July 22, 2019

Anyone who has had to carry and lull a hysterical toddler to sleep for more than an hour, repeatedly, every single day, knows that the cuteness and the beady adorable eyes soon loses its appeal after the first six months. That moment when you’re rocking that screaming toddler, not knowing what to do – taking into consideration so many factors: unsure whether the child is hungry, going through another teething moment, is in a wet diaper or napkin, or just had a bad dream, and so forth – is one of the most torturing experiences any adult may be obliged to endure in a lifetime. But in acknowledgement of all those sleepless nights and throbbing headaches, here are some super simple tips to get you started off on the right track. Aspiring and planning parents, newbies to parenthood, and grandparents mentoring two soon-to-be parents; this is for you:

Control the feeding content, quantity and frequency

Jumping straight into it, the feeding habits for a young infant within the initial two years of development, reciprocates into an ease and orderly upbringing of the child.

According to Dr. David Benton (Department of Psychology at the University of Swansea in Wales), “In developing countries, there is consistent evidence that the adequacy of diet has lasting implications for cognitive development…In industrialized countries…a few well-designed studies have reported that [varied amounts of] multivitamins and mineral supplementations influence anti-social behaviour and intelligence.”
(Benton, The Influence of Dietary Status on the Cognitive Performance of Children, 2010)

Furthermore, a book entitled Child Guidance by Ellen White, published in 1954, states ‘The importance of training children to right dietetic habits can hardly be overestimated. The little ones need to learn that they eat to live, not live to eat. The training should begin with the infant in its mother’s arms. The child should be given food only at regular intervals, and less frequently as it grows older…Care and regularity in the feeding habits of infants will not only promote health, and thus tend to make them quiet and sweet-tempered, but will lay the foundation of habits that will be a blessing to [children] in the after years.’
(White, Child Guidance, 1954: p. 379)

24/7 Monitoring of the company and location of the child

A few tips from personal experience: young infants and toddlers (right up to the tender age of 6 – 8 years) are vulnerable and easy targets for abuse and mistreatment; be vigilant as to their whereabouts 24/7; who is with them, and who carries or minds them – every single moment of the day.

Better be alert now for the primary stage of their lives and avoid all sorts of nonsense; than wait until they are young adults to hear about their traumatic childhood experience of molestation, or being physically abused by close relatives and friends.

Additionally, teach young toddlers to be self-occupied with appropriate toys, books, or being left to lie down or in a pram for short periods of time. This allows you to have extra fractions of time to do certain tasks while caring for them. But also, avoid isolating the child or negligence for long periods of time. This does not develop healthy emotional characteristics for your child. Also, avoid exposing your young child to excessive or readily available media devices, such as television, computers, smartphones, and other handheld devices.

I find it immature to hear countless parents boasting that their two or three-year-old can open up YouTube and search for ‘Pep pa Pig’ or ‘Shaun the Sheep’ all by their little selves.
With the recent ‘Mo mo will kill you’ episode that unfolded and traumatized thousands of neglected children worldwide, I think there is sufficient reasons as to why parents and guardians should be extra careful around unattended media and ignorance concerning our child’s entertainment. Also, with recent shocking investigations into Netflix child pornography, extra precautions need to be made with young children and entertainment media.

In conclusion, a lot of concerned parents would agree with me that not all so-called children’s shows are innocent and beneficially applicable for their developing toddlers and children.

Hope this information is beneficial to you, and as usual, I appeal to you my blogging kings and queens, drop some feedback  in the comments; or even email us and help us bring you BIG LIFE topics which stimulate awareness and learning.