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How to Teach Your Child to Regulate Emotions

Posted on by The Modern Christian Mom

We have emotions all the time. Whether we are happy, sad, angry, excited, nervous, etc. we have them, and so do our children. Children do not naturally know how to regulate emotions, and most tantrums are simply the inability to regulate their emotions. One of the most important things we can do is give our children the tools to regulate their emotions properly.

1) Let it out.

Do you ever hold back your emotions until you just can’t anymore and explode? That’s not a healthy way to regulate emotions. We need to show our children it’s okay to be emotional. Don’t punish your child for just having a temper tantrum. Encourage them when they are happy. Let them see you be emotional.

2) Name the emotion.

Children don’t know what they are feeling. When we see them showing emotions we need to tell them what they are feeling. Here are some examples on how doing this would look:

  • You’re such a happy baby!
  • I see you are angry
  • I know you are nervous
  • It’s okay to be sad
  • Yes, it is exciting!

3) Show Empathy

Children model our behavior. Not only do they learn empathy when we show it to them, but it shows them that we care. An example of showing empathy would be, “Ouch! I know that hurt. I’m sorry it hurt when you fell down.”

4) Redirect inappropriate behavior

If when your child is sad or angry throws things or does any other inappropriate behavior we need to redirect them. I would not discipline them as they are not in the right state of mind. If you have previously set boundaries where they are not to do this behavior I would follow through with disciplining after they are calmed down. Disciplining a child in this state would only escalate the situation. Ways to redirect them would be offering a pillow to scream in, allowing them to run in a safe area to do so, offering a soothing toy, etc.

5) Give tools to control anger

Anger is a very powerful emotion that often leads to misbehavior. It is very important to give them tools to control their anger. Teach them to get to the bottom of their anger and express it. Give them ways to release their anger. Redirection is a huge tool here.

6) Teach them to set boundaries

Just as we set boundaries, our children need to be able to set boundaries for themselves. For example:

Julie’s sister, Clair, keeps borrowing shirts and returning them stained. Julie is very upset. Today when Julie returned a shirt stained Julie decided to get revenge and poured red koolaid all over Clair’s favorite white shirt staining it. This could have been prevented if Julie had set boundaries.

Julie set a boundary with her sister Clair stating that if she returned a shirt stained she couldn’t borrow anymore shirts. Today Clair returned a stained shirt. Julie told her she was no longer allowed to borrow her shirts. Clair was upset, but understood.

We should teach our children that setting boundaries is okay and even important. We also need to help enforce our children’s boundaries.

7) Use pretend play

A great way to teach your child how to regulate emotions is to use pretend play while they are not having big emotions. You can use toys to act out scenarios and teach how they should respond and what different emotions are. You can also point out emotions in books.

8) Point out emotions others are having

When your child sees another child showing big emotions let them know what emotion they are having and (if you know) why they are having that emotion, especially if your child caused that emotion. You can also use this as a way to teach empathy.

I hope these tips help you on your adventure with emotions! Subscribe for more!

My Journey Breastfeeding

Posted on by The Modern Christian Mom

When I was pregnant with my son I wanted to breastfeed so bad. I was excited for all the benefits. You’ll lose weight. It will create an amazing bond. Your breast milk will change to best suite the needs of your child. It’s so much cheaper! The benefits sounded amazing. I couldn’t wait till he was out, laying on my chest doing skin to skin, breastfeeding in that first hour. Unfortunately that wasn’t how things went.

My son was born 37 weeks 5 days. A little early, but nothing too serious. The problem came when he was being birth his arm was above his head causing him to come out elbow first. This caused him to be stuck in my birth canal for 5 and 1/2 hours while I pushed. When he was finally out there was no cry. They cut the cord and whisked him away to the corner of the room while I was being stitched up. After what felt like forever, they got him breathing and I got to hear his first cry. I still didn’t get to see him. They took him to NICU and I didn’t see him for the first three hours of his life. I was still determined to breastfeed though.

