{"id":52903,"date":"2018-10-10T00:17:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T00:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.babyhealthandcare.com\/your-toddler-23-months-old\/"},"modified":"2018-10-10T00:17:45","modified_gmt":"2018-10-10T00:17:45","slug":"your-toddler-23-months-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.babyhealthandcare.com\/de\/your-toddler-23-months-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Your toddler: 23 months old"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"EBIKES\"<\/a><\/div>
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\n Photography by Nicole Duplantis\/Clothing provided by babyGap and Joe Fresh <\/span>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

By now, you\u2019re probably super-familiar with the toddler \u201cno\u201d phase. Next up is the toddler \u201cwhy\u201d phase<\/strong>. \u201cWhy dat milk white?\u201d \u201cWhy sun gone?\u201d \u201cWhy dirt dirty?\u201d \u201cWhy bath?\u201d All this will likely push your buttons at some point (you feel like such<\/em> a parent when you finally resort to \u201cBecause it just is,<\/em> that\u2019s why!\u201d). A lot of it is curiosity about the big wide world\u2014after all, they\u2019re new here. More importantly, this is actually your toddler\u2019s way of having a conversation with you, using their own limited communication skills and vocab. You say something, they ask \u201cWhy?\u201d you answer and they ask \u201cWhy?\u201d again and again and again. Asking why is how they interact with you, see how you react and find out more about something they think is interesting. Put it this way and answering all those questions gets a little easier to handle. Plus, it\u2019s totally fine to say \u201cGood question. I don\u2019t know. Let\u2019s look it up at home.\u201d Building their brains and building your relationship together is a win-win.<\/p>\n

23-months-old development & milestones<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mine, mine, mine!<\/strong><\/h3>\n


\n5 tips for teaching your toddler how to share<\/span>
\nOne day soon, if it hasn\u2019t happened already, your sweet toddler is probably going to get all grabby and possessive about a toy car<\/strong>, an empty tissue box, a hunk of Play-Doh or even you. That\u2019s a normal, healthy developmental phase. From your toddler\u2019s POV, if it\u2019s in their hands, it\u2019s theirs. If someone takes it away (or a visiting baby is on your lap and taking you<\/em> away), it can feel like the end of the world to them. It\u2019s not a forever phase because over the next year or so, until age three or four, they\u2019ll be able to make the cognitive leap that stuff can be owned and shared. Don\u2019t worry that they\u2019re going to become selfish little monsters<\/strong>, and try not to get upset or embarrassed if they are freaking out. Instead, talk about taking turns and how long a turn lasts. Practise passing an object back and forth and saying \u201cYour turn\u201d and \u201cMy turn.\u201d It can\u2019t hurt to put those super-special items, like the purple bucket, away before a playdate either. And if they\u2019re worried about losing your lap, offer plenty of reassurance (and make some room).<\/p>

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Minding manners <\/strong><\/h3>\n

When it comes to language skills, your toddler will start using more words to interact with others now. That means they\u2019re more likely to use your name (\u201cMama, let\u2019s run\u201d or \u201cDaddy, want snack\u201d), especially if you\u2019ve made a point of starting sentences with their name. They\u2019re also learning that words can create actions, like \u201cGo away\u201d or \u201cGet water,\u201d which means it\u2019s also a good time to figure out manners<\/strong>. Is not quite two too early to learn? No way! Saying hello, please and thank you and staying at the table for a whole seven minutes to eat a family meal are all reasonable things to work on at this age. What isn\u2019t so reasonable to expect is eating politely with a fork and spoon, talking to people they don\u2019t know and saying thank you for a \u201cmeh\u201d gift. Look for teachable moments, like pointing out how good they feel when someone notices their kindness, and be aware that your mini-me is watching, so step up your manners game<\/strong>, too.<\/p>\n

Snack time <\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are probably days where it feels like your toddler is a snacking machine. That\u2019s OK because toddlers have both small tummies and short attention spans, so they can get distracted easily and not eat enough at meals. This, in turn, can add up to a cranky, hungry kid, even if they don\u2019t know they\u2019re hungry. Keep healthy snacks on hand<\/strong> so you can help them fuel up and head off a meltdown (sometimes it\u2019s worth just putting food in front of them rather than asking if they want a snack and getting an irrational and teary \u201cNo!\u201d).<\/p>\n

