5 Important Tips for Parenting an Active Toddler

Active toddler: /ˈaktiv ˈtädlər/ a truly fearsome creature to behold if the parent cannot keep up with the said creature.

Ah, the active toddler. A common creature whose magical gifts include disappearing in the toy section of the store, needing less sleep than a college student during finals week, destroying an entire room in less time than it takes me to go to the bathroom, and the uncanny ability to cry on the spot because they simultaneously want a bubble bath but doesn't want to tread through the bubbles to get to the toys on the other side.

They are both fascinating and maddening. And super cute and cuddly. They are like sour patch kids.

Perfectly capable of a great many feats and loving behaviors. These moments are jammed between sessions of running about the house like a herd of elephants, destroying everything in its place.

Mama's Job

We have our work cut out for us. I'm not even kidding. It's hard to keep up!

I kid you not, from dawn 'til dusk, our toddler has superhuman energy. We are nothing but go, go, go all day long. It's tiring. How do they do it? However, I firmly believe that our toddler is going to do amazing things with that energy.

He throws 400 balls out of his ball pit within a couple of minutes with amazing distance and accuracy. But later on, he could be pitching for the Braves.

He runs laps around the house, but later on, that energy will be used to excel at any sport he wishes.

No matter how tiring it gets, I would not trade my son's energy for the world, because I know that it will help him out a ton later on. And it helps him fall asleep a lot easier and quicker at night. So, that's a big win for my husband and me.

Tips for Parenting Your Active Toddler

Despite my firm belief that I'm glad my son falls into the "active toddler" category, I have had to develop some mama hacks and common-sense rules for making our day-to-day life more enjoyable.

These five strategies have helped me go from overwhelmed, frazzled, and in need of a serious pick-me-up to enjoying my son's energetic ways.

Be Strict About Routine

Remember routine=survival.

Thankfully my son is a pretty go-with-the-flow kinda dude, however, I don't think we would be where we are without routines.

As a work-from-home mama, I found out very quickly that I couldn't handle a jam-packed schedule. As much as I wanted to give him a productive and enriching day as possible, I just couldn't do it.

Toddlers may be active, but they are not immune to the power of routine. One of the keys ways to survive life with a toddler is to create a routine. If you do the same thing at the same time every day, eventually it will become second nature.

This means that if you let your toddler run around like a chicken with its head cut off after lunch every day, but after their designated time of pure craziness they have quiet/nap time, then they will – after a period of resistance – learn that is the way things go. It's the new normal.

Develop an Activity List

I don't know about you, but I'm trying not to let my son just sit in front of the TV when he wants to watch Cars. He could watch Cars all day if I let him. So I try to divert his attention by doing activities. Easier said than done, I know.

I spent a long time going through Pinterest to find different ways to entertain my son. I narrowed my search for things we could just do indoors since Winter is upon us and when he's outside, he's perfectly happy and fine to just look at the passing cars.

I compiled all my research into a massive list of indoor activities for toddlers that lists out all the things I can do to entertain my son.

Start Setting Up Chores

My son is two and I'm just starting to do this not too long ago.

Toddlers are in that zone where they're old enough to be capable of helping out, but young enough to think helping out is cool and fun.

You'd get eye rolls and serious resistance from teens to help unload the dishwasher, but to a toddler, that will make their day when they get to help with "big person" tasks.

I started compiling a list of tasks toddlers can start to help with:

1. Unload dishwasher. Mainly the utensils (no knives) and Tupperware since that's the only thing he can reach.

2. Grab dirty laundry from the floor and put it into the adult hamper or his hamper.

3. Wipe spilled water or milk off of the floor.

4. Grabbing the things I need that are across the room.

5. Cleaning up toys before nap time and bedtime.

By giving him real tasks with value, I've seen him grow way more capable as to what he can do and understand.

You should try it out!

Going Outside is a Must

I finally figured out that on the days we went outside, the probability of my son napping during naptime was a lot higher than the days he didn't go outside. In Winter, it's a little different because we both don't like the cold and he doesn't like to wear a jacket. So, I've been trying to find ways of tempting him, but he can't get over wearing a jacket outside. I guess I can't blame him. We are all tank top people in my household. We don't do winter or jackets well.

As parents, it's not that we don't love our kids, it's that now have to cram a day's worth of tasks into whatever timeframe our toddler's naps are. So, if getting a few rays of sunshine in in-order to help keep your kid zonked out for a bit, then so be it. They'll wake up happier and more rested, and then you both get to spend the rest of the day with a better attitude.

Side note: I've found that if my son wakes up from a too long or too short a nap, taking him outside ALWAYS brightens his mood.

When in doubt, take them outside.

Find What Works for You and Your Toddler

At the end of the day, every toddler is different. You and only you have an inside scoop at how to harness your toddler's wild and chaotic energy.

I'd take note of the days that go particularly well. What was it that made that day work? What made your toddler giggle endlessly? What do they want to do over and over again because it’s that awesome to them? Once you start noticing what their likes and dislikes are, you can find more activities similar to the ones they like.

Pretty soon, you'll have a toddler wanting to do more activities instead of just playing with things around the house.

Once you've hit that stage in the game, the days get less hectic and frustrating for both of you. And you can start to enjoy it!