My least favorite parenting cliche from when Jamie was a newborn was “Enjoy every moment. It all goes so fast.” There is a definite foundation of truth to this statement, and of course it was always well-intended. The statement didn’t make the high pitch screams, projectile pee or chronic spit up any easier to manage, however. It’s crazy how seemingly overnight that infant transforms into a miniature person and calling him “the baby” is no longer accurate. Here are a few of the transitions involved in toddler development: Talking – Congratulations, your child now has more than one way to tell you that he’s hungry, needs a diaper change, or just wants attention for one reason or another. It doesn’t mean that they’ve suddenly developed an adult dosage of common sense, or logic. Just because they have the vocabulary doesn’t mean you can expect a well-reasoned argument. And you are not immune from a good old-fashioned temper tantrum from time to time. Walking – At some point it becomes easier for your toddler to walk side by side rather than load them up in a stroller. It might be easier, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to faster. While you may have an intended purpose for the walk, your toddler views it as an opportunity to point out every bug and pick up every leaf. Just because they can move their feet does not mean they have a sense of purpose – unless there’s something in it for them. Eating – At some point you’re feeding your toddler something messy and they look up and say “I do it!” You figure you didn’t like the color of the dining room walls anyway, so you hand the spoon over. And sure enough, the spaghetti sauce lands on the high chair tray, the floor, the walls, all over your shirt, their face and their hair. Meals and bath time are now intertwined. And a streak of independence is now born. Taste in movies, books and music – They’ll let you know what book they want you to read, and what movie they want you to watch from here out. All television programming is animated during daylight hours from here out. Also, welcome to the world of songs so catchy you’ll NEVER get them out of your head.   What toddler development do you notice?   If you like what you read, please vote for me by clicking the Top Daddy Blog Link below or sharing on social media....

I’ve written plenty of posts in the recent past about the frustrating aspects associated with acting like a toddler. They whine, they procrastinate, and they throw temper tantrums. Lots and lots of temper tantrums. It is tough to imagine any adult acting like a toddler functioning in society. It simply wouldn’t be possible. It’s tough to see the positives in the way they’re acting when they’re running into furniture or melting down in the grocery store – but if you look hard enough, you might. Five Positive Attributes of Acting Like a Toddler: They are tenacious. Toddlers find something they want. Then they continue to ask for it over and over and over again. They hear the word “no” and they ask again. Then they repeat this formula x50. If adults approached their careers with half of that tenacity, they’d be far more successful. Heck, if I repeated this formula, I might be published in more places. You rarely get anything in this world you don’t ask for. Your toddler can serve as case in point. They play hard. Sure, adults love to say that they play hard. But our minds are scatterbrained, and obsessing over the rest of the week. When a toddler plays, there is nothing else in the world but them, and the toy. They are so easily caught up in the moment. I wish I felt about anything the way my 2-year-old feels about his favorite toy. They love unconditionally. Parents talk a lot about unconditional love for their kids. I think there are just as many lessons in the way that toddlers reciprocate. Sure the tantrums are violent, but after four time outs and three screaming fits, they may turn to you and smile through the tears to say “Love you daddy.” It’s pretty hard to stay angry or frustrated through that. They appreciate the little things. Just the other day I received my copy of Dads Behaving Dadly II (I’m an author!!) in the mail. I opened it with Meg, who was extremely supportive, and Jamie, who wanted badly to play with the bubble wrap. He’s also getting harder and harder to take walks with because he wants to stop and count blades of grass. This is both frustrating and admirable at the same time. Sometimes we need to stop and simply enjoy ourselves. They’re creative. Kids are born creative, and toddlerhood is when it’s truly on display. They can invent new games, learn how to draw and create, as well as find imaginative ways to play. Somewhere along the lines it is usually slugged out of us. The ones who can keep it into adulthood are both rare and truly blessed. What positive traits do you see in your...

