Toddler advice thread

[Dollenganger]

I agree that toddlers do learn loads from TV. These days the programmes are much better and more educational than they were 20 years ago when my first baby was born.

Also I would highly recommend Canadian app ‘Super Simple Songs’ - it’s brilliant for language development and understanding.

 

[nurseren]

Tbh, it sounds terrible, but my daughter picked up a lot from TV she went from talking jibberish to talking sentences within months

With potty training though, personally I'd wait until he's got the speech to be able to tell you he needs to go

same with the TV. However now my Yorkshire accent son will saying bottom and water like an American…

I agree that toddlers do learn loads from TV. These days the programmes are much better and more educational than they were 20 years ago when my first baby was born.

Also I would highly recommend Canadian app ‘Super Simple Songs’ - it’s brilliant for language development and understanding.

LOVE SUPER SIMPLE SONGS!!! They have such good bangers on there! Rumbly in my tummy is a BOP

 

[Pinkii]

Tbh, it sounds terrible, but my daughter picked up a lot from TV she went from talking jibberish to talking sentences within months

With potty training though, personally I'd wait until he's got the speech to be able to tell you he needs to go

this was us as well, my daughter had just started talking when we first went into lockdown. I know it gets looked down upon by some but she learnt majority of her speech from mr tumble she would use words and sentences she definitely wouldn’t have heard from me at home

there are alot of educational programs for kids to watch, not everything is peppa pig and bing (even though she likes them)

but mr tumble and blippi are great for teaching.

 

[WhatABore]

same with the TV. However now my Yorkshire accent son will saying bottom and water like an American…



LOVE SUPER SIMPLE SONGS!!! They have such good bangers on there! Rumbly in my tummy is a BOP

Ugh! This though
My daughter keeps saying things like "I want some candy" IT'S SWEETS!

She asked for Jello the other day too

 

[quinzel]

Yep also same with TV. My little boy has started giving the thumbs up and neither me or his dad do it, so it’s either Diana from You Tube (he loves her videos) or nursery haha

 

[nurseren]

Ugh! This though
My daughter keeps saying things like "I want some candy" IT'S SWEETS!

She asked for Jello the other day too

american-isms are rife in this house because of blippi and Sesame Street. Trash, water, bottle, bottom, juice box, cookie etc

 

[quinzel]

Anyone else’s kids like Steve and Maggie?

 

[WhatABore]

Anyone else’s kids like Steve and Maggie?

I absolutely hate Steve and Maggie.

What is it?
It's a hand.
Repeat after me.
It's a hand it's a hand it's a hand.
Goood.
It's a hand it's a hand it's a hand.

It enrages me. I can't even sit in the room

 

[Dollenganger]

Apparently a lot of American kids started using British English during lockdowns because they were watching Peppa Pig

 

[Lilykins]

I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for a fussy/picky/little eater? My 21 month old just really isn’t keen on food. She has never had a massive appetite but I’ve really seen it plummet since about 17/18 months old. She never finishes whatever we give her, sometimes refuses and pushes a plate away before she has even tried food, and will regularly have 3-5 mouthfuls before stopping. This is even after moaning for her dinner. I also feel I’ve fallen in to a slump of what to give her as she just seems to reject everything and im honestly stuck with what to give. If the girl could live on crackers and crisps she would!! Frustratingly she eats fine at nursery where she is 3 days a week….I mirror their times so she is a consistent routine but she still seems to eat more there! Apparently my mum said I was exactly the same when I was a toddler so maybe it’s karma/genetics having a joke on me but being serious, meal times fill me with dread and have become my least favourite part of parenting.
So basically does anyone have any advice or tips on how to weather the storm? Any books that are good or recipe books I could try to help? Thank you!

 

[saltandvinegarcrisps]

I absolutely hate Steve and Maggie.

What is it?
It's a hand.
Repeat after me.
It's a hand it's a hand it's a hand.
Goood.
It's a hand it's a hand it's a hand.

It enrages me. I can't even sit in the room

I have blocked Steve and Maggie off my kids YouTube same with Ryan's words and loads of random channels where the parents film the kids being annoying or pretend crying. All he gets now really is blippi and some baby bus cartoon. Regretted ever installing YouTube but he mainly watches kids Netflix now.

 

[BettyCrockerr]

I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for a fussy/picky/little eater? My 21 month old just really isn’t keen on food. She has never had a massive appetite but I’ve really seen it plummet since about 17/18 months old. She never finishes whatever we give her, sometimes refuses and pushes a plate away before she has even tried food, and will regularly have 3-5 mouthfuls before stopping. This is even after moaning for her dinner. I also feel I’ve fallen in to a slump of what to give her as she just seems to reject everything and im honestly stuck with what to give. If the girl could live on crackers and crisps she would!! Frustratingly she eats fine at nursery where she is 3 days a week….I mirror their times so she is a consistent routine but she still seems to eat more there! Apparently my mum said I was exactly the same when I was a toddler so maybe it’s karma/genetics having a joke on me but being serious, meal times fill me with dread and have become my least favourite part of parenting.
So basically does anyone have any advice or tips on how to weather the storm? Any books that are good or recipe books I could try to help? Thank you!

