How to reason with your toddler

Anyone will tell you that grown-up logic doesn’t work on a toddler. So what does? Our resident baby expert, Jenni Johnson, fills us in…

Instructions like ’Be nice’ and ‘behave’ are lost on a toddler. So when your child is going through a hitting stage, say: ‘hitting hurts, touch gently’ every time she/he does it - instead of launching into a lecture as to why hitting is not allowed.

The most common question from expectant second time parents is - will I be able to love another baby as much as the first? You will! Prepare your first child to minimize sibling rivalry and set up a plan so that once baby is born you can still spend special one on one time with your first child, this may be when dad gets home from work or when granny comes to visit.

 Research has shown that fluoride reduces cavities in both children and adults. It also helps repair the early stages of tooth decay even before the decay becomes visible. Fluoride is however controversial so I advise you to get your dentist’s opinion. If you are giving your child fluoride tabs or drops and they swallow toothpaste when cleaning teeth, stop the tabs until your child can spit and rinse their mouths properly.

Try these mindful food tips: Get your child involved in food selection and meal preparation - habits they develop now will stay with them forever. Take your children grocery shopping and encourage them to select produce they want to try. Make a habit of trying one different food or dish, as a family, once a week.

I love this quote by L.R. Knost: ‘It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.


* Catch Jenni on-air every day just after 10am with her tip of the day.

Jenni Johnson, our resident ‘Baby Whisperer’, has been a practicing child-care practitioner for 15 years, and owns a busy ante and post natal clinic in Durban…

At Jenni’s ante and post natal clinic in Durban, parents are taught a system that gives them structure and routine to the baby and childhood years. Jenni has a nursing background. She’s a registered nurse, midwife, psychiatric nurse and a practicing child-care practitioner for the past 15 years. Jenni’s online clinic, can be accessed online via www.jennisays.com. For appointments, e-mail [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter via @JenniSays or on Facebook by 'liking' The Berea Baby Clinic.