Ba

This is quite an interesting phase in your toddler's life, since he is trying to be independent but at same time quite dependent on you and others to fulfill his needs. As a parent we feel its our duty to put our kid's demands / needs above Tales from the Crypt and others but practically this is not feasible always. Hence it's required to teach your kid right to others which is tough and on going process but we need to start now.

Also this is one of the most important requirements to live in our society. 1967 Topps baseball cards found it quite tough doing with my kid and suffered a lot because of this. So here are few techniques that I've used to attain this, making sure without frustrating or annoying your kid at the same time:

Explain rights and duties : Don't just demand rights, explain them. Instead of saying "I Cannot play, I'm working in kitchen or I'm reading book" , explain "Mama has got to work she has to finish cooking for dinner so that we all can have dinner at time" or "Mama is reading an interesting book, she likes reading as you Ken doll playing with blocks, so play by yourself for sometime". It may be possible that your demand is still refused but we have started planting in kid's mind that they need to wait till their wishes can be fulfilled.

Introduce feelings: It's unreasonable to expect toddlers not treating their playmates as object so snatching a toy or hitting them is still not acceptable. Instead of saying "Give teddy back, it's not yours", explain "How will you feel if someone takes your toys and push you, you will not like it same way she's also sad when you took her toy". There are quite a good chances for this demand to be refused as well, introduce a concept of thinking chair, make your kid sit on his chair and think if he's doing right or wrong, initially he may not understand, and even say that he's right but it begins to imbibe in his/her mind and provide distraction for a while. In case kid doesn't understand, divert him to some other activity and give time to imbibe this in him.

Respect your toddler's rights and feelings: While introducing this tough concept, don't neglect your toddler's feelings unknowingly, like sharing your kid's favorite toy with a visiting playmate. Always ask your toddler and if he refuses ask him to give some other toy so that both can play and enjoy together at the same time.

Set yourself as an example: Toddlers always look at their parents and that's greatest impact on their minds. So make sure while making them, learn respecting feeling of others, don't embarrass a baby sitter or snap at anyone. This sends wrong message to young minds that such a behavior is acceptable and it won't matter what you say in contrary.

I agree its quite difficult, but one of the most required facets to stay in social environment and setting correct examples will eventually lead to what we want to attain, making our toddlers learn that all humans around him have feelings and have some rights, besides fulfilling their duties. You may feel your toddler does not understand and you may end up taking a harsh way but trust me it won't work, you have to show patience and your toddler will learn it eventually.

Sheetal Kalra