- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- babies today articles
- babies today q&a
- toddlers today articles
- toddlers today q&a
- breastfeed.com articles
- breastfeed.com q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Toddler Tornadoes
Making a Mess or Exploring and Learning? By Dawn Colclasure
How can parents cope with the pressures of keeping a neat and tidy home when they have a curious, active toddler residing within? "You have to ease up on your standards," Spencer says. "Tolerate a degree of clutter with a toddler in the house."
Spencer says that while you may declare certain parts of the home off limits to your toddler's curious hands, it's important to choose your battles. "You can't make everything they get into off limits, or you'll be saying 'no' all day," she says.
That's exactly what Rachel Goodchild of Canterbury, New Zealand, does. "I choose my battles," says Goodchild of her 21-month-old daughter. "I make sure that I have checked if she is tired or hungry before I ask her to sort it out. We use the method of going to the wall to remove her from the situation and it works."
As a parent, Spencer can relate to the many occasions where, for example, one toddler may cause a mess by pulling things off a shelf. "One or two of my four kids also were into yanking books and videos off the shelves," she says. "And in my house, there are thousands of books everywhere. I would say, 'No, no throw books.' Then I'd put them right back and try to distract her with something else. I finally just cleared the lower shelves she could reach."