Christian Mama's Guide to Parenting a Toddler: Everything You Need to Know to Survive (and Love) Your Child's Terrible Twos (Christian Mama's Guide Series) - Softcover

Macpherson, Erin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 084996475X ISBN 13: 9780849964756

Verlag: Thomas Nelson, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

What's a mom to do when her sweet baby's smiles and snuggles turn to tears and tantrums?

This take on everything toddler―from throwing food to potty training to massive toddler fits―is filled with sanity-saving advice every mom wants to hear. Helpful tips include how to:

• stop a tantrum in its tracks (or at least survive the tantrum without breaking into tears of your own)
• discipline your child in a way that demonstrates Christ's redeeming love
• make your marriage a priority when your kid is a squeaky wheel that always seems to need your time and attention
• introduce your child to Jesus in a way that leads to authentic faith
• convince a one-and-a-half year old that broccoli really is better than cookies―even if you don't believe it yourself

Moms will be entertained and encouraged by the amusing anecdotes and godly advice of this comprehensive, topical approach to parenting one and two year olds.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Erin MacPherson is a mom of three who never does anything halfway. When she discovered she was pregnant she decided to write about it―but then kept writing. A former staff writer and editor for Nickelodeon, Erin now entertains parents on her personal blog as well as through freelance magazine articles, devotionals and speaking. She wants to come beside her readers not only as a confidant and Christian sister, but also as a best girlfriend who understands what daily life is all about.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

CHRISTIAN MAMA'S GUIDE TO PARENTING A TODDLER

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO SURVIVE (AND LOVE) YOUR CHILD'S TERRIBLE TWOSBy ERIN MACPHERSON

Thomas Nelson

Copyright © 2013 Erin MacPherson
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8499-6475-6

Contents

Acknowledgments................................................................xiIntroduction: What Happened to My Sweet Baby?..................................xiiiOne: Getting into the Toddler Mama Groove......................................1Two: Heart, Mind, and Soul.....................................................9Three: Tantrums 401............................................................21Four: The Food Fight...........................................................31Five: Living a Healthy Lifestyle...............................................45Six: Bedtime Battles...........................................................53Seven: Brainiacs on (Hot) Wheels...............................................67Eight: Your Guide to Starting Preschool........................................81Nine: "I've Never Seen This Before"............................................97Ten: Potty Talk................................................................111Eleven: The Christian Daddy's Guide to Parenting a Toddler.....................123Twelve: Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Mom......................................133Thirteen: Confessions of a Working Mom.........................................145Fourteen: Get a Life...........................................................157Fifteen: Reinventing Date Night................................................169Sixteen: Doing It All Over Again...............................................185Epilogue: Treasuring Two.......................................................199About the Author...............................................................201Index..........................................................................203

Chapter One

Getting into the Toddler Mama Groove

Surviving and Thriving in the Toddler Years

I took my one-and-a-half-year-old niece, Greta, to McDonald's a few days ago. I'm not sure if that makes me a bad auntie (she's asked for McNuggets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day since) or a cool auntie (I let her get fries ... shhhhh!)—but regardless, she loved it. And I did too. Except for one thing: Greta—adorable, sweet and precious Greta—is smack-dab in the middle of the terrible twos.

We walked into the play area, and before I could set my tray on a table, Greta ran up to another kid who was putting on his shoes and shouted, "No! Mine!" Turns out Greta was under the impression that everything in the room belonged to her. The slide? Mine! The giant piano on the wall? Mine! The little baby that another woman was putting in a high chair? You guessed it. Mine! It was hilarious. And aside from having to remind Greta 15,324 times to be sweet, we had a wonderful time.

I told my sister-in-law the story, and she wasn't quite as amused. You see, Greta's plunge from delectable baby to delectable-yet-exasperating toddler happened very quickly and very unexpectedly. One day, Greta was her normal, sweet self—singing sleepily in her crib, eating whatever delicacy her mama put on her plate, and playing nicely with her cousins. The next day, Greta woke up a different kid. She whined. She said no. She threw her veggies on the floor. And she screamed, "Mine!" at anyone and everyone who dared come within fifteen feet of one of her toys.

My sister-in-law is beyond frustrated—and rightfully so. I remember feeling the same way when my kids hit the terrible twos. Suddenly, all my parenting skills were tested. All the rules were changed. And all my lovely walk-in-the-park moments were ruined by massive temper tantrums and whining fits. I realized I had to get my mama groove back because my sweet baby was no longer a sweet baby, and if we were being honest, I was no longer a sweet-baby mama. I was a frustrated mama. And an annoyed mama. And the kind of mama who spent more time saying no to my kid than he spent saying no to everyone else. Which was a lot.

Being the parent of a one-and-a-half-year-old is overwhelming. Remember back in your new-mama days when the mere thought of feeding and bathing and diapering a baby seemed overwhelming? Remember that? Well, now you're an old pro. Being a toddler mama is a lot like that; it feels impossible at first. It seems you'll never be able to go to the mall—or church—again. But you'll figure it out. And before long you'll be able to handle a whiny meltdown while calmly filing your nails and sipping an espresso.

How to Get into the Toddler Mama Groove

1. Give yourself a break.

I'm a perfectionist, so I tend to think of my kids' behavior as a direct reflection on me. And then, when my kid acts obnoxiously, I blame myself for being a terrible mother. But mama mantra #1345 begs to differ: You are not a terrible mother because your kid just smeared Desitin all over your mother-in-law's antique quilt. Or hasn't eaten anything besides peanut butter and Cheerios in nine days. Or just stole a toy from another kid at playgroup.

I'm not saying you shouldn't deal with these issues—you should—but simply that you can't be hard on yourself because your kid is having a bad day. Motherhood is hard, and no mom in the history of the entire world has been a perfect mama—no one. With that in mind, even in your worst mama moments, cut yourself some slack. God has used some of the hardest times I've had as a mom—times when I wasn't sure if I would survive the day, much less eighteen years—to show me how to depend on Him. And in order for God to use these trials to help me learn and grow, I have to let go of them and give them to God. Only He can make our paths—and our children's paths—straight.

2. Give yourself a time-out from your kid.

Sometimes you just need a time-out. I remember a day like that. My son Joey had thrown a huge fit in Target because I hadn't bought him a chocolate milk (mean mommy, right?), and that had escalated to a hysterically whiny car ride and a full-on toy-throwing tantrum when we got home. I called my mom. She told me to bring him over to her house.

I vegged in front of the TV while she took him to play in the sandbox and read him books. He calmed down. I calmed down. And by the time I had to go home to make dinner, I was a different mama—calm, cool, collected, and totally in love with my adorable son. Whoever said that absence makes the heart grow fonder was almost certainly the mom of a one-and-a-half-year-old. I can be at my wit's end, but after just an hour away, be rushing home for a chubby-armed toddler hug.

So, on those can't-get-through-five-minutes-without-an-issue days, don't be afraid to call a friend, call your mother, call someone. No one can do it alone, and chances are that your mother or your sister or your best girlfriend would be happy to take your kid to McDonald's for an hour or two ... and return them full of chicken nuggets and French fries.

3. Plan Your Days to Include Movement.

In the past, you may have been able to get by with lazing around all morning and spending the afternoon reading stories, but most toddlers are active and need a lot of activity. And by "need a lot of activity," I mean that if you don't make sure your kid runs around for at least two hours out of every day, you're pretty much guaranteed a five-star meltdown at nap time and an eight-star fit at dinner.

...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Thomas Nelson
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 084996475X
• ISBN 13: 9780849964756
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 224
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar