I can easily spend an entire afternoon switching activities for my toddler every few minutes to keep him out of trouble. It can be incredibly frustrating, especially if I’m trying to find a few minutes to catch up on laundry, do the dishes, or any of the other million things us moms needs to do every day.
But your toddler’s ability to be easily distracted can also be used to your advantage when they are being mischievous, having a tantrum, or you want to steer them in another direction entirely.
Here are a few ideas that you can try to distract your toddler and keep them out of trouble next time you need them.
1) Seize the Teachable Moment
My toddler loves to hang on my arm as he walks down the stairs, hoping I will swing him down each step. It was OK when he was a baby and I used two hands, but my chunky monkey is way too big for this now.
He finally stopped doing it when I started counting the stairs. Now he’ll take himself up or down the stairs (slowly), and he’s a great counter!
Tip: There is an teachable moment everywhere. Take advantage of the environment and point something new out to your toddler. Maybe it’s a new emotion that you can teach. Or an interaction that led to the behavior you wish to avoid. Sometimes just using words to describe the event is a teachable moment in itself – and quite a distraction for a curious toddler who is interested in learning!
2) Use a Random Object
I have Christmas lights in my child’s bedroom. (Did I mention I live in Israel, where Christmas is celebrated by a minority of the population? That doesn’t stop me from having Christmas lights!)
Lately I have used them to distract him from the awful toddler stage where he calls me for water, food, a teddy bear, a tractor, or pretty much anything else to stall bedtime.
So far it’s working. Let’s not jinx it.
I also do this while we’re walking in the stroller if it seems like my toddler is whining. Trucks and dogs are the random objects that work best in this scenario.
Tip: What fascinates your toddler? What do you read about at bedtime? Do you see it in front of you now? Even a playmate randomly showing up at the playground can occasionally save you from a toddler meltdown. Use it to your advantage!
3) Engage in Dialogue
Now that my toddler is starting to talk, I try to build on that momentum whenever I can. I often end the day trying to summarize the day. It’s our pre-step to gratitude lists but I feel like he’s too young for this at the moment.
One night when he started a meltdown at bedtime I started out usual end-of-day-dialogue:
“So what did we do today?” “We went to a playground, rode on your scooter, pet a dog… that was fun right?”
He usually gets very quiet and nods his head very seriously as I make the list (adorable, I know). Now he sometimes adds something I forgot to the list!
Tip: This is very similar to the teachable moment except that in this one your toddler participates. So if you can ask your toddler which emotion they think they are feeling, or to describe what happened. This can be tailored according to your toddler’s verbal ability.
4) Offer a Fun (or Weird) Activity
At the end of a long afternoon, my toddler decided he didn’t want to leave the playground. So he decided to lay down on the ground. After pleading, teasing, and finally tossing him into his stroller, he wailed and tried his best to escape out of it.
After checking to see whether he was thirsty, hungry or poopy, I finally said:
“Hey, want to see the egg guy?”
He sat up in his stroller, blinked, and nodded.
We walked in blessed silence to the store near me that sells eggs. The guy there does a little jig when preparing our eggs and my toddler really enjoys it.
Tip: Do you have silly activities just the two of you do? Don’t be afraid to be silly with your toddler, chances are they will only love you more for it!
5) Have Emergency Toys When You Leave the House
I have balloons and bubbles in my stroller bag not only for my toddler, but several toddlers that whine at the same time. Yes, it has happened! Since I was able to whip out balloons us parents ended up simply blowing up nine or ten balloons and bopping in the baby playground. Both parents and babies ended up having a great time!
Tip: Balloons and bubbles are just one example. I find them easy to travel with and fairly light. You could use almost any type of toy that your toddler loves and might distract him at the height of a tantrum. Personally, I tend to forget toys a lot at playgrounds, so I take things I won’t mind losing.
Toddlers, Toddlers Toil and Trouble
Of course, these solutions don’t always work though. Occasionally your toddler will have a meltdown despite your best efforts. But these tips should give you a few more tools for your disposal the next time you see your toddler getting into trouble.