Why Parents Find It Especially Difficult To Parent A Toddler?

Psychology Questions
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September 23, 2017
Question 1: Why might parents find it especially difficult to parent a toddler? What are some strategies for helping parents feel more comfortable and confident in responding to toddler-age children? How can various discipline techniques help toddlers gain control of their impulses? What role might individual differences play in the development of impulse control?
Parenting a toddler entails many risks and difficulties. Perhaps one of the biggest difficulty is the fact that children at this age cannot engage in any verbal communication to help the guardian determine what the child needed. Adding to the fact that toddlers cannot stand nor walk, the responsibilities of parents and/or guardians during this phase is much more. However, despite these challenges, humans (more specifically mothers) through the ages seems to have developed an instinctive nature as to how to do it effectively (Schutte, et al., 1998). In line with this, parenting has then mostly relied on the parents’ ability to understand other cues, like non-verbal and auditory cues. Nevertheless, this characteristic of parenting which makes it seem like an art, never hindered scholars and practitioners alike in trying to find ways to better handle this stage. In line with these strategies, the author of this article would first focus on finding strategies for helping parents feel more comfortable and confident in responding to toddler-age children. In the succeeding sections, the author would also analyze various discipline techniques and how can they be utilized in order to help toddlers gain control of their impulses. Lastly, this article would also study, the role of individual differences in the development of impulse control.
According to Dewar (2017), the toddler stage is one of the most important phases in a human’s life since this is one of the stages where a child develops his emotional and cognitive toolkit. Since emotions and how do we deal with them would be a crucial aspect of our daily lives as we grow up, then primary importance must be giver towards it. However, Dewar (2017) also compiled different researches done on the subject of parenting and stated some of the most common mistakes that parents have been doing for the longest time. According to her, one of the strategies, in order to be more comfortable and confident, is to practice “being calm and supportive” when their children are feeling negative emotions. This is an important note to take since there are a significant number of parents who try to dismiss the child’s emotions (toddlers and pre-schoolers alike) and make them hush. By recognizing the child’s emotion, assuming the role of an “emotional coach”, and being positive about it, the parents could also incite a feeling of confidence and positivity within themselves, which makes it easier to deal with the needs of the child (Raising Children Network, n.d.). Aside from this, Dewar also stated that by following this method of ‘positive emotional response’, toddlers could also develop a healthier social and emotional well-being as they grow up. In a study that she quoted, she said that in one st...