOTE: For the next set of tips, I will continue to describe effective ways to foster social development at different ages and stages. This series on social skills will go on all the way up to age five.

Subscribe to Tips

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *