No matter what age your child is, you’ll want to know as much as possible about the daycare you’re planning on sending them to. Finding the right childcare center for your child is no simple task. You’ll likely call several centers and weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each. You’ll want a place that supports your parenting philosophy and will feel like a second home for your child. With that in mind, here are some questions for a childcare center in Greenwood, IN that you’ll want to be sure to ask.
What is your daily schedule?
Any childcare center should be able to provide you with a daily schedule showing exactly what your child will be doing each day. Daycares typically run on a structured schedule that keeps the kids in a routine. Knowing the schedule will allow you to see whether the activities the center is providing seem like a good fit for your kid.
What is the center’s approach to discipline?
Parents differ in their approaches to discipline, just as childcare centers do. For example, some parents may be okay with using timeouts as a penalty, while others are not. Some parents may want stricter discipline for their kids, whereas others prefer a more relaxed approach. Ask about discipline to make sure you’re on the same page as the center.
Do the kids get time to go outdoors?
You know your child better than anyone—how do they respond to being indoors all day? For many kids, getting outside is an ideal release. It allows them to play, run around and get their energy out. If this is the case for your kid, you’ll want to make sure the center has an outdoor space like a playground and that, weather permitting, they get time outdoors each day.
What is the school’s educational curriculum?
This is especially important for children in pre-kindergarten. Kids should be building basic skills in terms of shape recognition, letter recognition, fine motor skills and number recognition. You want your child to be prepared for kindergarten, and your childcare center will play a key role in this.
How does the center handle potty training?
Even if your little one isn’t quite to toilet training age yet, before you know it, they’ll be out of diapers. Childcare centers have a range of policies on potty training. Some may require that two-year-olds be out of diapers, or that three-year-olds use the toilet independently.
We hope this daycare questions list has proven helpful. For parents who are looking for caring, supportive childcare in Greenwood, IN, Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center is the best choice. We offer Biblically-based early childhood learning. We’re proud to teach the youngest minds skills that last a lifetime.
Our dedicated team is made up of members of the community. Let us become part of your family and teach your child the life skills they need to grow and thrive. Contact us now to learn more and find out if Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center is right for your child.
Let’s start with the simple answer: no, you cannot reason with toddlers. Nevertheless, as a parent, it’s very tempting to try. You calmly explain why they can’t eat a dessert at seven in the morning, or why they can’t go to grandma’s house in Greenwood, IN right this instant. Inevitably, your child doesn’t care about your reasoning and throws a temper tantrum.
But while the answer to “can a toddler be reasoned with?” is “no,” you can do some things to avoid a battle of wills with your toddler (which you will lose!). Let’s look at why reasoning with toddlers is something to avoid and some strategies you can use instead.
Toddlers don’t always respond to logic
Between the ages of two and three years old, children can begin to make logical connections. They’re beginning to understand how the world works. However, their grasp on logic is very tenuous. Toddlers also have minimal ability to manage their emotions, which will always trump logic.
Take the example of a child who wants to go to the park right now, this very instant. You might say, “I’m cooking dinner now. We can go to the park after dinner.” Cue the crying and screaming child who wants to go now and simply cannot understand that the near future is a thing that exists.
Your first instinct may be to reiterate your very sensible point that you need to eat dinner first before you go to the park. You may even be tempted to provide additional arguments about how eating healthily will help your child grow big and strong, but you should resist that temptation and…
Validate your child’s feelings
You might incidentally minimize the child’s feelings by saying something like, “What are you crying for? I didn’t say ‘no.’ We’re still going to the park, just later.” Instead, allow the child to express their emotions. Toddlers have oh so many feelings, and telling them to bottle those feelings up can backfire.
Resist bargaining, bribing and backing down
In this example, you might simply back down and take the child to the park, or you might promise them dessert to distract them from their frustration. While no one is perfect and you might cave from time to time, these strategies aren’t going to help your child’s development.
It’s important to stick to what you’ve said. The child doesn’t need to understand why they can’t go to the park at the moment, but they do need to understand that you mean what you say and that they can’t always get what they want.
We hope this guide to how to reason with toddlers has been helpful. When you’re looking for warm, supportive childcare in Greenwood, IN, turn to Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center. Since 2017, we have provided a variety of services, including daily non-denominational Christian education, before care and aftercare services. As a family owned and operated business, we value providing Christian education and quality childcare. Contact us for more information or come check out our facilities today!
You’ve probably heard of the “terrible twos,” and maybe you’ve even heard some parents refer to their kids as “threenagers”—but when it’s your own kid throwing massive tantrums and generally acting like a beast, you might wonder if they accidentally swapped personalities with a storybook dragon. How do you deal with negative toddlers in Greenwood, IN? And is it really normal?
