Giving your child more opportunity to satisfy his curiosity and to learn will make him easier to live with. You can maximize your toddler's learning by giving him challenging and fascinating learning materials to play with and sufficient opportunities to exercise her exploding interest in language. In doing so, he will not be as likely to empty the wastebasket into the goldfish bowl, crayon the walls or flush socks down the toilet. In addition, the more stimuli your child can give her brain through listening, looking, smelling, tasting and touching, the more intelligent he will become.
Maximizing your toddler's learning isn't as big a job as it sounds. Here are great tips on how to do that:
Play Yard Baby
1 - You will soon discover that your toddler's giving you lots of useful clues to what his growing brain needs. It is not necessary for you to impose learning on him or try to teach him facts by rote. You don't have to force him to sit still to learn or even program ahead of time what he should be learning. Your job, essentially, is to make sure that he has the opportunity and encouragement to teach himself.
2 - You can help maximize your toddler's learning shortly after his first birthday by enlarging the environment in which he is permitted to play freely and safely. You can even start teaching him how to handle possible hazards such as how to go down an adult bed safely by sliding off, feet first, so that he can be allowed more freedom.
3 - When it's warm and dry outside, you can fence off a sizable portion of your yard, ensure that it contains no hazards, and allow your toddler to explore freely. Or take him to the nearest park and let him roam. It is a must that you watch him closely until he has outgrown the habit of putting anything interesting and new into his mouth.
4 - To help make more freedom possible, you need to teach your toddler the meaning of "no." On the other hand, it is also important that you do not say "no" too often or too harshly, or your toddler may get the idea that you love him better when he isn't trying to learn and explore.
5 - There is no need for you to resort to slapping his hands or spanking him to teach him to respect the rights and property of others. Slapping hands to discourage active exploration normally teaches a child to slap back and hit other smaller children. Spanking carries a feeling of humiliation that isn't necessary in helping youngsters learn to behave properly. Spanking should be used rarely. And if you do, you give him a hug after wards. This method compels him to pay attention to you and lets him know that you mean what you are saying, but it avoids the idea of punishment.