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\t\t\"Kiwi<\/p>\n

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Winning the car seat battle<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Trying to safely strap in a toddler who does not want to be in a car seat<\/strong> is not a fun way to start your drive. Toddlers love motion and don\u2019t appreciate sitting still or being confined, so it\u2019s no wonder that they often aren\u2019t down with the whole five-point-restraint seat belt thing. Try talking them through the process and acknowledging how they feel: \u201cOK, I know you don\u2019t like this and you feel mad, but it\u2019s important to be in your car seat to keep you safe. It\u2019s time to go. All done. Let\u2019s have a hug.\u201d Help them feel a bit more in control by allowing them to get into the car by themselves if they can and then handing over a soft toy or fabric book to keep their interest<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Ditching the diapers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

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\nWe tried the 3-day potty training method\u2014and it was intense<\/span>
\nIt may feel like diapers are just always going to be part of your life, but the routine really is going to come to an end in the next year or so. Your toddler may be completely disinterested in the potty right now, and that\u2019s totally fine, but others may start to show signs of being ready for toilet training<\/strong>. Here\u2019s what to watch for: if your baby has a diaper that stays dry for one to two hours, feels uncomfortable in a wet or dirty diaper, goes over to the potty and sits on it for a few minutes (even if nothing happens), can pull down their pants themselves or grabs their diaper or hides when it\u2019s time for a poop<\/strong> (c\u2019mon, how adorable is that?). Regardless of when they\u2019re ready for big-kid underwear, one thing you can do to help set the stage is to say how good it feels to be clean and dry after a diaper change to help them be a bit more aware.<\/p>\n

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Your life after baby<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Sex and housework<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There are plenty of things about parenthood that can kill sexy time: cleaning up after gross messes, being exhausted or feeling \u201ctouched out\u201d after a weekend with a toddler who crawls all over you and asks to be picked up a thousand times a day. Still, many parents manage to have a sex life after their kid<\/strong> arrives by, say, sneaking off to the spare room for an interlude if there\u2019s a kid asleep in their bed or making a point of some mini-foreplay at random moments during the day so it\u2019s a little easier to get in the mood when there is a spare 11 minutes.
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Another totally hot move? A partner who does their fair share of the household chores<\/strong>. True, it\u2019s not an easy conversation, but understanding what may actually be going on in the relationship and using collaborative language (not \u201cYou\u2019re being lazy!\u201d) are tools that can help both of you.<\/p>\n

Stuff no one tells you<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Getting out the door a little faster<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Chances are, heading out of the house in the pre-kid days wasn\u2019t something you even really thought about. Going out with a baby was lots of prep but not a huge deal. But getting out the door with a toddler<\/strong> can be a sweaty, frustrating, incredibly long process. They\u2019re not trying to mess with you, but they just don\u2019t get schedules, the passage of time or the need for mitts or sunscreen. Distracting them, singing or asking them to help get dressed are all ways to make departures less chaotic.<\/p>\n

Eating out with a toddler (yes, you can!)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Sure, you should probably skip that totally chic, A-list resto (that\u2019s what date nights are for), but you don\u2019t have to spend the next few years exclusively in restaurants that feature cartoon animals, plastic trays and ball pits either. Eating out with a toddler<\/strong> is doable if you think strategically: Call ahead to see if the timing and setting are kid-appropriate, bring some backup food, and keep an eye out for people-watching opportunities (sit by a window or near an open kitchen).<\/p>\n

Just for fun<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Party time<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Why, hello there, two! There are lots of easy ways to make a second b-day bash a little bit special: Serve colourful toddler-friendly mini-snacks in ice cube trays or make some way-cool sensory bags with a bit of coloured hair gel and glitter.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\"Let<\/p>\n

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Simple food hacks<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Every parent needs some hacks to streamline everyday meals<\/strong>. Add pasta sauce straight out of the container to hot noodles for a just-the-right-heat-for-toddlers dish, or put some frozen peas or corn into hot soup to cool it down. For an on-the-go snack, stick a short, wide straw through the foil top of an applesauce cup.<\/p>\n

Read more:
Your toddler: 2 years old
Can someone else feed my kids?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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