Oh, Those Toddlers!

3 Big Reasons to Celebrate Your Little One

By Alexandria Powell

Toddlers. They can send you to the limits of frustration, then wrap you around their fingers with one runny-nosed smile. Here are just a few reasons why the toddler years are a unique time in the life of a child and a parent.

Nolan Hinz, 21 months old, loves his bedtime routine. It starts with a shower, then a massage, then pajamas and a walk in the yard with Daddy to say "goodnight" to the moon, stars and trees. Finally, a story, a prayer and his special time with Mommy, where he nurses and drifts off to sleep. Nolan's bedtime routine transforms this active toddler into a calm, sleepy baby. "It's a nice way to end his very busy day," says his mother, Cynthia Hinz, of Northern California.

Toddlers cherish their special routines and rituals. This isn't just a fondness, however, but a very real need. "The world can be overwhelming for toddlers," says Claire Lerner, co-author of Bringing Up Baby: Three Steps to Making Good Decisions in Your Child's First Years (Zero to Three, 2005) and director of parent education at the Web site ZerotoThree.org. "They're receiving so much input from their environment, and it can be hard for them to process."

According to Lerner, predictable events like bedtime routines or goodbye rituals allow toddlers to prepare for transitions. They also help to give toddlers a sense of control. "The more routines, the better," says Lerner.

For 2-year-old Ryley Grace Purvis, bedtime means saying "goodnight" to a fish named Elmo. "Every night at bedtime she will say 'Night-night, Melmo,' and will run to me to pick her up," says Jennifer Purvis of West Monroe, La. Purvis then lifts her daughter up to wave goodnight and blow kisses to Elmo, a betta fish who lives in a bowl on her dresser. "The other night, we forgot about him and I had already tucked her in. As I was leaving the room I said, 'Night-night Ryley Grace.' She sat up really quick in the bed, waved at the dresser and said, 'Night-night, Melmo!'"

Want to see more?

• Helping Hands: Chores for Little Helpers
• Room to Grow: Giving Your Toddlers Independence and Encouraging Them to Explore
• ToddlerFace Album
• Talk about it!