Lying is common in toddlers so don’t fret if you heard your tots lying about the soap, the mess, or the cake. More often than not, children below the age of three are oblivious to the fact that they are already lying.  Since they are still starting to express themselves or build words and sentences, their response would actually depend on the grownup’s body language and tone when talking to them.

Toddlers lie not because they do not want to get in trouble. Believe or not, here are the main reasons why they lie to you.

1. They think that lying is funny and they would get funny reactions from you when they lie
2. They simply want to play with you
3. They are jealous especially if they have younger sibling who gets the most attention

But then again, lying can sometimes be a form of anxiety or a sign of child depression.

Have you caught your toddler lying?

Here are some tips that would guide you in taking proper care of your little one’s teeth.

• Don’t use toothbrush just yet when the first tooth appears. Instead, use water and a soft cloth to clean it.
• There are toothbrushes that are made specially for kids. Choose the brush that has soft bristles and let your child choose the design he likes most. This kind of toothbrush can be used as soon as the child already has 8 teeth.
• Use only non-flouride toothpaste if your child does not know how to spit yet.
• To make it fun and to teach your child the proper way of brushing teeth, do this together everyday. Brushing teeth can be a family activity too!
• Take advantage of the reading materials that teaches child proper brushing and mouth hygiene.

By the time that your infant already knows how to climb the rails of his crib, you now have a perfect reason to your husband why you should get your child a toddler bed. A toddler bed is also advisable if your child’s height is 36 inches already.

But there are other alternatives to toddler bed if you do not want to move your kid yet. This includes the crib tent which could prevent your child from falling. However, the crib tents are not really recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. If in case an accident or an emergency happens, you would not easily get your child out of the crib.

Common mistakes and frustration in potty training happens when a parent keeps on insisting that his child is ready to take of his diapers. That is why it is necessary that before you start teaching your child how to use the potty, you must look at the signs that they are prepared to take this step.

1. Your child already knows how to follow directions and knows how to cooperate
2. Soiled or dirty diapers make your tots feel uncomfortable
3. They can’t wait to have their diapers changed
4. The child gives signs (such as facial expressions or calling you) if he wants to  pee or poop
5. Asks if he can use the potty chair

Before training your child, see to it that you have all the vital materials needed for this training such as a potty chair, videos he can watch, or books about potty training that you can read to the child.

If you think that you have already done everything and yet your child keeps on resisting to learn potty training, then give your child and you a break.

For a few weeks or a month, stop teaching your child how to do the potty. This allows you to prevent your kid to think of potty training as a stressful activity. But this doesn’t mean that you would stop the whole process. During the break, tell your child stories about potty training or let him watch videos that teach the importance of using the potty.

At the same time, you can show your kid how to do it the right way by going to the toilet with him.

It’s not easy to train a child to use the potty. But it will be harder if you do the common mistakes in potty training just like teaching your child even if he is not yet ready.

• Teaching your child to use the potty during very stressful time in his life (new baby in the family or you just moved to a new place)
• Pushing your child to learn when he is not really interested.
• Giving punishments or nagging to your child whenever he made an accident
• Using the same potty training methods to all your kids
• Expecting a fast improvement in your kid’s training
• Not realizing that bed wetting can still happen even after the kid learns how to use the potty

Your child will surely get over this soothing-technique during the night by the time he turned 4 or 5 years old. However, if you are still troubled with your child’s head banging is becoming more and more frequent, then here are some of the things that you can do to help them get over this habit.

Do not nag your child just because you feel frustrated whenever he bangs his head. This would not help at all but may even worsen his habit.

Have a different routine before your child sleeps such as reading stories, singing lullabyes, etc.

Give your child a different comfort-thing like stuff toys or little blankets.

The sleeping routines must be followed strictly and you should imply it consistently during your child’s nap time or sleeping time.

Head banging usually occurs in most toddlers during the night. Even though this can be very distressing for the parents, this practice is actually considered normal. It is considered as one of the sleeping disorders like night terrors or sleep walking.

Infants and toddlers bang their head during the night or when they wake up during the wee hours of the morning in order to help them sleep.  Sometimes, it is also compared to other soothing techniques before bedtime including thumb sucking or even pulling their hair.

More often than not, head banging stops by the time your child reaches four years old. But experts said that if a child does head banging day and night, it can be a sign of neurological disorder like autism.

When your child vomits or has diarrhea, there’s no need to have him confined at the hospital so that doctors could check on him every now and then. Unless the vomiting and the diarrhea is not severe, there are several treatments that you can do at home without spending so much for the medical bill.

Instead of making your child drink juice, water, or sometimes Gatorade, let him have an Oral Rehydration Solution instead. The most popular child-friendly ORS is Pedialyte. But you can also give your child Enfalyte or Liquilyte as well.

Don’t give your child too much water if he frequently vomits. Instead, let your child drink when he wants. Increase the amount gradually as his condition improves.

Continue feeding them breastmilk or formula milk. Stop giving them drinks with too much sugar such as fruit drinks or carbonated drinks.

When thinking about “ground rules”, parents think that it only becomes necessary when their children reach puberty. But because you think about the safety (and sometimes a form of guidance as well) of your infants and toddlers, you start to set limits at an early age.

If you want your toddlers to understand their limits, you must make the rule very clear. Talk to your tots like a grown up. Don’t just spank them if they would pull your hair or play with their milk. Instead, pull them away from you or simply put them down and tell that you would not play with them again unless they stop doing these acts.

You must also make sure that you stay very consistent with your rules or else they would grow up believing that they can break it anytime they want to.