That night I would be wheeled down to NICU a couple of times to attempt to breastfeed. The next day when he could finally be with me I constantly tried to breastfeed. He lost weight, as expected, and they sent us home. The next day at his pediatrician he had lost more weight. It made me so nervous. She wanted to see him again in two days. He had lost even more weight by the next visit and it was affecting his ability to regulate his temperature. She suggested syringe feeding him formula. We did that and he was maintaining weight, but was still so small he could not regulate his temperature. Several doctors visits and an ER visit later, we ended back in the hospital. It was exactly one week after he’d been born.

I felt like a failure. I blamed myself for not producing enough, but I tried and tried. At the hospital we were up every two hours nursing and giving bottle. I was never able to pump more than three ounces. He got better and we were able to go home after a long week. We both breastfed then formula fed. He refused to take a pacifier and instead I became a human pacifier.

In a few days he will be 17 months. Time has gone so quickly, and he is still on the breast (against my wishes at this point). Here are some pros, cons, and some things I found just not true for me in my breastfeeding journey.

Pros

  • It does create a bond
  • It’s easier to get him to sleep
  • You get the “he’s on the boob I can’t do anything” excuse
  • You are supporting his immune system and he’s less likely to get sick

Cons

  • It creates a love hate relationship (“You only love me for my boobs” “OMG your teeth, they hurt” “Just get off my boob already”)
  • You will be the only one able to get him to sleep (you are literally a human pacifier).
  • You don’t get anything done
  • It can hurt. Dry, cracked, raw nipples are a thing and it sucks.

Things that weren’t true for me

  • It did not help with weight loss at all
  • Formula didn’t make a difference in our budget. Between free samples at the doctors, WIC, and family and friends we did not spend a dime on formula.
  • Nipple confusion wasn’t a thing for my son. Food was food.
  • Pumping isn’t a magical cure all for your supply (and neither are oatmeal cookies).
  • It doesn’t just come naturally or easy

Tips

  • Do what’s best for your baby
  • Look hard at bottles even if you’re planning on breastfeeding. I hated the bottles I got as they were so many pieces. I enjoyed using these Advent Baby Bottles so much more. I got one as a free sample and it was simply my favorite.
  • Look into different types of formula in case you have to use it, and have a back up for that. We tried three different types of formula before finding a right fit. The Gerber Soothe was best on our son’s sensitive stomach.
  • Don’t be ashamed if you can’t breastfeed. Doing what is best for your child makes you an awesome mom.
  • Invest in a Haakaa. Even if you don’t produce a lot, like me, when you are breastfeeding you will leak on the opposite side. Yes this to catch what you leak with ease and put in your child’s next bottle.
  • Invest in a good breast pump. This is the one I had. It was small, portable, and inexpensive. I also liked the bottles that it came with. They were similar to the Advent Baby Bottles.
  • Just like with any other pacifier your child may wean themself off or you may find when you’re ready to stop they’re not.
  • You don’t need expensive breastfeeding shirts. One of the easiest and most concealable things I found to do was wear a tank top and T-shirt. Pull down your tank top, boob out, and your T-shirt up. The tank top covers what’s below the boob, the T-shirt covers what’s above, and your baby’s head covers the boob itself.
  • Do invest in a good bra. Whether it’s a nursing bra or bra that simply snaps in the front like this one.

My journey didn’t go as planned, but I hope yours does. If not that’s okay! Every woman’s journey is different. I hope my experience helps you in your journey. Subscribe and follow for more tips!

Communication is Key

Posted on by The Modern Christian Mom

Communication is the key to life. We learn languages, share on social media, text, email, and call all to communicate something. Communication is key in our marriage, our relationship with God, and all other relationships, including those with our children.

We have all had times where we tried to communicate something and it wasn’t understood the way we intended. My husband and I have had this trouble in the past. I’d ask him to bring me a bottle and he’d bring me an empty bottle with a confused look on his face. I learned quickly I needed to specify which bottle or ask him to fix one if I knew one wasn’t ready. I’ve had other times texting my mom where she’ll call or text “are you mad at me?” Typically the answer is no, and I have to explain my texts were shorter due to being busy.

It is important that we understand what we are communicating with with our children. It is easy for them to misunderstand what we are communicating, even as they grow older. We must be sure to communicate with them as effectively as possible because children learn the majority of their speech, social skills, and ability to regulate their emotions from us. Here’s how to communicate more effectively with your child.

