r/toddlertips

My 5 yo son takes an exceptionally long time to get dressed in the morning. He will change in and out of his clothes several times before deciding on his final outfit. It seems like he is hyper focused on what he is wearing and will become extremely upset, and often cry, if we encourage him to choose something that he doesn’t want to wear. He’s often late to school because he can’t decide on an outfit. We try to be supportive and encourage his individuality but it’s affecting his morning routine. Anyone experience this?

Would you consider telling your one year old son to shut up verbal abuse?

My husband and I are in agreement that it’s not appropriate, but he says I’m exaggerating by saying it’s abuse. Looking for other’s perspectives.

ETA: it was early in the morning and he was crying. Dad wanted to go back to sleep. He groaned and said “will you just shut up?” It was a very neutral tone.

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I’m taking my family out of town to see my grandma in the hospital this weekend. Unfortunately, this is probably one of those closure visits where we have to say goodbye.

We also have an ultrasound for our second child which is in the way out of town (we live in a rural area), so we won’t have childcare.

Basically we’re spending a lot of time in medical environments around new life being formed and a long well lived life coming to an end.

Out toddler almost 2.5 years old and is squarely in the full blown stubborn, rollercoaster, cry in agony and scream in excitement in the span of a minute phase.

We are not an iPad for the kid family, so we are searching for toy options. Ideally portable (fits in a backpack) and is proven to keep kids occupied for a reasonable period of time (30 minutes at a time).

The toy will be brand new to him, and it only needs to remain novel for one week essentially.

Any tips or recommendations?

My toddler (3 years old) will tell adults “stop talking” or “be quiet” - usually with a please included.

How do I teach him that’s rude? I do not say either of those phrases to him so did he learn it at daycare?

So my daughter just turned 20 months. She understands all that we’re saying and follows commands no problem. She points to what she wants and otherwise is meeting all physical milestones. She “talks” up a storm and makes conversation with lots of sounds and inflection in her voice. However, she only says a handful of actual words (dada, cheese, nightnight, de for dog, and eyes). She will also sign for more and all done. Otherwise she just whines when she wants something and gets extremely frustrated and cries about it. We do try to not give in to her when she whines and try to encourage her to use her words but it’s a dead end. At her 18 month doctors appt her pediatrician said she was borderline for speech and would re evaluate when she turned 2. Does anyone have experience with a toddler like this? Should I push for a speech eval sooner than 2? TIA!

My son is almost 3.5 years and 40 pounds with long limbs I have bough the bright stars and oxo boosters that are strapped to the dining table chair and the straps are too tight. He doesn’t use a high chair anymore so trying to find a booster for the dining table with long straps for support and that can last until he’s older so up to 50-60 pounds. Any recommendations?

My 2 yr old toddler sleep routine requires her to lie in bed while im next to her then she sleeps by herself while i act sleeping
If she wakes up the middle of the night and doesn’t find me she cries hysterically and wouldn’t let me leave.
If she wakes up and finds me there she cuddles and sleeps immediately with no problem

She is glued to me and wants me to sleep a specific way

She has 1 nap at noon which is 1 hr

I’m tired of this routine, and advice or reading resources?

My life turned upside down two months ago when I left my husband and I realize this will also affect my child, however, she has taken to screaming ALL THE TIME. It literally doesn’t matter what I do - hold her, talk with her, change scenery, yell back at her, ignore her, leave her in another (safe) room, feed her, change her, etc. - she literally doesn’t stop. She isn’t crying per se, she’s got no tears 90% of the time, but she wails.

I’m at my wits end, she’s making me hate her, making me hate the mother I’m becoming, making me regret having a kid at all. It’s an awful headspace and I need her to stop screaming so I can get my sanity back. Please someone tell me this will go away soon.

Seems it started on hand, started spreading slowly from weeks. Visited 2-3 derma all suggest to apply moisturiser not telling what exactly it is no fever, no itching, baby active. It feels very disheartening to see the baby

I swear I have tried everything, but he won't stop going after the cat and laying on him, throwing himself on him, pulling on his fur, trying to step on him, etc.

I have no idea where this behavior comes from, and it's very upsetting to me that he's doing things that can harm our cat.

Does anyone have advice on what I can do to get him to stop?

I dont know what else to do she treats me like she hates me. She’s more of a daddy’s girl but sometimes she hits her dad as well. Im worried because its been a year since she started kicking slapping and punching me i tried to just stop her but she’s really strong and i dont want to hurt her so instead i just slap her hand if she slaps or kicks and tell her not to do that or else ill continue to slap the hand. I dont know what else to do she wont stop. In public she does that to me and she also lies down the floor and cry. She always has some sort of tantrum/ meltdown every hour. Shes speech delay but shes starting to talk very little by little. I love her but it hurts me that other people see what she does to me. Also we cant afford therapy. Im thinking maybe she has ADHD? Because its either shes crying or just mad at me and wont stop hurting and even spitting

Hi I’m a first time mama and I need help! My baby will not drink anything! I’ve tried whole, skim, Silk soy, almond, Ripple plant based, Fairlife, etc. I’m desperate! I just want him to be getting all his required nutrients in case he isn’t getting them from his diet. He’s not too much of a picky eater but he’ll love something for weeks then throw it on the floor and not want to eat it again. He also hates vegetables so I have to hide them in other foods. I’m thinking of picking up a few nutritional shakes or powders (he projectile vomited formula so I don’t see powdered drinks going well but I’m willing to try anything at this point). I’ve consulted Dr. Google but I need real suggestions. Has anyone tried Kendakids or Enfagrow or Kate’s Farms or anything else? What did your picky drinkers enjoy? Thanks!!

