5 Ways to Motivate Your Toddler to Learn New Skills

Toddlers are naturally curious – luckily, at this age, there are plenty of new things for them to discover! Supporting their curiosity and growth benefits them in many ways. Toddlerhood is one of the most important parts of childhood development. As a parent or a guardian, how can you assist their learning journey? If you’re wondering how and you want to start now, here are five helpful ways to help your children develop new skills.

Purchase Devices That Can Help Assist Your Child

Since every child is still learning to process the things surrounding them, it’s only natural that they would be interested in many things. The best thing you can do is observe your child and determine what they are currently interested in. Most children manifest their interest through the toys and other things they have near them.

Surrounding them with toys or child-friendly devices will allow you to determine their interest. Once you figure out their primary interest, you can focus on this interest, gradually adding additional devices or stuff that can help them with what they do.

Let’s look at a real-world example. Several baby videos have recently gone viral on various social media platforms that feature toddlers helping their parents cook. A stepping tool that assists and secures them to the kitchen counter gives them the impression of independence, where they can also stand up properly. If your child is interested in cooking, My Happy Helpers Steps2 Learning Tower Collection presents variations that suit your child.

More common devices include painting, where colored pencils and child-friendly, non-toxic watercolors or paint will help motivate your child to continue to express and work on their innate ability and curiosity to draw. Providing tools and devices to help them take the first step will allow them to work on what they can do.

Encourage Them to Express Their Feelings and Ideas

If you think purchasing helpful tools and devices right off the bat might be too much, then you should encourage them to express their feelings and ideas. In school, before you sign them up for other activities or school plays, ask them whether they would want to participate. Letting them decide what they want to do allows them to carefully regulate their feelings and understand what they want, even at such a young age.

Aside from that, hearing out what makes them comfortable or letting them express their likes, dislikes, or concerns is incredibly important. It will make them feel that their opinions matter, encouraging them to speak about what they want in the future without feeling judged or ignored.

Celebrate Every Achievement

No matter how small, you should make it a habit or a practice to celebrate every achievement. Celebration makes them feel that their efforts are recognized.

You can consider giving them a special treat when they pass the math test, offering them their favorite snack when they can finish a project, or giving them an hour of playtime when they finish a task. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but considering how to celebrate your children’s achievements should be enough to help them. This is called positive reinforcement, and it can motivate them to learn and take on new challenges in life.

Focus on Their Strengths and Developing Talents

As mentioned, children have innate strengths that they can further enhance with enough support from their parents or guardians. So, rather than introducing a new skill, enhancing such strength allows them to discover a skill that aligns with their strength. For example, your child may be behind in their ability to count, but they can already read and understand a short story.

As you help them improve their math skills, you can provide them with writing tools that can help them enhance their natural skill. On top of that, don’t forget to congratulate them when they can successfully read their ABCs. Remember to focus on their strengths rather than focusing on their failures. This action might discourage them from working on anything they have initial difficulties with.

Make Everyday Events as Learning Opportunities

As you live your life, every day is an opportunity to learn. This might sound too much for a toddler, but letting them explore the world around them, making them understand that they can wander and be curious about things, allows them to discover the answers to their questions.

This opportunity aids them in classifying, categorizing, and figuring out solutions based on their experiences and what they see in everyday events. Another motivation they can live by is providing them the opportunity to learn in the nursery or wherever they want.

Final Thoughts

Every child is special, and their interests depend on their nature and how they perceive their surroundings. As parents or guardians, the best thing you can do is offer them your utmost support. You can express this in various ways and help them stay motivated to learn a skill. With this article, you should have a good idea of where you should get started.