1) No

You may be thinking “No means no. It’s simple!” But when we are constantly saying no without a reason it leads to confusion, temper tantrums, and disobedience. Of course we can’t allow our children to do anything they want, they could get hurt. Some broad reasons we say “no” is because:

  • It harms themselves or others
  • It’s not an appropriate or convenient time
  • It relates to them wanting you to buy something

Let’s go over each of these and better responses than “no” for ages 0-2, 2-4, and 4-6.

It harms themselves or others

  • 0-2: At this age they understand one to three word responses best. I would suggest starting with a firm stop. Then a reason such as ouchie, hurt, or hot. Of course physically prevent them from hurting themselves or others while saying this as it may take a little while for them to understand.
  • 2-4: At this age we can use more words and begin to distinguish between harming themselves and others. For harming themselves I would suggest saying things like that will hurt or that’s hot. For harming others I would suggest things like not nice or that hurts.
  • 4-6: At this age they are beginning to grasp the general concept and it’s time to give more reasons and start asking them questions to help them realize it’s not a good idea. For harming themselves I would suggest statements like the stove is hot and will burn you, that tree limb will break and you’ll fall, etc. Explain simply why it would hurt. For harming others I would ask things like is that a nice thing to do?, how would you feel if that happened to you? Or say statements like that’s not very nice, and that hurts them/me.

It’s not an appropriate or convenient time

  • 0-2: I would suggest sticking to short phrases such as not now or Mommy’s busy
  • 2-4: I would suggest still stick to short phrases, but I would begin to add in more information on how long such as not now in 30 minutes, Mommy’s busy we’ll play in a little bit or let’s wait a little bit
  • 4-6: as with 2-4 year olds we’re just going to add more on such as it’s raining outside, we’ll go play outside when it’s dry or that’s not on the schedule for today how about tomorrow?

It relates to them wanting you to buy something

  • 0-2: I would suggest simple statements such as not today, maybe later, or not now. At this age you’re not giving them much of a reason because they have trouble understand time and object permanence. They may believe once you leave that toy is gone forever. Redirection is a good tool to use here.
  • 2-4: At this age they are more likely to have some context of time, so I would suggest phrases that show you’re listening and care such as maybe we can next week or Christmas/birthday is coming. An idea I’ve seen to show you acknowledge their wants is to take a picture of the item and let them know that y’all can consider getting later.
  • 4-6: At this age they are able to better grasp time, have object permanence down, and are able to begin comprehending costs. If you give your child an allowance or pay them for chores now is a great time to help them see if they can afford to get it themselves and start an appreciation of money and hard work early. You can also build on to phrases we previously discussed.

2) Infants

You have a newborn, now what? They only know how to communicate through one thing: crying. Newborns are like a sponge and will soak up everything you expose them to. The best way to begin communicating with your newborn is to talk. Tell them everything. When you’re changing their diaper walk them through the steps. When you’re walking through the house tell them what things are. When you’re making their bottle let them know. Not only is this going to help them, but it’s going to help your sleep deprived mind keep things straight.

Newborns aren’t going to understand what you’re saying. You have to show them that you love them and will care for them. You do this by cuddling with them, skin to skin, and by meeting their needs. This is going to be your best way of communication with your newborn.

3) Older Children

The older your child gets the more information they are going to want. Your child is going to begin having more emotions and not understanding what they are or how to react. We are to show them by practicing emotional self regulation ourselves.

The older a child gets the more they will rightfully want explanations. Tell your child why this is your decision. Ask them what they think about situations. Include them in decisions that will affect them the best you can. Give them choices you’re ok with. Try to use positive language. The older your child gets the more detail you should give them.

4) Setting Boundaries

Setting boundaries is good for all ages, including yourself. Boundaries are basically a set of rules that may not be broken. To set this I would set the boundary and then a consequence. For example: your daily chores must be done and you do not get screen time until completed.

This doesn’t just apply to kids and chores. You should set boundaries for yourself such as not allowing a person to speak down to you and if they continue you will remove yourself from their life until they change.