Hi everyone!

I'm a parent, and like many of you, bedtime used to be really difficult in our house. Some nights, my little one (now 5) would take 1–2 hours to finally fall asleep, which honestly became exhausting after long days.

I started experimenting with making calming audio stories to help make bedtime a bit more peaceful and consistent.

One of the characters I created is "Luna the Dream Fox" — she gently guides kids through simple bedtime adventures, with little elements of breathing, emotions, courage, and mindfulness.

To my surprise, it actually started helping. My child now looks forward to "story time" and falls asleep much faster than before. It's also made me feel better about how we wind down at night.

Right now, I'm still in the early stage of figuring out whether this is just something that works for my own child or if it could actually help other families too.

A few questions for you:

1. Do you deal with bedtime struggles? If so, what does that usually look like?

2. Would something like this be useful, or does it not really appeal to you?

3. What would make you skeptical or hesitant to try it?

I'm not trying to sell anything. Just trying to understand if this is worth developing further or if it's just a personal solution that worked for us.

Honest answers (positive or negative) are really helpful!

I cannot figure out a system to keep our car clean!! I can’t get over how much crap sneaks into that back seat lol

i have a toddler and baby. baby hates car and is always screaming so I’m rushing to get her out. or toddler needs to potty so I’m rushing to the bathroom. or I need to potty 🤣 needless to say, when I park I m just focused on getting humans out of the car and not the stuff.

ive tried buckets and bags and boxes and it’s just Doesnt work for me

what do you do!!?

My daughter (3) found tampons and asked me what they were. I was honest. They’re used on your period and go inside of your vagina to absorb the tissue and uterine lining that you bleed out during your menstruation. She knows what a period is, she’s seen my pads. I rarely use tampons and have never used one in front of her. She consistently is asking to use one and wants to put it in her vagina. I have explained that she hasn’t reached puberty yet so not only does she not need one, but it isn’t safe. I feel like I’ve traumatized her or something though by explaining it and now she keeps asking to use one. She doesn’t seem upset by it at all, but she’s mad I won’t let her use one. We’ve done “experiments” of putting them in water bottles and I let her explore the tampon without actually inserting it. What else should I be doing? I feel bad. Please be kind

Recently my 18 month old has begun throwing tantrums when he is told no. He will even stop what he’s doing to come over to me and scream and hit me. Part of the problem is he is speech delayed and also doesn’t understand what I’m saying when I try to reprimand him not to hit. Looking for any advice that helped in a similar situation. Thanks!

it wasn't the sock.

she'd woken up overtired, skipped her usual morning rhythm, and by the time the sock appeared it was just the last straw. the sock was just... where everything landed.

I didn't get that at the time. I just saw a toddler screaming over nothing and I had no idea what to do so I either matched her energy or shut down completely.

what changed for me was realising that by the time she's THAT dysregulated, she can't actually tell me what's wrong. she doesn't have the words yet. she just has the sock.

so I stopped asking "why are you crying" and started asking something different. I stopped using words altogether actually. just got low, got quiet, pointed at something she could look at instead of having to speak.

the sock still happens. but now I know it's never about the sock.

anyone else had that moment where you suddenly understood what was underneath the meltdown? what was it for you?

Our daughter turned 2 last month and we’re going to give potty training a shot next weekend over the holiday. We’re starting with the big toilet, have her reading the books, and exposed her quite a bit. She says no to sitting on it 80% of the time. We got a sticker chart in the mail on the way. Starting with naked for the first couple days, except for nap and bedtime she’ll do pull ups (she’s still in a crib).

Any tips/suggestions? My biggest question is how far do we go to try to make it happen without traumatizing her to force her on the toilet if she refuses? We’re not up against any big time clock. She seems developmentally ready.

My just gone 16 month old has been waking up between 4-5.30am every morning for the past 3 weeks. She wakes screaming and just wants up, no matter how hard we try to settle her back down. We have a 3 year old so we have to take her out of the room. We have tried staying in the room sometimes if we stand swaying she might last till 6. We have agreed no screen, food and low stimulation till atleast 6/6.30 but it’s not making a difference. She is in crèche and her nap is 11.45ish for 90-120 minutes. However that’s only improved the last few days it had been 30-60 minutes during this period. Not sure how we can change this. We are going on holidays in 2 weeks so maybe that will help reset as usually you’re going to bed a bit later. I don’t know. I know I probably went through this with my older daughter but I am a little broken.

Does anyone else keep all of their toddler’s toys in the child’s bedroom? I keep seeing strong advice saying toys should stay mostly in a playroom or living room, and that bedrooms should have minimal toys to help with sleep and development. But growing up, everyone I knew kept their toys in their bedrooms, and it seemed completely normal. The rest of the house was basically for learning life skills and spending time with family. Just curious if anyone out there still does this with their kids. I want to keep her toys in her bedroom because we all turned out just fine as kids, but people online say not to do this anymore.