The baby years make the terrible twos a shock
Between birth and 18 months to two years, your child was probably a relative angel. Even if they were suffering from colic and barely let you get any sleep, there were still those infectious baby giggles, the quiet moments and the easy portability that makes babies a lot easier to care for. That’s why a lot of parents are shocked when their child—who is really starting to display their own personality—starts acting far more temperamental, impulsive and maybe even what we’d consider mean.
Don’t worry—you’re not raising a tiny sociopath. Although this behavior is embarrassing, frustrating and often downright upsetting, it’s also perfectly normal. That’s why you get sympathetic nods from other parents and glares from people who haven’t lived with a toddler for decades (or ever).
Toddlers are undergoing major brain development
One of the reasons toddlers seem so wildly out of control is because they’re undergoing significant brain development. In fact, scientists say that children’s brains develop the most between birth and age three, which is why it’s so important to be present with your child, talk to them, sing, play and more.
As they continue to learn and grow, they develop a sense of independence and self-awareness. However—as you probably are well aware—they lack the words to express their feelings. Instead, they might kick, bite, scream, hit or otherwise express themselves inappropriately. Again, this is totally normal, if not incredibly humiliating depending on the situation.
It comes down to a lack of impulse control, which eventually develops with age and discipline. Time-outs and yelling or spanking are not advised at this age (and for the latter two, the experts suggest they don’t ever work). Your kid doesn’t have the cognitive ability to understand the impact of what they’re doing. They really don’t get that biting little Jimmy is bad (unless little Jimmy bites back). You have to keep firmly, but patiently, telling them the same thing: “We don’t bite people. Biting is bad.” Then follow it up with natural consequences, like cutting short play time and cleaning up the messes they’ve made (together). Be sure to explain why this is happening. Eventually—although probably not soon enough for your tastes—they will start to understand.
Toddlers are all about testing their limits, which is why the terrible twos are such a trying age for parents. The only things you can really do are to have reasonable expectations of their behavior and to set limits, both through routine and discipline. Eventually, they’ll grow out of it.
Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center understands how to deal with negative toddlers in Greenwood, IN. Call us today to learn more about our curriculum.
If you have a toddler, you probably also have a child who is very particular about what they will and will not eat. It can often be a challenge to get your kid to eat something—anything—healthy, which is why a lot of parents find themselves trying to sneak vegetables into mac and cheese or resigning themselves to a chicken-nuggets-only diet and just hoping they grow out of it. That can be a problem when your child goes to preschool, however. Here are some of the best foods to pack when your toddler goes to school in Greenwood, IN.
How to get your kids to eat healthy
Of course your child likes ice cream, cupcakes, chicken nuggets and soft drinks—but where did they learn that they liked them? In many cases, it’s from watching their parents. Who wouldn’t prefer a sugary drink to a plate of steamed broccoli, especially if they don’t understand why we have to eat healthy?
If you want them to actually eat what you want them to eat, it’s best to lead by example. That means that you should join them in eating apple slices, carrot sticks and other healthy snacks—and limit your own junk food consumption, at least in front of them.
The earlier you can start these habits, the better. Your kids love to imitate you, as you probably know if you’ve ever heard them repeat something embarrassing in public. They’re naturally curious. Take advantage of that curiosity by modeling good eating habits and serving your whole family healthy meals. When you start them on the right track early, they’re much more likely to keep those good eating habits up throughout their lives.
Healthy stand-ins and preschool snacks
There are plenty of stand-ins and snacks your child will love, whether they think they need popsicles every day or they happily eat carrot sticks and peanut butter. For example, you can get yogurt tubes and freeze them instead of serving them ice cream and popsicles.
If your child only eats bland white foods, try swapping out couscous or quinoa for white rice. Serve them sweet potato fries instead of regular, and look for ways to use reduced-fat milk in foods like mashed potatoes and other high-calorie foods.
When it comes to the best school foods for toddlers in Greenwood, IN, think “easy to pack” and “shelf stable.” Tube yogurt, sliced fruits and vegetables, peanut butter sandwiches (on multigrain bread) and fig bars instead of cookies are all good preschool foods. If you send cheese, look for one with reduced fat, and consider swapping Canadian bacon for regular bacon whenever possible. Hard-boiled eggs, low-fat milk and dry cereal are all good ways to fill the between-meals “nutrient gap” without encouraging unhealthy eating habits.
Are you looking for a preschool in Greenwood, IN for your toddler? Kids Kingdom Early Learning Center might be just what you need. Reach out to us today to learn more about our curriculum. We look forward to discussing your child’s needs!
