Teaching your toddler good habits
Parenting,  Toddler

Teaching Your Toddler Good Habits Early On

June 16, 2020 / 62 Comments
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I don’t think it is ever too early to start teaching your toddler good habits.

As much as we moms don’t want to let go of the baby phase, we must look forward to the next phase in childhood.

Toddlerhood.

And man oh man is toddlerhood truly a treat.

No more immobile, babbling baby you can leave in a bouncer for a few minutes while you make yourself something to eat.

Bring on the independent, walking, talking toddler who is just waiting for you to turn your head, so they get into something.

Having a toddler is great.

Whether you wanted one or not, you gain a best friend in tiny human form.

You are their first best friend and as their best friend, you have to look out for them.

Call them out when they are wrong and root for them when they are doing well.

These are the things that you would do with your best friends, but we are also moms, so our responsibility goes even further.

In a recent post, I discussed our responsibility as parents to raise our children to be kind and empathic towards others.

Well, today I want to touch on some other habits that we can start developing in our children as young as 1-year old and what I also do with my daughter who is currently 20 months old.

Here is how you can begin teaching your toddler good habits early on.

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Teaching your toddler good habits

When Should I Begin Teaching My Toddler Good Habits?

Before I get into those good habits to start teaching your toddler, let’s discuss this question.

At what age should I start developing good habits in my toddler?

Well, from what I indicated above, you can start as early as you would like.

I would think that the moment that you should start teaching good habits to your toddler is when they understand what you are saying and somewhat communicate back with you.

Those are good indicators that you can start working with them and developing those good habits that they will need later in life.

For most kids, this is usually around the age of 1.

Usually, at that age, your toddler may be or is walking and beginning to say a couple of words.

With any habit, it takes time to develop and when you are working with children, you have to be patient and be consistent in your approach.

A common factor that you will see in these habits that I discuss is how important it is that we model how we want our kids to act.

So with that being said, let’s get into some good habits that we can teach our children early on.

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Teaching Your Toddler Good Habits Early On

Waking Up At The Same Time

The very first good habit you should be teaching your toddler early on is waking up at the same time every day.

Now I am not perfect at doing this every day with my daughter, but I do try.

If you have read my post on the simple things I do every morning as a stay-at-home mom, then you saw where I said that I aim to get up at the same time every morning.

I’m not super strict about it, but the goal should be within 30 minutes of the time you are trying to get up.

Since I do this, I would want my daughter to also get in the habit of doing this.

In my daughter’s toddler routine, she normally gets ups around 8:30 every morning so that is the time that her day will normally start.

With my daughter still in her crib, I can ensure that she gets up around this time every day.

But we are looking to transition her into a toddler bed around her 2nd birthday, so we will have to work on her staying in the bed until it is time to get up.

Once she gets up is when we will move on to the next good habit.

Eating Breakfast

There is a reason that they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Breakfast provides fuel for our bodies right at the beginning of the day after a long night of rest and somehow, it is often the meal that many people will miss.

We may make a habit of missing this meal, but we don’t want to teach our children this same bad habit.

If your toddler is anything like mine, you may not even have this problem.

Mine wakes up ready to chow down.

Now, I don’t make these large breakfasts every morning and I personally don’t think you need to.

Something like some fruit and yogurt or even a couple of slices of bacon and toast will do.

My toddler loves Eggo waffles, so she likes having one of those with a sausage link and she is one happy little human.

Getting Dressed

I know you are probably wondering why on the earth should I get my toddler dressed just for them to get dirty or spill something on themselves?

Because in real life, we wear actual clothes when we go somewhere out in public. Not sleepers, pajamas, or slippers.

But actual shirts, pants, and shoes.

I’m aware that some parents will leave their homes in their pajamas and sweats that they slept in the night before and if that’s you, then do you.

But if you don’t want your child doing the same thing, then you have to model and enforce this idea yourself.

Get your child used to the idea that they have to put on clothes and shoes to get their day started.

They don’t have to be in anything too fancy, but a simple shirt and some pants will do.

As a stay-at-home mom, I make it a point to get dressed and look more put together every day whether I’m leaving the house or not.

Helping Out With Chores

I say help because toddlers are super helpful when they want to be.

They are already following you around the house all day anyway, so why not show them the ropes and let them help you along the way.

After we eat breakfast, I normally do my daily morning cleaning chores such as washing dishes or loading up the dishwasher, and wiping down the counters and her high chair.

Of course, my daughter wants to help so I let her as much as she can.

She can’t help me wash the dishes, but she does like to help me load the dishes and I will give her a dry dishtowel and let her wipe her highchair.

I also let her help with laundry by loading and unloading the washing machine and dryer.

All of these mundane tasks that we do every day that we may not like to do, our children are interested in and want to learn more about.

My daughter thinks that these tasks are so cool and while she is doing them, she is also learning about what it means to clean up after herself

How To Act Out In Public

As easy as it is to leave your little one with your significant other or a friend when you are going to the store, try to take them with you every once in a while.