You can offer a child food but you can’t force them to eat.
Offer a variety of good, encouraging them to try and praise them when they do. That’s all you can do. They will eat when they are hungry and this is just a stage but all you can do is offer food and allow them to eat what they want to at any given time.

 

[bottombanana]

I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for a fussy/picky/little eater? My 21 month old just really isn’t keen on food. She has never had a massive appetite but I’ve really seen it plummet since about 17/18 months old. She never finishes whatever we give her, sometimes refuses and pushes a plate away before she has even tried food, and will regularly have 3-5 mouthfuls before stopping. This is even after moaning for her dinner. I also feel I’ve fallen in to a slump of what to give her as she just seems to reject everything and im honestly stuck with what to give. If the girl could live on crackers and crisps she would!! Frustratingly she eats fine at nursery where she is 3 days a week….I mirror their times so she is a consistent routine but she still seems to eat more there! Apparently my mum said I was exactly the same when I was a toddler so maybe it’s karma/genetics having a joke on me but being serious, meal times fill me with dread and have become my least favourite part of parenting.
So basically does anyone have any advice or tips on how to weather the storm? Any books that are good or recipe books I could try to help? Thank you!

I always follow the idea that you decide what is served and when it’s served and toddler decides what they eat and how much. Nobody should dictate what the other does. For example, I decided yesterday that dinner was a bacon pasta dish at 5pm. I put the food down and me and his dad started eating, we talked about our day. Toddler decided to eat some grated cheese from the top and a few pieces of pasta and bacon - it barely looked touched when he was done but I never ask him to eat more or to try anything. He tells me he’s done, I trust he knows his body better than me so I take the plate and he is done. There’s no power struggle, nobody feels defeated, we just move on. But equally, he can never tell me what we’re having for dinner. I decide on dinner and if he asks for something specific I simply tell him that we’re having X for dinner but I’ll add Y to the meals for another day.
I also find it best to never watch him whilst he eats, I know I’d find it really unnerving if someone was staring at me eating. I guess my advice is to just treat him like you would other adults - if you/they decided they were done you wouldn’t quiz them or ask them to eat more so when your toddler says they’re done simply say ok and take the plate. They won’t let themselves starve and it feels so refreshing to not having that struggle at meal times

ETA: I also never talk about dinner whilst we’re eating it, it’s so lovely isn’t it lovely it’s delicious etc over enthusiastically because i would find it weird if people were doing that to me. So yeah, general conversation about our day what we did or are going to do - never about food unless toddler mentions it

 

[Jellybean093]

I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for a fussy/picky/little eater? My 21 month old just really isn’t keen on food. She has never had a massive appetite but I’ve really seen it plummet since about 17/18 months old. She never finishes whatever we give her, sometimes refuses and pushes a plate away before she has even tried food, and will regularly have 3-5 mouthfuls before stopping. This is even after moaning for her dinner. I also feel I’ve fallen in to a slump of what to give her as she just seems to reject everything and im honestly stuck with what to give. If the girl could live on crackers and crisps she would!! Frustratingly she eats fine at nursery where she is 3 days a week….I mirror their times so she is a consistent routine but she still seems to eat more there! Apparently my mum said I was exactly the same when I was a toddler so maybe it’s karma/genetics having a joke on me but being serious, meal times fill me with dread and have become my least favourite part of parenting.
So basically does anyone have any advice or tips on how to weather the storm? Any books that are good or recipe books I could try to help? Thank you!

No advice, as mine will only eat breakfast he’s a snacker, so we are trying to cut down on snacks and so he has his 3 meals a day. Some days it works, some it doesn’t. If it gets to 7pm and he’s had a rubbish day, we will offer him toast so he doesn’t go to bed hungry

 

[OIM]

I have blocked Steve and Maggie off my kids YouTube same with Ryan's words and loads of random channels where the parents film the kids being annoying or pretend crying. All he gets now really is blippi and some baby bus cartoon. Regretted ever installing YouTube but he mainly watches kids Netflix now.

How? How do you do this?! I need to block ryan!!!!

 

[WhatABore]

I don't even mind Ryan as much as his parents.
Even more so his Dad! Can't stand the bloke

 

[Ss1471]

Can I ask what age others put their little ones into a toddler bed from cot? My boy is 19 months old and recently when it comes to going into his cot at nighttime all hell breaks loose. He winds down really well, bath pjs then we sit in his chair to read some books whilst he has a cup of milk but then as soon as I go to put him into his cot he starts crying his heart out, a couple of occasions gripping onto the side to try and stop me lowering him in which broke my heart. I had a thought would it be easier if we moved to settling him in a bed so we would lie in there with him whilst he has milk and a story then leave when he’s pretty much asleep with a night light on, or is he too young yet? I feel like he’s old enough now to realise pitch black room in the cot the opposite of relaxing if that makes sense? Almost frightening for him?

 

[Definitelyme]

I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for a fussy/picky/little eater? My 21 month old just really isn’t keen on food. She has never had a massive appetite but I’ve really seen it plummet since about 17/18 months old. She never finishes whatever we give her, sometimes refuses and pushes a plate away before she has even tried food, and will regularly have 3-5 mouthfuls before stopping. This is even after moaning for her dinner. I also feel I’ve fallen in to a slump of what to give her as she just seems to reject everything and im honestly stuck with what to give. If the girl could live on crackers and crisps she would!! Frustratingly she eats fine at nursery where she is 3 days a week….I mirror their times so she is a consistent routine but she still seems to eat more there! Apparently my mum said I was exactly the same when I was a toddler so maybe it’s karma/genetics having a joke on me but being serious, meal times fill me with dread and have become my least favourite part of parenting.
So basically does anyone have any advice or tips on how to weather the storm? Any books that are good or recipe books I could try to help? Thank you!

Some really great advice already given. A few things I would suggest are
- get her involved in food prep, every food exposure is a good one even if it’s just touch
- never talk about good food/bad food, healthy food etc. It’s all just food
- follow “family snack nutritionist” on Instagram and YouTube. This is her area of speciality
- Never worry if a child doesn’t finish their food. You’ve decided on their portion with no true knowledge of how hungry they are, so let them be in charge of how much they eat. Look up “Division of responsibility”, it’s been touched on above
- Sometimes I notice mine aren’t eating something in particular I would do something like “whoa my cucumber makes a really crunchy sound when I bite it. I wonder if yours does?” Sometimes they’ll play ball, and sometimes not. Either way is fine.
- I think 3-5 mouthfuls is actually great! We all have huge expectations of what children should eat, but in reality their needs are actually quite small
- focus on making sure snack times are really nutritious foods as well, not just mealtimes

Can I ask what age others put their little ones into a toddler bed from cot? My boy is 19 months old and recently when it comes to going into his cot at nighttime all hell breaks loose. He winds down really well, bath pjs then we sit in his chair to read some books whilst he has a cup of milk but then as soon as I go to put him into his cot he starts crying his heart out, a couple of occasions gripping onto the side to try and stop me lowering him in which broke my heart. I had a thought would it be easier if we moved to settling him in a bed so we would lie in there with him whilst he has milk and a story then leave when he’s pretty much asleep with a night light on, or is he too young yet? I feel like he’s old enough now to realise pitch black room in the cot the opposite of relaxing if that makes sense? Almost frightening for him?

My oldest son was 20 months when we moved him to a floor bed. I’d lie with him until he fell asleep then slip away

 

[nurseren]

How? How do you do this?! I need to block ryan!!!!

we blocked vlad and his brother!

Can I ask what age others put their little ones into a toddler bed from cot? My boy is 19 months old and recently when it comes to going into his cot at nighttime all hell breaks loose. He winds down really well, bath pjs then we sit in his chair to read some books whilst he has a cup of milk but then as soon as I go to put him into his cot he starts crying his heart out, a couple of occasions gripping onto the side to try and stop me lowering him in which broke my heart. I had a thought would it be easier if we moved to settling him in a bed so we would lie in there with him whilst he has milk and a story then leave when he’s pretty much asleep with a night light on, or is he too young yet? I feel like he’s old enough now to realise pitch black room in the cot the opposite of relaxing if that makes sense? Almost frightening for him?

Because I’m a lazy slug, I waited until Littlepotato told me he wanted a bed. When he was 2.5yrs we went to Florida on holiday and he kept asking to sleep in a “mummy and daddy bed” as we were all in the same room. We took the side down on his bedside crib and then 6 months later, we bought him a bed. It sounds like him gripping the side and crying might be a sign.

controversially I never stayed with my son until he fell asleep, I’ve always left him to it. Now he’s older I’ve said he can play in his room and then he puts himself to bed. When he was tiny, I’d let him take a toy into bed like hot wheels or a truck, and often he would fall asleep with it in his hands. Littlepotato takes after his mummy and is a slug, so has always slept well.

 

[Jellybean093]

Can I ask what age others put their little ones into a toddler bed from cot? My boy is 19 months old and recently when it comes to going into his cot at nighttime all hell breaks loose. He winds down really well, bath pjs then we sit in his chair to read some books whilst he has a cup of milk but then as soon as I go to put him into his cot he starts crying his heart out, a couple of occasions gripping onto the side to try and stop me lowering him in which broke my heart. I had a thought would it be easier if we moved to settling him in a bed so we would lie in there with him whilst he has milk and a story then leave when he’s pretty much asleep with a night light on, or is he too young yet? I feel like he’s old enough now to realise pitch black room in the cot the opposite of relaxing if that makes sense? Almost frightening for him?

My eldest was a month before her 2nd birthday, the second I think was about the same. My third is still in a cot (2yrs 4months) but he sleeps so well, I don’t want to move him and ruin it, so trying to long it out as much as possible
They have all moved straight into a single bed and bottom of bunk beds