5 Things I Want to Help My Audience With

My blog exists to help toddler moms find fun, stress-free, and yet effective activities to teach and connect with their children. One of the most common questions I hear is, “What should I be teaching my toddler at home?” We wonder if we should already be teaching them to read. We see toddler arts and crafts activities on the internet that are so complicated, and we worry that our kids will miss out if we don’t do them.

But we’re juggling so much at the same time. It takes so much energy and patience just to get through each day. How can we get everything done? In the first place, is everything on our to-do list really necessary? That’s why I started this blog.

#1 – Empower moms with skills for learning through play activities at home

To be effective and enjoyable, activities must be appropriate for your child’s development. Too often I see guides on the internet that are too complicated. Make a headdress in the shape of an animal. Make pasta of different colors, and paste them to form a work of art. Mom gets excited and prepares the materials, only to get frustrated when her child doesn’t “get” the activity and just mixes everything.

These may be excellent activities for older kids. but we should not expect that toddlers will be able to produce the same results. In this site, I’ll talk about what is developmentally appropriate for kids from around the time of their first birthday, to around the time that they turn three. We’ll use an understanding of child development to be able to enjoy stress free yet high yield play activities.

#2 – Provide easy to follow guides and lessons to make learning fun

We want to make learning fun, not just for our kids, but for us moms too! It’s no fun for mom to stay up late after everyone else is asleep, just because we feel pressured to prepare for tomorrow’s activities. It’s no fun for baby to feel our disappointment when he just doesn’t get what he’s supposed to do. Too often, we forget to just let kids be kids. We fill their days with structured activities and lesson plans.

I give you permission to ignore all the noise. Ignore these complicated guides that only make us feel inadequate. Our method for learning through play is fuss free, mom-friendly, and perfect for your toddler’s developmental stage. I’ll also talk about what is important to focus on, so you can rest assured that you are not missing out on anything.

#3 – Recommend only the best practices for toddler parenting

It is my mission to help you turn the terrible two’s into the terrific two’s. All our learning through play activities are based on positive discipline. From both my personal and professional experience as well as my research, positive discipline techniques are the most effective parenting practices.

There are many misconceptions about positive parenting that I would like to correct. I’ve heard people say that it makes kids spoiled, or it gives kids too much freedom, or it’s only applicable in certain cultures. However, I notice that these comments come from a misunderstanding of what is positive discipline. Research actually shows that the authoritative parenting that results from positive discipline techniques actually produces the best results.

#4 – Help moms instill confidence in their children

During the toddler years, psychologist Erik Erikson says that the main challenge is autonomy vs doubt. This is the age where kids start to learn whether they will become confident, or whether they will keep doubting their abilities. I will write about how to give your child age-appropriate independence. As she goes through challenges that she can overcome, she learns that she is capable. She develops what is the goal in this stage: the virtue of will.

This age is also the critical period for brain development. At this age, your child’s brain continues developing very fast, as it did while you were pregnant with her, and when she was a baby. Your child forms connections that set the stage for how she will think and feel later in life.

We often worry about whether our child learns things like letters and numbers. But in reality, it is even more important for kids to learn emotional regulation. It’s hard not to be frustrated when your toddler has thrown his tenth tantrum of the day. But there are things we can do to help prevent them. There are also things we can do to help our kids learn how to deal with these big emotions.

#5 – Write a weekly blog post just for mom too

At the start of every plane ride, the flight attendant always emphasizes, “In the event of an emergency, put on your own mask first before putting on your child’s mask.” This is important because if you don’t get to put on your mask, how will your child survive even if she has her mask on?

The same thing goes with toddler mom life. We can talk all we want about toddler development or positive discipline. But at the end of the day, to be able to apply these things, mom needs to be okay. For young kids, emotional regulation is done through what we call “co-regulation”. This means that they need the consistent support of a loving caregiver. They need us to be present with them. And we can’t do that if we’re not okay.

So I’ll also include resources on self care for moms. I’ll also tackle productivity, because toddler moms always have a to-do list that is as long as a series on Netflix. We won’t be able to focus if so many pending matters are running through our head. We’ll have tools to help organize our lives so we can focus on the most important things, such as connecting with our kids. This is a struggle for me too, and I’ll keep trying actionable solutions and share them here.

Finally, parenting doesn’t happen in a vacuum. When it comes to dealing with relatives and other members of the family, I often just hear simplistic statements such as, “My kid, my rules.” But that is not always the case for everyone. In reality, not all moms will have the confidence to stand in the face of criticism and shut it all out. So for the rest of us, I’ll also have articles on toddler parenting in the context of family and community.

What’s Next?

Head over to the blog and read about whatever is your most pressing need at the moment. Download our freebies to help you get started. Let me know too in the comments if this blog helps you, or if there is anything you need help with. This is your mom tribe, efficient mommy!