| Raising toddlers is great training for raising teenagers | | | | becomes picky with food. Let's see if I can push a |
| as developmentally both groups have a great deal in | | | | few boundaries and have a bit of fun is the go. |
| common. | | | | Teens play the same game. Many parents find that |
| First thing tots and teens have in common - both | | | | their once pleasant, easy-going child suddenly |
| stages of development involve enormous brain | | | | becomes morose, moody and challenging. He or she |
| reconstruction. | | | | begins pushing boundaries in ways they haven't before. |
| The use it or lose it principle applies in both stages. I'll | | | | What is going on thinks a bewildered parent? Well the |
| explain. The brain of a one year old and a thirteen | | | | same underlying issues as they may have faced with |
| year old are similar in that they overproduce synapses | | | | a toddler - the push for some independence and a |
| or connecting points of the brain. The next few years | | | | greater say in the way they are raised. Now what you |
| of both stages is similar in that the synapses are | | | | both fight about is different. "Don't play on the couch" is |
| pruned back leaving the most used synapses in tact. | | | | replaced by "Come home on time!" Parents need to |
| These remaining synapses are then coated in myelin | | | | hold their ground with teens just as they did if they had |
| to maximise their performance. | | | | an unruly toddler. This early training is excellent |
| Here is the important bit for parents. The activities kids | | | | grounding for a parent. |
| do in these stages become hard-wired. That's why, for | | | | Third thing tots and teens have in common - the |
| instance, the early years are the prime time for | | | | challenging stages don't last. |
| learning multiple languages. The same principle applies | | | | Toddlers eventually stop saying "No" to every request. |
| for teenagers who learn a complex sport - the skills | | | | Often this is replaced with "Why?" Teenagers' |
| learned become hard-wired for life. That's why when | | | | vocabulary, which often shrinks to 3 words - |
| you learn a sport as a kid and you'll always be able to | | | | 'whatever' (which means yes), 'asif' (which means no) |
| play that game even after a prolonged break. | | | | and 'maybe' (which means 'no, but I am willing to |
| The message for parents of tots and teens is the | | | | negotiate a deal that suits me!') - eventually returns to |
| same. There is a window of opportunity open and not | | | | its full 1,000+ word range. You just have to hang in |
| to be wasted. For parents of tots this means providing | | | | there and wait. |
| heaps of natural interactions with their social | | | | I can go on with the similarities but I think you get the |
| environments, mainly peers and parents. For parents of | | | | point. The early years of a child's life provides a great |
| teenagers this translates into getting them off the | | | | training ground and preparation for raising adolescents. |
| couch and away from the computer and into healthy, | | | | learning In both stages it is important for parents add a |
| social pursuits. Don't let them be coach potatoes at this | | | | few minutes to every interaction with children, have a |
| stage. | | | | sense of humour, work with a partner (if willing, able |
| Second thing tots and teens have in common - they | | | | and available), make sure you have firm backbone and |
| often push for independence. | | | | kind heart, and take a regular break from the kids to |
| Toddlers will often push their parental boundaries. The | | | | help you keep perspective and stay fresh. |
| easy compliant tot suddenly says no to bedtime and | | | | |