Get Toddlers Involved
Raising good little humans can start very young. From as little as 1 year old, Munchkin wanted to help around the house and by letting him help, we feel we are raising a well rounded human and giving him the skills to succeed from an early age. Its very simple to include them in little tasks to get toddlers involved and build their life skills.
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Grub’s up
Giving Munchkin access to snack choices and letting him select from breakfast options supports developing his independence with free choice, which aligns with our Montessori style of parenting. Similarly, by letting him help with dinner preparation, whether that be cutting up some vegetables with a child safe knife, or letting him mix on the hob, we feel we are building those skills he will need in the future and his interest in what he’s eating and where it comes from.
Shop shop away
Another simple way to get toddler involved is at the shops, or when the delivery arrives. Let them select a snack, or what vegetable to have with a meal to include them, then get them to help put it all away too. This is good for language too as Munchkin will ask when he doesn’t know what something is, learning along the way.
Wash, splosh and scrub.
Adults generally hate doing the washing and unloading the dishwasher, but toddlers seem to love it. Let them sort through the clean washing, and pass it to be hung out to dry, or give them the ultimate trust of unloading the dishwasher, passing cultery and plates to you to put away. Similarly, toddlers love to get involved in a little cleaning, as much as they do a poor job, but it helps them feel part of the family team.
Out and about
For me, teaching life skills out and about, is just about telling them everything to understand the world. From what a wind turbine is, to how a shop operates, to why we need petrol for the car, I just tell him everything, all the time.
The most important of these being crossing the road. I would tell Munchkin to stop, and look left and right even when he was just a little 6 month old on the way to rhyme time and I’ve never stopped since in the hope it’ll be drilled in for when he one day ventures out alone (eek!).
Cash talk
With less physical cash out there, due to easy contactless payments and of course, Covid-19, its useful to talk about money when its spent as otherwise he doesn’t really see it. We do this by showing him money when we do come across it, and explaining what it means when we beep our cards. When Munchkin is old enough we will also set up his own pocket money bank account such as a Starling kids account (available from age 6) or prepaid card so he can learn to spend or save his own pocket money.
Thanks for reading,
Daddy and Munchkin
