Things You'll Need:
- Special blanket
- Warm clothing and accessories
- Craft supplies
- Child-size smock
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Step 1
Throw naptime for a loop. Many daycare kids are more flexible when it comes to where they nap because they have to be: During the week they nap at daycare, and on the weekends they nap at home. If your toddler won’t nap anywhere besides her crib, you’re in trouble. There are times when it’s just not possible. Kids often nap on small cots at daycare with their favorite blanket. It’s the arrival of the blankie that signals “nap”—not where they are. Try to associate naptime with a portable object, rather than with a place.
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Step 2
Ask for help when picking up toys. You may think your toddler is too young to help with toy pick-up (and other messes they create), but kids do it every day at daycare. There are several kids for every daycare teacher, and she can’t do everything. So she asks for help. Children over a year are perfectly able to follow a simple command—or at the very least mimic what you’re doing.
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Step 3
Don’t be afraid to get cold. There are signs all over daycare centers in the winter saying, “Dress your kids for the weather. We still play outside.” Toddlers need to run and play a lot, and often outside is the only place with enough room. As long as your child—and you—are dressed appropriately, there’s no reason not to continue your outdoor adventures just because the mercury has dropped.
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Step 4
Make only one meal. At daycare centers, there’s a menu of meals and snacks—but only one menu. They can’t fix 20 different meals for 20 different kids, and you shouldn’t be a slave to your child’s whims either. Offer nutritious, varied choices at mealtime and for snacks. If they’re hungry, they’ll eat what’s in front of them.
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Step 5
Get creative. Toddlers as young as 15 months bring home craft projects from daycare. If you’re looking for something to do on a rainy afternoon, don’t rule out coloring, gluing, and finger painting just because your little one is still in diapers.
