IS YOUR TODDLER NORMAL?
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
You decide to give your toddler a little independence and briefly look away, only to realise he is doing a nudie run in front of your in-laws, on top of him laughing hysterically while peeing on the tree at daycare, rather than using the toilet.
Suddenly you start to wonder if you are breeding a truly crazy kid! In reality, your toddler is most likely to be well-adjusted, imaginative and normal. It is typical toddler behaviour to sometimes act in a really bizarre manner. The exception to the rule is if the behaviour persists beyond the toddler years or is highly repetitive, or fixated.
LET THEM BE WILD
Don’t panic! Toddlers doing these crazy things doesn’t indicate future deviance, disturbance or exhibitionism. Unless your toddler is fixated, obsessed or too repetitive in her strange behaviour, there is not a huge area for concern. As toddlers develop, your aim should be to teach, not discipline. They need calm, consistent guidance and teaching as to what is acceptable and polite and what is not. Try to give greater attention to good behaviour and remember some of her wackier activities so you can include it in the 21st speech!
LIVE IN THE MOMENT!
You’ve probably experienced some epic tantrums or meltdowns from your toddler and it’s all part of their development (believe it or not). There might not be any ways around it – but you can ease them. Time has no meaning for toddlers; whatever they are doing right now is all they’re thinking about. So when you say, ‘You have five more minutes until we leave,’ they cannot comprehend what that means – cue tantrums and tears when you try to enforce it. Sound familiar? Some parents tell their child that when the timer rings, it’s time to change activity. You can always set the time on your phone, too.
EXPLORING THEIR WORLD
Before toddlers develop a social awareness, they are driven by natural curiosity, as well as the thrill of discovering and experimenting. Toddlers generally like reactions, be they good or bad, and they learn by imitating others around them. More curious and adventurous toddlers might lick the dog’s bowl as their dog does, or copy the worst things we say, or want to dress in Mum’s clothes...
WHY DO THEY ACT SO STRANGELY?
The first answer is based in cognitive development – young toddlers live in their right brains, which is not only the non-verbal side of the brain but also the more excitable, impulsive and nonemotional part of the brain. They spend less time in their left brain, which controls impulses and is more verbal and rationally driven. Young and mid-range toddlers don’t have the ability to have a social conscience and appropriate behaviour gradually and slowly, after being taught by adults.