5) Consent

Consent is very important. Children need to know it’s okay to decline things. Unless you absolutely have to (I.E. changing diapers) always respect your child’s boundaries. In the example above we talked about having a consequence for not doing chores. If your child decides not to do chores then don’t try to force them, just remind them that means no screen time till they do them.

Do not force your child to hug or kiss someone if they don’t want to. I cannot stress this enough. If you force them to do things like this against their will it could lead them to believe being sexually exploited is okay. It teaches them that what they want isn’t important and that it’s easier just to do as told.

6) Anger

We all get angry and loose our cool. It can happen to us or our kids. Let’s say it happens; you loose it. You snapped and yelled at your kids. Now what? We are going to apologize by acknowledging we yelled, explain why we yelled, say sorry for yelling, and tell them how we can fix this going forward. Here’s what it would look like:

I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I was very angry that you made such a big mess. Today has been a bad day for me. I’m sorry, next time I will walk away and take a deep breath. Can you try not to make a big mess next time? It will help me not to become angry.

Of course we will make it simpler or give more description depending on the age of the child.

It’s ok for you and your child to become angry. When your child becomes angry we need to help them recognize the feeling they are having, why they are having that feeling, and how to release that anger in a healthy manner. For example:

I see you are angry that you can’t have screen time until your chores are done. It’s ok to be angry. Would you like to scream into this pillow?

There are many ways to help channel anger such as screaming into a pillow, exercise, or using sensory bottles.

I hope these tips help you communicate better. Please subscribe and follow for more!

Six Steps to Discipline

Posted on by The Modern Christian Mom

Children no matter the age aren’t always going to obey you. There is no easy way to handle these situations, but these are the first six steps that have helped me with not only with my child, but in the classroom.

1) Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement is the first step to discipline your child. Anytime, for any good behavior you notice, it is important to let them know that what they are doing is good.

One of the most common reasons children misbehave is to gain attention. This accounts for the majority of their disobedience. When you use positive reinforcement your child is learning that being good is how to get attention.

2) Redirection

Redirection is exactly as it sounds. You redirect their attention to something else. For example your child wants to pull your ornaments off the Christmas tree, show them some kid friendly Christmas options such as this manger scene or the Christmas tree.

This can work in so many situations, but not 100% time. Sometimes we have to learn to ignore it, which brings me to the next point.

3) Pick your Battles

If you’re like me you would doing just about anything to stop your child’s temper tantrum, especially in public. What we need to do is nothing. As long as your child isn’t a danger to themself or others ignore them.

Acknowledge their feelings, “I understand you’re having big feelings, but this kind of behavior is not going to get you what you want.” Then proceed to ignore the temper tantrum. Let them scream and throw a fit. They will learn this kind of behavior does not get them attention or what they want. This is also why positive reinforcement is important. With these two things your child will dramatically reduce their bad behavior.

4) Natural Consequences

This goes alongs with our last post. Some things there’s no point wasting time arguing over. For example, it’s cold outside and your child doesn’t want to wear their coat. Let them go without their coat. They will be cold as consequence, and will realize when you ask things of them you have their best interest in mind.

Other examples would be if you had a rule that A,B, and C had to be done before screen time. If they don’t do those tasks or wait till later theirs no screen time. Always discuss things like this in terms your child will understand.

5) Time Outs

I find this is the best option when your child is insistent on doing something that will harm themself or others. If your child is trying to stick things in the plug in or bite someone and you’ve tried all of the above it’s time for time out.

When you put your child in time out the time it needs to be based off of how old your child is. For example a one-year-old you would put in time out for one minute, two-year-old two minutes and so forth. I would also suggest using this time as a reflection or cool down time for them. Sensory toys like these are very resourceful in this time.

6) Grounding

Grounding is useful when your child continuously miss uses privileges. An example would be your child going on websites you’ve discussed not to use, or lying about what activities they were doing with their friends. In these examples you would ground them from screen time or unsupervised time with friends.

I hope this article helps you get a foothold on disciplining your child! Let me know if you have any questions or need further detail in this topic.

What I’d Change about my Labor

Posted on by The Modern Christian Mom

I climbed into bed at 3am after having to go pee again. I felt miserable, I was tired, I’d been having Braxton Hicks contractions for the past three weeks. I was 37 weeks 5days and all I wanted to do was sleep.

