Terrific Toddlers by Mel Hayde

Terrific Toddlers: or Tantrum Free Two's - Almost! was given to us when Elnathan was born. Since then I have read it twice! Mel Hayde gives guidance about postive parenting and putting together a flexible routine. The idea is to control the toddler's day to give minimal opportunity for misbehaviour. It is also important to have clean positive and negative consequences. There are two chapters on suggested toddler activities.

Since reading this book a second time I have made a lot of effort to encourage and build up my son. At first I wondered if "positive parenting", focusing on the positives in the child and praising him/her, had any biblical basis. Then I thought of the many Bible verses about encouraging one another. Surely these apply to parenting as well? Correction comes easily, but it is important to also praise progress.

Mel's style is simple and the chapters are short. The vision she presents of enjoying orderly days with your toddler is very encouraging. Every time I pick up this book I find inspiration to continue to pursue this goal, despite setbacks and challenges and tantrums! I want to enjoy these precious days with tiny ones !

You can purchase the book from the Terrific Toddlers websiste. While researching this blog post, I also discovered that Mel Hayde has a blog called Terrific Toddlers and other terrific bits.