Don’t let the child graze on snacks the whole time you’re watching them. They still need to eat three regular meals a day, with two snacks in between. Talk to the parents if you’re not sure what or how much to feed them. [3] X Expert Source Andrea Rudominer, MD, MPHBoard Certified Pediatrician & Integrative Medicine Doctor Expert Interview. 6 May 2020. Do not feed the child anything they are allergic to. Their parents should tell you beforehand if they are allergic to anything. Make sure that the snacks are not too big that they could choke on, nor too small that they could swallow without chewing it. If the parents don’t mention anything about allergies, ask them about it. Because of their limited experiences, toddlers sometimes mistake boredom or sadness for hunger. To determine whether a toddler is genuinely hungry or mistaken, entertain them. If they forget about food, then they were just bored, but if they keep demanding food, then they’re genuinely hungry.
Signs that a toddler needs to use the bathroom include holding their privates (if they need to pee) or their butt (if they need to poop). Being squirmy or distracted can also be a sign, though it’s not a given, since many toddlers are naturally squirmy with short attention spans.
Be prepared to change games multiple times. Kids at that age have a very short attention span.
Another option is to run around and be crazy with them, but this should be done strategically. You have to spend hours doing this if you’re going to do it before putting them down for bed. Doing just a little bit of crazy play before bed makes them more hyper. Doing a lot for an extended period of time will make them hyper very briefly before they just collapse from exhaustion. Bring out your artistic side. Color with crayons. Ask the kid to draw a picture of their family, pet, or their favorite toy. They will enjoy telling you about the things that they like. You can also give the child building bricks or blocks. Help them learn to build different kinds of towers and knock them down, or he or she may act upset if it falls down, but just help them, a little, to build it again.
Show pictures in a book that has pictures of farm or zoo animals. Say, “Do you see the doggy? I see the doggy! Where’s the horse? There’s the horse!” Kids love to show what they know, and will soon be pointing them out to you. Describe an animal and ask what sound it makes. Examples could be cows, horses, and pigs. Start being a little bit silly. Make animal sounds or noises for any books with animals. Get the child to make the sounds too.
Call-out the color when you put one in a group and when the child puts one in, or takes one, or works with them or messes up a pile.
If there is only one toy, they’ll stick with it until they get bored, and you can hand them another one, but later offer 2 or 3 related toys because sometimes they tend to play with more than one toy at a time.
You can show hurt feelings from a child’s actions or words, however. Realize that though they may say anything, they usually don’t mean it (since many toddlers like trying to shock adults), and they usually get over it very quickly. Just pretend shock, giggle and chuckle at their smarting off or their cute actions, they should cooperate (better than if you were to have a war of wills and serious words). Happily explain what you really mean, in a gentle way, but don’t be surprised that they make a game of touching things and looking at you to see how you react, just say “no-no”. Try to give an alternative activity.
Don’t bring up their parent if they don’t though. That will only upset them. [14] X Research source You can also try singing them lullabies and rock them on a rocking chair.