Say no. Since my posts are typically longer than two words, I’ll expound. But it did seem a natural ending point. You could also take something away, tell them it’s time for bed, or that he needs to eat his vegetables. You could try to urge him along on his walk home. Any or all of it is likely to end in a temper tantrum. You know how your toddler’s vocabulary is improving? The ever-changing demands that they make. Some don’t seem entirely unpredictable, and some certainly catch you off guard. Some are made at a reasonable point, and some need to be met with a stern “no.” Here is a short list of what we might hear on a typical day, sometimes all before breakfast: “Watch TV?” “Play books?” “Play cars?” “Play toys?” “Outside?” “Cat? Cat? Where’s cat?” “Cheerios at the table?” “Take a bath?” “Go night night?” Jamie has made all these demands at one time or another, even the last two. I’m sure he’s made others I can’t think of right now. When he gets an idea for what he wants to do in his head, he repeats it. Over and over and over and over and over again. I hope he can keep his passion and conviction for the things he wants when he sets career goals as an adult. Meanwhile, his mother and I feel/sound like a broken record. On the flip side, an other way to enrage a toddler is to take them away from what they want to be doing, because it is time to do something else. Naively, I tend to offer the upcoming activity as an option, hoping that he’ll jump up and be ready to move on. IT NEVER HAPPENS THAT WAY. For example, if he’s playing outside and it is time for dinner, the transition can be a process. It doesn’t matter if you are serving his favorite food in the world, the fact he is now headed toward the house is enough to send him into a little toddler fury. Nine times out of 10 he’s better once he realizes he’ll be eating something he likes. It just takes some time and emotional expenditure to realize he’ll be fine. The turn around time is typically very quick and he really is a happy toddler. But he knows what he wants, and he is extremely particular. Once he figures out that what you might want him to do next isn’t all that bad, he might even come around and enjoy himself again.   If you like what you read, please vote for me by clicking the Top Daddy Blog Link below or sharing on social media....

Parenting is hard stuff. The temper tantrums and logic deficit complicate the necessary day-to-day routines that come with raising a toddler. Sometimes you have to fudge the truth a little bit in order to survive. As a parent, you say things you never pictured coming out of your mouth. Sometimes there’s a handful of lies told before breakfast. Sometimes they just fall out in the moment and you don’t get a chance to really think about what it is you’re saying. The occasional lie is necessary when it comes to parenting. It can often be the only way out of a jam. Here are seven lies I tell my son: The Food You Eat Powers the TV. You want to watch Horton or Monsters or Toy Story? It’s time to eat your vegetables. Picture those science experiments where lights are hooked up to the hamster wheel. That’s how the TV works in this house, except with food. The healthier the food, the longer the TV is powered. (Insert cartoon character in request) Plays first base for the Cubs. This one never really worked. He sees right through it. But if it buys me a couple more minutes of baseball, I’m for trying. Goldfish are the perfect vehicle to learn about taxes. This one isn’t so much a lie as it is a lesson that’s still a bit over his head. Your employer (daddy) gave you four Goldfish. The government (daddy) took two. Get used to a high tax rate, especially if you want to stay in Illinois, son. The tax rate on Goldfish is typically higher than Illinois property taxes. It’s a steep learning curve. The cookies went bad. Sometimes you need a way to say no to a toddler requesting cookies for breakfast. It just depends on the day. Playing “blocks away” is more fun than playing “blocks.” Jamie love’s to make a mess with one toy and quickly move on to the next. His set of toy blocks quickly spreads across our living room floor, creating a chaotic mess. So we’ve begun playing blocks away in order to promote cleanup. There’s no way it’s half as fun as playing blocks, though. Daddy loves his vegetables. On a night where the vegetables came out of a bag in the freezer this is a flat out lie. Summer veggies might be a different story. The truth is that as soon as he goes to bed, I’m eating ice cream. You should never lie. Well, almost never. Sometimes it’s just necessary. What are some of the lies you’ve told your kids? If you like what you read, please vote for me by clicking the Top Daddy Blog Link below or sharing on social media....

A few days a week we send Jamie to a neighborhood daycare. On the nice days I walk to pick him up, since it’s about two blocks from my home. When I first started this, it was efficient. I could just strap Jamie in the stroller and set my own pace. Now he’s bigger, walking, and more distracted. The way adults and toddlers approach a walk is very different. I’m looking at the process of getting home so we can carry on with our day. Jamie is counting blades of grass, messing up, and starting over. I’m not saying which strategy is right, just that the differences can lead to a test of wills. I’ve had to carry him a few times, but I try to hold it as a last resort. Jamie is learning his way home. But his sense of direction is still in development. If he had to write directions to our house from daycare, this is what they might look like: Wait until we’re out the door from daycare, and no one else can hear. Then whisper goodbye to the people who said bye inside. Run two circles around the neighbor’s ash tree. Fight your dad’s insistence to hold your hand, yelling and pulling your hand away. Find an elevated crack in the sidewalk by nearly tripping over it. When it startles you, turn around and slowly walk over it again to inspect. Nearly tripping. Again. Shout “leaves!” and bend over to pick up a windmill discarded on the sidewalk. Repeat for as many windmills as are seen on the sidewalk. When dad asks if you want to keep going home, shout “NO!!!!” Don’t be afraid to resort to a strategic temper tantrum if necessary. When dad asks if you want to play outside when we get home, keep shaking your head no. Stop in front of the house where a stranger was walking a small dog last week. Yell “Doggy??!!” in hopes it might come running out the door for you. Turn around and run the opposite direction as hard and fast as you can at least once. Find stick. Throw stick in the air. Repeat. Run toward the Robin in the neighbor’s yard shouting “Birrrrrrdddddiiiiieeeee!!!” Smile and yell “Mommy and daddy’s house!” when you see it from a distance. Stare blankly when dad explains that you live there too. Yell “Outside??!!” when you realize your time in the fresh air might come to an end. Stare blankly when your dad when your mutters out loud that he already offered that option to you. I could definitely see the importance of this Google invention to add more insight into the mind of a traveling toddler....

