How to Teach Emotional Regulation, Sharing & Cooperation with Toddlers

So as you may know, I recently did a huge purge on my kids' playspace at home. I ended up filling a huge garbage of broken toys & toys with missing pieces, and then another huge bag of toys to donate because my kids had grown out of them or we had duplicates.

 There's something so satisfying about filling those garbage bags and getting them out of the house.  

 Buh Bye!

 See you later alligator!

 Every time I purge that toy room it always comes back to haunt me how much "stuff" the kids have and how little of it actually gets used. It's this constant cycle of....

 they get something new,

 play with it religiously for a few days (or even a few hours),

 and then it gets chucked into corner and on to the next best thing....

 If we're lucky that item will surface again down the road.

 and repeat!

 sound familiar?

 so.... as I was going through this purge, I was hit with a dose of inspiration from my friends over at the Smart Cookie Club, who legit up-cycle old household items and create very basic, low tech educational toys.

Last week I chatted with them live in Behave it or NOT! and they shared some ways that they teach their students emotional regulation, sharing, & cooperation with these brilliant toys & activities they make.

[🚨 spoiler alert]- these girls take garbage and turn it into gold!

 While I was chatting with them I had a serious💡moment. Sooooo you're telling me I can....

1. save money by not having to constantly buy my kiddies new toys

2. recycle house hold item to get more value for the money I originally spent on those items

3. reduce our household footprint

4. do all this while teaching my kids some of THE MOST IMPORTANT life skills they need!?

WHAAAAAT!?!?!?!? This is a serious #parentwin!

 Get comfy and ready to be inspired. I don't want you to miss this. All I have to say is you.are.welcome!

Let me know what you are going to do with the info you gather from this video. I've already started picking through my recycling bin for some items to up cycle for my kids. I might even save it all for March Break and have them create these new toys and activities with me.

Anything to get them involved and make them feel empowered!

You've got this!

-Cori

p.s. If you have a toddler that LOVES a good power struggle and knows how to push your buttons. Then I want you to download my FREE cheat sheet with 7 simple strategies to get your child to listen to you. You can start using my strategies right away! Let this be the game changer for you!

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5 ways to make your child's play space functional

Hello 2019! It's a new year, which is a great excuse to clean house and start off feeling fresh & organized. Every 4-6 months I purge my toy room to clean out all the shit that accumulates over time.

You know what I’m talking about…. those miss-matched pieces in toy sets, missing puzzle pieces, markers without lids, broken toys, dead batteries, ripped books, food crumbs in random corners, and the list goes on....

A few questions for you…

1. Do you feel like your kid's toys are taking over your home?

2. Do you constantly feel like you are forever cleaning up your child's toys?

3. Are you ready to walk from room to room without stepping on toys?

4. Are you ready to create a space that feels clutter free & functional for your child?

so how similar are we? I scored 4/4 here. You?

Play holds a very important role in a child’s growth & development. Children primarily learn through play in the early years. Play is a brilliant process that deserves attention and a ton of nurturing. I designated a room in my house for a structured play space so I can have a bit of control to help my children expand their imaginations, develop their creativity, and foster their social communication skills. In order for all of this to happen, it's my job to make sure this sacred environment is set up for success. It's my job to be proactive and provide them with structure so they can really dive in. Here are my top 5 strategies for setting up a successful & functional play space.

1. LESS IS MORE. We want our children to develop their imagination so… we have to give kids the opportunity to get creative with their toys and use them in different ways. If they have an abundance of toys you are likely to see them play with 1 toy for a few minutes, chuck it across the room and move onto the next. That will be put on repeat until it’s time wash up for dinner. If you have an abundance of toys, you can rotate them monthly and put some away in storage. It's amazing how a kid reacts when you stash a toy away for a bit then pull it out a month or two later. It's like gold. I also tend to do this around birthdays and holidays when they receive an overload of gifts. I put a bunch of them away and pull them out systematically when I feel they are ready for something new. The bonus here is when your child has to get creative and use their imagination with limited toys, we often see that attention span & focus stretch. It’s a win-win! Here are a few options for getting rid of toys; donate used toys to families or charities in need, hand them down to family or friends with younger kids, do a toy or book swap with a friend, or donate them to your child’s school.

2.  FIND A HOME. Every toy, book, costume, crayon, & stuffed animal needs a home. Every item in the play space should have a designated spot where it goes when not in use. If the item is homeless get rid of it! (remember- less is more). This builds predictability for kids so they know where to find things when they need them and it also gives them a concrete spot to put things away when it comes time to tidy up. This allows you to teach your child how to “clean up” in a very structured way” I label all the toy bins and drawers in our playroom so both adults and kids know exactly where everything belongs. None of us have an excuse. There’s no doubt that some toys end up in their friends houses for an extended period of time, but at least when I do my 4-6 month purge, I can easily just drop it where it belongs.

3. GET HIGH! Not every single item needs to be at your child’s disposal. Put things out of reach. Use the height of your space. I like to use shelving that is out of my kids' reach so I have a spot to put toys that require adult supervision. For example, board games with little tiny pieces that I don't want going missing or ending up in my dog’s mouth- this pup eats EVERYTHING! I learned my lesson with Perler beads!!! I left the bucket of them on my kid’s A&C table and came in the room to find them allllllll over the place. They now reside in a lovely home on the highest possible shelf in my playroom. A great hack for this is to take an ikea unit (you know the one with the bins) and mount it high up on the wall out of your child’s reach

4. BAG IT.  ZIpper-ed bags are my best friend! I love the mesh zip up bags from the good old dollar store. Bags that zip are amazing for toys with multiple pieces, such as puzzles. I hate when pieces go missing or end up in the bottom of a toy bin in another room of the house. It’s so important to keep sets together. What’s great about having things in bags is when we are heading out for a long drive or to a restaurant- I can easily grab one of the bags from our toys room and bring it along with us. I use zip bags from arts & crafts, puzzles, figurine sets (we’re all about super heros these days), & stickers

4. DEPOSITS. Deposit bins are key to maintaining an organized space. There are often times when toys make their way out of the playroom and into tiny spaces and crevices around the house. To help manage that mess, I've put "miscellaneous toy bins" in common spaces around the house so we can deposit the toys in them until I have time to put them away in their proper places in the playroom. This helps me get toys off the floor at the end of a long day without having to expend whatever brain power I have left. 

So… if you are wondering where the hell to start, my suggestion is to get 2 big bags. 1 bag for toys you want to donate of or store out of sight and the other bag is for garbage. Don’t feel bad about throwing out broken toys or toys with partial pieces. Your child won’t care and probably won’t even realize. If for some reason they have some deep attachment to items you want to get rid of then let them hold on to it, until they are on to the next best thing. It’s probably best to tackle this when they aren’t around so you don’t have any interception :)

Let me know how it goes.

You’ve got this

-Cori

I’ve got one more thing for you to help you start off 2019 STRONG! Here’s my cheat sheet with some of my go-to strategies for getting your child to listen to you. You can start using these strategies right away! Give them a try and let me know how it goes!