As I laid down water came flushing out of me. I shot up and started running to the bathroom yelling, “Babe! Wake up! My water broke!” I was wide awake. I hopped in the shower to try and clean myself up for the hospital, but the amniotic fluid would not stop coming! As I got out my husband had grabbed the bags. I threw on the first thing I saw. I grabbed a towel so I hopefully wouldn’t leak on the car seat, and we rushed to the hospital.

When we got there we had to ring a doorbell at maternity ward to be let in. They rolled down a wheelchair as apparently when your water breaks you’re not allowed to walk. We got up to the room and they hooked me up. I was all set by about 3:45. Only one problem:

I wasn’t having contractions

Not even Braxton Hicks. They talked to the doctor and at about 5:30am he decided to induce me. For those who don’t know, after your water breaks you have 24 hours to give birth or else your child is at risk.

Around 7am I began having contractions. Period pain has nothing on this. Not even PCOS cramps! I felt awful. About 9:30am I asked for an epidural. They asked we to see if I could hold off any longer, but I wanted out of pain. About 10am the administrated the epidural. Getting it wasn’t bad, just a pinch and some pressure.

About 30 minutes later I couldn’t feel anything below my breast. I actually began to doze in and out. Although it was hardly rest at all my husband still won’t let me live down that I got to sleep and he didn’t. It didn’t last long though.

Around 11:30 I began feeling contractions again. By 12:30 they told me it was time to push. I never felt “the urge” to push, just lots of pain. By 2pm he still wasn’t here, and the epidural had worn off.

I begged and begged for more epidural. They said I couldn’t have any because I wouldn’t be able to push. I didn’t have to energy to push anyways, but I had no choice. Pushing was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

My son became stuck in my birth canal. They thought maybe he was facing the wrong way. Babies are supposed to be face down, facing your back, they thought his face was up. They had me get on my hands and knees to turn him around. We didn’t know at the time that that was not the problem.

We tried on my hands and knees, we tried pulling a bar, pulling a rope, pushing my legs back, every position possible. I pooped myself, I vomited, there was blood everywhere.

Around 3 the doctor began using a vacuum. We tried this on and off till around 5. It wasn’t working.

At 5 the doctor began preparing for an emergency c-section. By 5:30 everyone was waiting, watching me push. The doctor tried the vacuum one last time, and out came my son. His elbow was above his head which was why we had so much trouble. He wasn’t breathing, crying anything.

The doctor laid my son on me long enough to have my husband cut the cord. They whisked him away to the corner of the room. The doctor stayed stitching me up. I kept asking “is he ok,” but no one would answer me. After what seemed like an eternity they replied, “he’s ok.” I then heard the softest little cry. I wanted my baby, but they took him away to NICU. I knew it was for the best. I felt a million times better, as if I hadn’t just gone through that.

They had me order some food, and helped me to the restroom. Adrenaline was still kicked in so I had no problem walking at the time. I couldn’t eat. I wasn’t hungry. All I wanted to do was see my baby. My husband got to go see him. My mom got to go see him. My dad and brother got to go see him. I wanted to see my baby! But they said I wasn’t ready yet, so pictures my mom and hubs took had to do.

Finally around 8 pm they wheeled me up there. I stared the little bundle who caused me so much pain. All I could do was keep repeating “I love you so much.” I finally asked if I could hold him and they let me. It was pure joy and love. I didn’t want to leave him.

For my benefit my husband made me leave and go to bed. By the time I got there the adrenaline had gone away and when I tried to stand I landed on my face. My legs were useless.

I would definitely change some things my next go around.

1) I’d try not to get an epidural.

You’re probably thinking, “wait, why? You just told us how awful your birth was! Why wouldn’t you want one?!” The thing is it wasn’t worth it. 16 months later I’m still having back pain, it only worked for a short period of time, and since then I’ve learned epidural can lengthen your labor. I can’t say I won’t get one in the future because I’m a wimp, but I’m going to try not to.

2) I’d give my birth plan to my doctor sooner.

