Preparing the Home for a Walking Toddler
It’s a little miracle when Baby starts walking! Your little person is now mobile, and she will be eager to start exploring her surroundings. Not only does she have two little legs to take her wherever she wants, but she also has two tiny hands that she will want to use just as much. How can parents prepare the home for their walking toddler?
Early childhood development expert, Jeanne-Marie Paynel of Voila Montessori, advises parents to encourage the curious and explorative nature of the newly-walking toddler, as this is a crucial time for young children to develop intelligence and trust in their own abilities.
Give Toddlers Safe Places to Explore
Paynel advises parents to build an environment where they can turn their backs for a little bit and not have to worry about whether or not their child will get into a something dangerous. Every room should have an area that a toddler can explore freely.
For instance, toddlers love opening cabinets and cupboards and discovering what’s inside. In the kitchen, move your breakable items and cleaners to higher cabinets, and make sure that the cabinets they can get into are filled with safe items with which they can play. Items like Tupperware and light pots and pans are great for this. Your child will enjoy countless hours taking everything out of those cabinets and putting them back in.
Let Toddlers Do Things for Themselves
Toddlers are just discovering their own independence, so they will want to do things on their own. Parents, go ahead and give those tiny hands some work to do! Trust them to carry small cups and plates to the table. When they spill (which they will), let them clean it up. In the bathroom, give toddlers a stool so they can step up to the sink without your help.
Other Tasks Kids Can Perform at 18 mo-3 years
- Turn off light switches when being carried
- Carry in the newspaper or mail
- Pick up toys and clothes
- Feed the pet
- Wake up siblings
- Help with food preparation
- Take clothes out of the drier
“I really try to set up a place where [toddlers] feel they can do it for themselves,” says Paynel. “And that is so important in human development, that feeling of “I can do it for myself.”
Simplify Tasks for Toddlers
Everyone needs training to do a job well, and the same goes for toddlers. Remember, everything is new for kids at this age! They will be excited to learn how to do everything from pulling up their socks to using the bathroom on their own. The key to teaching young children basic tasks is to simplify.
Tips for Training Toddlers
- Cut down the number of steps to the fewest possible.
- Get down on their level when you show them what to do.
- Tell them what you’re going to do first; then show them what to do. Tell and show separately.
- Model the task for them slowly.
It may take a while for a child to learn to do something, so it’s important for parents to be patient and let them learn at their own pace. After a young child learns how to do something successfully, he may want to do it over and over again. This is a good thing. Repetition is good for concentration and brain development.
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Paynel adds, “It may not get done as fast as it would if you did it, but the benefit that you are giving that child by taking a step back and just watching them discover what they can do is a beauty.”
The ages of 1-3 are a wondrous time for both parent and child. Ease the transition to walking toddler-dom by creating a safe environment for your young child to explore, and by encouraging learning and independence.
by Pamela Laney
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Jeanne-Marie Paynel has a Masters degree in early childhood development, specializing in the ages 0-6 and is an accredited Montessori teacher. As a guide and home consultant through her company Voila Montessori, Paynel works with individual families to assess and improve the home environment to best support children through their different developmental stages.
“Montessori is not the only truth,” Jeanne-Marie explains. “but I do believe in the Montessori philosophy as a way of life and know from first-hand experience that it can work for any family that takes the time to understand it and apply it.”