As kids age, they earn more freedoms. They start out crawling, then walking. They move on to riding a bike and then driving a car. It all happens over the better part of two decades, but that is the natural order of things. One look at a naked toddler running down the hallway after a bath, and I’m rethinking this natural order of things. What about the freedoms that toddlers have that disappear in adulthood? There are days I want to revert to acting like a toddler. Growing up is a trade off. There are freedoms won, and freedoms lost. There are so many things our offspring can get away with that don’t wash in mom or dad’s world. Here are four: 1) Go Streaking When toddlers go streaking with a rebellious smile on their face, it’s freaking adorable. When adults go streaking it ends up looking more like Frank the Tank (Will Farrell) in the cult classic Old School. At some point you have to consider that not everyone wants to see that. 2) Dance With No Music  The other day I caught Jamie doing this. A lot of times he’ll perk up and dance when an unexpected song comes on the television. But when inspiration strikes he’ll dance with nothing in the background. For an adult, picture a Dead Head with no jam band behind them. For an adult to do this, somebody’s going to accuse you of being on drugs. It’s a valid hypothesis, and more likely than just being high on life. 3) Run Around and Yell In Public I work on a computer all day long. Sometimes nothing seems better than burning a little energy off. But if I were to run around my workplace aimlessly yelling, there better be a fire. OK, so I can do this in public if Jamie’s around and doing the same thing. Kind of. Anything to entertain a 2-year-old. 4) Live Life With No Filter  If I don’t like something Meg cooked I keep my mouth shut, or offer feedback in a diplomatic, constructive manner. Then there’s Jamie, who can throw the offending food, finger paint with it, or wear it in his hair. All of this can be done while yelling and screaming “NO!!” and violently shaking his head as we try to feed him. We’ve implemented time outs for excessive behavior. We haven’t even gotten to the random/inappropriate questions stage, but the lack of filter is still noticeable. Sometimes, it’s the simple things I miss – behaviors so simple the rest of the world might deem you clinically insane.    ...

News flash to the toddler’s just coming onto the scene: Sometimes your parents aren’t going to give you everything you want, and that’s where temper tantrums come into play. Whether it’s the new toy, the cartoon you’re in the mood for, or some great food – sometimes they say no, and some say no more than others. So what is a toddler in want to do? It may be time for you to make life so uncomfortable and unbearable for your parents that they have to say yes. A little pressure in the form of a persuasive temper tantrum never hurt. So here you go, little ones. Throw the best temper tantrum you can. This is how. Disclaimer: Unless you are a toddler who can read, in which case this post is for adult eyes only. It’s the toddler’s complete guide to throwing a temper tantrum:    Playing the odds  Determine the target. What is it that you are after? Is it worth it? Is it something trivial? It doesn’t really matter. If inspiration strikes, go for it. Are you in public? Do your parents have company over? Determine your audience. The more people, the more pressure, the better the odds. This is especially true for formal settings, when your parents are wanting you on your best behavior. A temper tantrum can still be effective with a one person audience, however. Do you know the word for what you’re asking for? If you don’t, it’s not a problem. “NO…THIS!!!” is still an acceptable, and sometimes preferred chant during a temper tantrum. What kind of temper tantrum are you looking to throw? So you’ve assessed the situation and determined that a tantrum is your best shot at the goods. That’s great. Now it’s time to determine the game plan. What kind of temper tantrum are you looking to throw? The limp noodle – Are you walking with your parents wherever you are going? Do they insist on taking your hand? It is time to let your limbs loose and make any type of mobility or cooperation impossible. They want you to go to your room? Fine. Make them pick you up. They want to get back to the car? Fine. Make them pick you up. Heck, make them pick you up out of the street if you have to. If you’re not going to get what you want, make them pay. The limb kicker – This is the violent one. Anyone gets near you, make it perfectly clear they might catch a forearm in the stomach, chest or groin. As Don Corleone would say, it’s just business. If they want you to stop kicking, punching or flailing, tell them to...