I understand and know that a tantrum might occur, but a meltdown can happen anywhere.

The only way to teach your kid how to act in public is by taking them out in public.

As kids get older, you can show them how money works and how to use a card, but for toddlers, this is simply teaching them how to behave in public.

With it just being me and my daughter the majority of the time, she will likely be with me if I am needing to go somewhere or do something.

So I better get her used to what it means to be out in public and having to engage with other people.

Being Respectful And Having Manners

While we are on the topic of how to behave out in public, another good habit to start teaching your toddler is how to be respectful and demonstrate manners.

And this is only going to come from watching how you as the parent interact with people while you are out.

This can look like you modeling saying thank you to the cashier when they check you out.

Or even simply greeting them when you walk up to the counter.

Even holding the door for someone else to walk in before you show respect and demonstrates manners.

All of these little things that you do when you come into contact with other people show your toddler how they should act when you encounter other people.

Exercising

Toddlers are already energetic and ready to burn some energy, so exercising won’t be too hard to do.

Get them outside if you can and let them run around and I can guarantee you that this will burn off some of that energy and leave them good and ready for a nap.

We like to take family walks in the evening to get some daily exercise.

After these walks, we set up the garage with some of her toys and let her play her little heart out.

She has this Ride-On Scooter from Skip Hop that she can ride on and propel herself around and I highly recommend this scooter because it will eventually convert to a full scooter once she masters how to do it.

It is actually a 3-in-1 scooter made for ages 1-4 years old.

This is perfect for those early walkers all the way up to those advanced walkers which makes it perfect for toddlerhood.

Exercise is great for the body whether you are young or old.

By setting some time aside to move your body, you are modeling the importance of getting exercise.

Participating in Hygienic Practices

Get your kiddos in the routine of participating in hygienic practices very early on so that they understand the importance of it later.

These practices include washing your hands, taking a bath, brushing your teeth, and using the potty.

It is never too early to begin teaching your toddler these good daily habits.

I may have some mommas disagree with me on giving their little ones daily baths and that is ok.

If you find that giving your child a bath every other day work for you, then keep doing you, momma.

I want to mainly emphasize being hygienic in general in this section.

In order to teach them these practices, you have to set them up for success.

This is the time to buy that potty seat to start potty training, a step stool to reach the sink, and a toothbrush to brush those pearly whites that are peeping through those gums.

Reading

Reading is a habit that we should all have, but it has to start early.

If you want your toddler to develop a love for books, you have to incorporate books into their lives.

This means you need to be reading to them.

Show them that books can be fun by reading in a silly voice, singing songs, and acting what the characters in the book are doing.

Not all toddlers love books, you have to show them the fun in books.

We try to read a few books every night before my daughter goes to sleep and this has become a time that she looks forward to in the evening.

Her favorite books at the moment are:

Having A Bedtime Routine

As an adult, I have even found how important it is to have a bedtime routine.

I struggled with postpartum insomnia after my daughter was born and still struggle with it.

By creating a bedtime routine for myself, I have learned how to deal with this issue and now I get much better restful sleep.

If we want the same for our little ones, it starts with creating a bedtime routine.

For my daughter, her bedtime routine looks like this:

This entire process takes about 30 minutes and she has this routine down because we are so consistent with it.

The goal is to start this routine around 8 pm every evening with an 8:30 bedtime.

Safety

And the last good habit you should be teaching your toddler is how to be safe.

I thought that this was a really good tip from Marissa over at Just Simply Mom where she emphasizes this in her article as well.

For instance, when I’m cooking at home, I let my daughter know that the oven is hot and showed not be touched while I’m cooking.

I also explain that it will hurt if she does touch it.

I know I touched on early teaching your toddler how to act out in public and another thing that you should be showing them is how to be safe out in public as well.

This includes running away from mom, talking to strangers without mom, or running out into the street or parking lot.

These are all dangerous scenarios that we should be teaching our children how to act in so that they can remain safe and unharmed.

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Your Turn

Alright now that I how I have been teaching my toddler good habits early on, I want to hear from you. What are some good habits that you all teach your toddler? I would love to hear from you all in the comments below and while you are still here, check out my previous blog post below. Until next time!

Love,

Just Jass

Teaching your toddler good habits
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Hi! I'm Jasmyn or "Jas" as everyone likes to call me! I'm a stay-at-home girl momma to 2 beautiful little girls and married to my wonderful husband whom I have been with for 10 years! I'm a book and tea lover and when I'm not working on my blog, you can find me sharing bits and pieces of our lives on Instagram or me strolling down the aisles of Target and DSW! I'm the mama blogger behind the blog, Just Jass, where I offer parenting advice, productivity tips, and positive mental health habits from my perspective as mama of 2. Why don't you join me and my Jassy Fam as we navigate this thing called "mom-life" together!

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