Since I was early I hadn’t talked to my doctor about my birth plan. I had an appointment the next week and was planning on talking to him then. Nothing crazy against my wishes happened that could have been prevented, but it would have given me peace of mind.

3) I’d request not to use a vacuum or forceps.

Three months later a huge fluid filled dome popped up on my son’s head. He looked like an alien with his cone head. We had no idea what caused it. We had to go to a pediatric surgeon at the closest children’s hospital. It turned out to be a hematoma caused by the vacuum and if it had been worse he would have had to have surgery to release the fluid so that the possibility on his skull growing into that shape wouldn’t happen.

4) I’d request a c-section after 4 hours of pushing.

6 hours of pushing destroyed me down there.

5) I would have requested to stay longer

We stayed for 3 days, but ended back in the hospital in less than a week. My son was only 6lbs 11oz. He lost over a pound and could not regulate his temperature. It’s normal for babies to loose some weight, but I should have know something was wrong when they told me before I left that his temperature was a little low and to keep an eye on it.

6) I would have gotten more warm preemie and newborn outfits.

Being late July it never crossed my mind that my son would get cold so easy. Newborns get cold very easy and need warm cloths.

7) I would have bought a good pump or brought bottles and formula of my choosing.

Not being able to do skin to skin or breastfeed within the first hour seriously hindered my milk supply. Although I breastfed past a year I had to supplement with formula. The hospital offered formula, but I wish I’d have had my own or a pump to immediately get my breast supply going.

8) I’d have learned more about the NICU.

Throughout my pregnancy I never thought about my son going to the NICU. I knew nothing about it which caused a lot more anxiety than there should have been.

If you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant, don’t let my story scare you. Everyone’s pregnancy is different. No matter how hard or easy your labor is though, it is completely worth it.

Daily Schedules and Why They’re Important

Posted on by The Modern Christian Mom

Schedules are great tools. They give your child routine and consistency. In this article I will talk about: five reasons why schedules are not only important for children but for you also; I will give you an example schedule to help you get your own schedule started, and reality.

1) Routine takes out a lot of planning.

This means one less thing for you to deal with. Planning. Who has time for another thing on their plate? Not me!

2) Schedules lessen anxiety.

Your child knows what to expect next, and so do you! Sometimes they even look forward to it! This creates a happy stress free environment.

3) It helps us prioritize and get things done.

If you’re like me getting things done seem impossible with a toddler. A schedule helps us entertain our toddler and get things done.

Check out more on how to entertain your toddler here

4) Builds self confidence

Studies have shown a daily schedule can improve your child’s confidence. When they know what to expect it helps them feel confident.

5) Builds momentum

With a daily schedule things get done faster. Your child knows what to expect and isn’t freaking out when you go to wash the dishes, or take forever to get ready to go to Grandmas.

Here are two examples schedules that you can use for yourself or inspiration

  • 7:00-7:30 breakfast
  • 7:30-8:00 daily devotional/independent play time
  • 8:00-9:00 outing/stroller walk
  • 9:00-9:30 book time
  • 9:30-10:00 clean kitchen, snack time
  • 10:00-11:30 nap time, clean house
  • 11:30-12:00 one on one play time
  • 12:00-12:30 lunch
  • 12:30-1:30 outdoor time
  • 1:30-2:00 independent play time/work project
  • 2:00-2:30 book time
  • 2:30-3:00 one on one play time
  • 3:00-3:30 snack time
  • 3:30-4:00 independent play time/write
  • 4:00-4:30 independent book time/start dinner
  • 4:30-5:00 screen time/finish dinner
  • 5:00-5:30 dinner
  • 5:30-6:30 family time
  • 6:30-7:00 baby bath
  • 7:00-7:30 baby bedtime
  • 7:30-8:00 clean house
  • 8:00-9:30 tv time/hubby time
  • 9:30-10:00 shower
  • 10:00 bedtime

Or

  • 5:00-5:30 breakfast
  • 5:30-6:00 independent play time/morning devotional
  • 6:00-6:30 daddy time
  • 6:30-7:00 independent book time
  • 7:00-7:30 one on one play time
  • 7:30-8:30 walk
  • 8:30-9:00 snack
  • 9:00-10:30 nap time/clean
  • 10:30-11:00 one on one play time
  • 11:00-11:30 independent play time/work project
  • 11:30-12:00 lunch time
  • 12:00-1:00 outside time
  • 2:00-2:30 book time/quite time
  • 2:30-3:00 one on one play time
  • 3:00-4:00 nap time work project
  • 4:00-4:30 independent play time/start dinner
  • 4:30-5:00 screen time/finish dinner
  • 5:00-5:30 dinner time
  • 5:30-6:30 family time
  • 6:30-7:00 baby bath time
  • 7:00-7:30 baby bedtime
  • 7:30-8:00 clean
  • 8:00-9:00 tv/hubby time
  • 9:00-9:30 shower
  • 9:30 bedtime

Reality

The idea of everything going according to schedule is great, but not reality. There is no guarantee your child will fall asleep exactly when you want and I definitely wouldn’t wake them up if they slept over. So what do you do? Be flexible. Life is not going to go to plan. A schedule is like an outline. Yes follow it! But if it needs a paragraph or two longer than the others (or you need to cut it out completely) go with it!

I hope this article inspires you and if it did check out my other channels as well!

5 Ways to Keep Your Toddler Entertained

Posted on by The Modern Christian Mom

While my son was a newborn I kept telling myself, “When he’s older and playing it will be so much easier. He’ll be able to entertain himself!” Cue eye rolls. I’ve learned better since. I tried many different things to entertain my child. Between parenthood and my experience teaching here are 5 ways I’ve learned to keep a toddler entertained (without jumping through hoops.)

1) Schedules

Experts agree that children thrive on schedules. Routine and schedules give children a sense of security. What does this have to do with keeping a child entertained though? Through experience I have learned children’s attention span is approximately 15 minute intervals (this can vary child to child and can depend on the activities). I’ve learned I can typically complete a task, such as washing dishes, in about 15 minutes. So here’s an example of how this and scheduling look for me.

7:00-7:30 Breakfast

7:30-8:00 Independent Play time/ Devotional & Journaling

This breaks down to 7:30-7:45 Give balls to play with/read devotional 7:45-8:00 Give blocks to play with/journal

This helps me accomplish what I want and keep my child’s short attention span at bay and therefore entertained. Of course be flexible with your schedules and don’t become frustrated if your day falls apart. Every day brings new challenges and adventure.

2) Weekly Themes

Schedules and routine can get boring, if you’re dealing with the exact same thing every day. This is where themes come in handy. You don’t have to go all out and decorate the whole house Dr. Seuss one week and Pete the Cat the next (unless you want to!). For me themes are simple. Last week we did farm and construction. I got out all his farm and construction toys and books. The rest were put away. This week we’re doing art, dramatic play, and puzzles. It’s very simple and makes everything to seem new to your toddler every week!

3) One on One Time

This may sound counterproductive if you’re trying to get things done, but it works. If your child wants you, you’re not getting anything done. Period. So it’s easier to give yourself to them. Spending quality time with your child is essential for your relationship. It creates a bond for life with your child, and it helps curb the negative attention seeking behavior. This makes one on one time essential if you want your child to be entertained at other times instead of acting out.

4) Books

Books, Books, and more BOOKS! Books are essential for your child. You can even begin reading to them in the womb. Books are a quite activity. There are millions of books and thus millions of things to learn and explore. Here are 3 reasons books are great for your toddler:

1) Reading expands their vocabulary and thus communication. (Communication is everything in life).

2) Reading expands creative thinking. The more imaginative your child is the more they can entertain themselves.

3) Reading improves concentration. Remember how most toddlers have an attention span of about 15 minutes? This improves that!

5) Get Outdoors

We may not get to go out in public or to new places often, especially in this day and age. However the great outdoors is literally right outside. Fresh air lifts the spirits, and is great for yours and your child’s health! Speaking of health getting outside and watching your child blow off steam is their way of exercising. Exercise will mean they sleep and nap better, thus improving your child’s temperament. Lastly it helps create an appreciation for nature, which has so many benefits for themselves and the world.

Conclusion

I hope some of these tips help you and your child live your best life! Remember to show God’s love to your child every day. We are not perfect, but He is.