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.

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 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.

If you want your child to develop his/her vocabulary early, experts suggest that gestures would be a great help in doing so.

A child who shows more gestures at an early age will eventually have stronger vocabulary/language skills later on. Researchers said that most of the children who have strong language skills belong to the priviledged family. Those children who are less priviledge usually have limited words or vocabularies.

Why? Probably, one of the main reasons for this is that families who are well-off have more objects that the child can see including toys, furnitures, and alike. These things provide the parents bigger opportunities in showing gestures that their children would imitate.

However, whether you have a place filled with stuff or not (and whether you believe the said research or not), the child-parent communication is still the main influence in your child’s mental development.

Do you have other ways in improving your child’s vocabulary?

Like adults, toddlers too can get bored. Some parents think that this is the main reason why they throw tantrums. So instead of doing the same old activities why not try something new and give your kids  a great day!

Toddlers love to eat sweets.  But instead of simply getting them a cookie or two in the bakery, why not bake it with them instead? They would surely enjoy being your helper in the kitchen and would appreciate the delights even more.

Feeling adventurous? How about camping right in your own backyard? Turn your backyard into a real camping venue and start cooking those hot smores. Don’t forget to tell your favorite horror stories to your little ones to make the activity more exciting.