Toddlers and their daily battles are so exhausting but for them it’s all about learning and testing boundaries so I know it’s an important stage they need to go through. Asking and telling them to do something 100 times is totally normal!
Their confidence is growing so giving them support, guidance and being understanding, endlessly patient and loving them unconditionally is key.
As a parent you are giving your child a safe place so they can be themselves, teaching them to be kind and help them to understand and express their emotions – it’s a big responsibility on top of everything else. So with that in mind it makes me sad and it infuriates me when adults put children in gender specific negative boxes or labelling their behaviours or traits.
Children change rapidly and they are so complex that it seems completely unfair to do this – the long term consequences can be damaging.
‘He is shy, he won’t do it’
‘Not sure she will eat that, she is fussy’
Shy, quiet, loud, bossy, slow, sensitive, wilful, rough, naughty, fussy, girl, show off..
These labels influence the way people see them, changes expectations and they are usually associated with being bad. If children have to be labelled then why not a positive quality?
Now that my own daughter is growing into her own person I feel protective and aware of how the world sees her. She is almost 3 now and I’ve heard her described as ‘bossy’ – she just knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to say it. Is that so bad?
She is confident, determined and outspoken and I don’t want her to lose her passion and energy. Would the same be said about a boy?
Anyone who has a toddler or had a toddler will know they are creative, funny, noisy, loving, smart, inquisitive, cause total chaos, don’t sit still and have absolutely no filter.. it’s brilliant!
As long as a child isn’t unkind, hurting anyone or aggressive shouldn’t we just encourage them?
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