Rachel Waddilove - The Toddler Book: How to Enjoy Your Growing Child

I am indebted to Dr Hazel Curtis, Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, for her very helpful input, her thoughtful suggestions, and the time she gave to reading the manuscript and writing the Foreword. My thanks also go to my lovely assistant Naomi; I really couldnt have done this without you. Your computer skills are amazing, and you are so unflappable and great fun to work with. You calmed me down when I felt the deadline was looming and I still had loads to do. You have always been there for me on the end of the phone just when I needed you. Thanks also to all who have looked after my great-niece Anya to enable Naomi to work with me, especially Rosie.

To all the families Ive worked for: thank you for having me into your homes and allowing me the privilege of looking after your babies and children. You have given me so much valuable experience and support in writing. Thank you to all of the parents who wrote letters that gave me snippets of wisdom for this book. I would like also to say a big thank you to those parents who have helped me by giving me ideas and inviting me to come back to look after their second, third and fourth babies. This has given me renewed experience in watching toddlers grow and develop in todays world. It is always a joy to live and work in a home where parents have laid down the important foundations in the early months and the children are happy, secure and well behaved because they know where the boundary lines are.

All of my family have given me great support in writing, once again, and Id particularly like to thank my daughter Sarah for her insight into life as a busy mum; also my sister Heather for inspiring me to write about the place of peace and contemplation in little ones lives. Thank you to all at Lion Hudson for encouraging me to write another book and for your help and support throughout. Its been a pleasure to work with Morag Reeve on both books, and I shall miss you as you move to pastures new.

Last but not least, my dear husband John: I couldnt have written this book without your support. Thank you, darling, for all your patience with me as Ive spent hours in front of my computer, and sometimes forgotten you were around. Thank you too for keeping the house and garden up and running, and for all your practical help. Youve encouraged me again to keep on going.

Rachels book tackles the complexity and challenge of bringing up toddlers in the twenty-first century. It will help you to understand and nurture your childs physical, emotional and spiritual development. However, it also considers the needs of parents, seeking to help you to juggle the demands and pressures of our frenetic culture, while still enjoying being the mum or dad of a lively toddler. The book is written with a real warmth and an encouraging, practical style, drawing upon Rachels wealth of experience, gained over many years as a nursery nurse, mother and grandmother and now as a consultant working one-to-one with families.

This book is a treasure trove of information, addressing all aspects of child care and development, including the common problem areas, such as behaviour, sleep and feeding. It offers practical ideas and strategies for handling difficult issues, such as ten top tips for sleeping, and the importance of family mealtimes. The controversial issues are discussed thoughtfully, including the importance of disciplining in a loving, nurturing and consistent way, so that the toddler will be more ready to cope with the wider world of nursery, school and beyond.

I was delighted to see lots of information on play and the top ten toys for the toddler years (DVDs dont make it into the top ten!). Play is an important part of parenting and helps to lay the foundations for so many aspects of development including language, social skills, creativity and imagination. It is all too easy to be busy, yet play is an important opportunity to just enjoy being together and having fun!

Another valuable part of this book is its emphasis upon nurturing the emotional and spiritual sides of your toddler as well as his or her physical needs. Children thrive on knowing how precious they are and that they are deeply and unconditionally loved. Young children may not fully understand when we say I love you, but actions so often speak louder than words.

Rachel acknowledges that there are times when we dont get it right and feel that we are failures, but she also offers hope, reminding us that there is always the chance to start again the next day. Her book will help you to look at the many facets of parenthood, providing inspiration in the midst of the challenges of life with your toddler, whose independence is emerging.

Hazel Curtis

Consultant Paediatrician, Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust

Lead Clinician for Honeylands Child Development Centre

Aims of This Book

When my publishers suggested I write another book, I wondered how different it might be from The Baby Book . As I have spent time thinking through what parents want to know when bringing up their children, I feel that parenting during the toddler years can be just as much a minefield as caring for a newborn baby.

During the first year of our babys life we will probably have had all sorts of ups and downs and coped pretty well, and we may think it is easy from now onwards. Once we pass into the second year of our childs life, we may feel we have got it all worked out, and then friends say Just wait and see, the terrible twos! Some parents have seen such awful behaviour in their friends children that they dread the toddler years, but it doesnt need to be like that. In my experience each stage is precious and exciting as our children do new things, and despite the challenges of the toddler years they also seem to pass very quickly, especially when we look back.