Pinky McKay - Toddler Tactics

Penguin Books

PENGUIN BOOKS

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First published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2008

Text copyright Pinky McKay 2008

The moral right of the author has been asserted

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penguin.com.au

978-1-74228-241-1

Because children come in both genders, I have alternated the terms he and she throughout this book no sexism intended. Boys and girls have equal ability to challenge and delight their parents.

Do you:

Automatically tie your shoelaces in double knots?

Ever pour your coffee into a sippy cup?

Cover your fridge with neo-preschooler art?

Point out horsies and moo-cows when you go for a drive any drive, anywhere, regardless of who is in the car with you?

Collect empty cereal boxes and margarine containers?

Appreciate dandelions without stems as much as long-stemmed roses?

Snap to attention whenever you hear a child cry, Mummy!?

Know that adults can function on a lot less than eight hours sleep?

Feel absolutely certain your child is the most wonderful, fascinating, unique little person in the entire universe (at least, most of the time)?

If you answered yes to two or more of these questions, Toddler Tactics is for you. Being the parent of a toddler can be exciting, exhilarating and exhausting all at once! Your biddable baby has now become a moving, grooving tot with attitude, and all the changes that this entails can be confusing to you and your child. You are faced with issues such as discipline (what happens when your child discovers that no is the most powerful word in his vocabulary?), eating (does tomato sauce count as a vegetable?), learning, teaching social skills, and trying to get enough sleep to keep up with your little dynamo.

Words such as hurry and tidy are meaningless to a toddler, yet we live in a fast-paced world that demands so much from us that frustration can be the order of most days: we are bombarded by pressure to be perfect parents to have a well-behaved child who will comply as we race him from one educational activity to another lest he fail to achieve his academic potential when he reaches school age. When our tasks mount, it can be very tempting to simply pop on a DVD, especially if the manufacturers claim it will make your child smarter. But then taking the easy way (read, plonking him in front of the small screen) is sure to stir up guilty feelings that you may be letting your child down if you arent an all-dancing, all-gluing entertainment coordinator.

Relax! Toddler Tactics will help you banish your performance anxiety and find the terrific in your toddler.

Toddler Tactics offers a simple, fuss-free approach to enjoying and enhancing this magical stage of development. As the name suggests, Toddler Tactics is packed with practical strategies that you can use right now to overcome the inevitable challenges of living with a little person who is discovering the world and how it revolves around him (or not). Ill show how you can unleash your childs natural potential to be happy, bright and sociable without too many tears and tantrums (for you or your child!).

As well as offering practical strategies to encourage optimal development and cooperation without thwarting your childs innate spirit and sense of discovery, Toddler Tactics encourages you to be kind to yourself as you share this amazing journey with your child. Most importantly, remember to laugh lots after all, it is very difficult to yell and laugh at the same time. And on some days (like when your child helps by painting the new car/bathroom/cat/neighbours child), if you dont laugh, you may well feel like crying!