Totschooling: Practical Life Skills for 18 to 24 Month Olds (Part 2)

Here is the second part of our list of practical life skills for 18 to 24 months old which we are currently and planning to teach our little Queen B.

6. Pack away toys.

Our little Queen B has been packing away her toys since she turned a year old. Through it, we are teaching her responsibility and organization skills. To make it fun, we sang songs while doing it or we make it into a simple game of who can pack away more things. In the beginning, I was mostly doing all the packing away but I always let her put the last piece of toy into the box. Nowadays, she can do it all by herself with just reminders from me.

7. Opening and turning pages of a book.

It is our goal to raise a reader in our little Queen B so the proper handling of books is a must for us. We exposed her to books very early on. Aside from reading aloud to her, we let her touch and explore her books. For toddlers, cloth or board books are great first books as they are sturdier than others and thus can handle the manhandling and occasional mouthing of toddlers. When reading aloud to our children, it is important to model to them the proper handling of the books. We also softly reprimand George when she is manhandling her books.

A bookworm just like Mommy. 

Nowadays, whenever we enter a bookstore I no longer have to worry that she’ll damage a book. She even knows where to place it back after “reading” a book.

8. Going up and down the stairs.

Teaching toddlers stair climbing is a safer course than making the stairs a very tempting no-no as the more we don’t let her climb the stairs, the more our little Queen B tries. Of course, we still have a safety gate which J made and we still make sure we close our doors when upstairs to avoid incidents of George using the stairs unaccompanied.

It was actually her cousin Aki who taught her how to go down the stairs. I was too scared back then to let her do it.  That day, Aki taught me to be more confident of my little Queen B's capability and readiness. 

9. Wipe up spills, especially those they made.

Life with a toddler consists of continuous cleaning up after them. Honestly, I still get irritated when I have to clean up a mess because George spilled or have thrown something so I’m thankful that the quote above helps me put my reaction in check. Instead of getting angry, I am now teaching her to help me clean the spilled liquid.

10. Scooping and pouring.

A way to avoid spills and therefore mess in one’s home is to teach our children how to properly scoop and pour things in and out a container. Activities that involves scooping and pouring also double as fine motor skill and sensory activities.

The water were initially dyed blue and yellow. As she mixed it up, the water turned green. This pouring and scooping activity is also a science experiment. 

11. Know the correct names for body parts especially their private parts.

Our little Queen B knows where her vagina and butt are aside from the common body parts. One of the first things parents teach their children is the names of their body parts but a lot usually avoid the private ones. Teaching our children the correct names of their body parts especially the private ones is the first lesson in Body Safety Education. Body Safety Education is a way to keep our children safe from childhood sexual abuse. It empowers them to stand up for themselves and communicate effectively with adults.

The book Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox made our little Queen B know what fingers and toes are in just one reading of the book. I also make use of the song “I Love My Teddy Bear” to make our lesson about body parts fun.

This is a great book for babies!

12. Proper disposal of trash and used objects.

As far as I remember, I have always thrown my trash however small it is in a garbage can. If there is no garbage can nearby, my bag and pockets serves as my temporary trash bin. It is a habit J and I share and we want our little Queen B to practice it also. Since George no longer puts into her mouth everything she picks up, I believe it is high time to start teaching her this habit.

We are also training our little Queen B to place used objects like dirty clothing or used cups in their proper places. George knows where her hamper for dirty clothes is and has been placing her dirty clothes in it for months now. We actually didn’t intentionally teach her to put used cups or plates in the sink but I guess seeing us do it every day taught her how.

13. Watering plants.

Watering plants is a good introduction in teaching our children how to care for plants and the environment as a whole. Since we are still in the middle of the rainy season we don’t get to do this often, though.

14. Sweeping and mopping.

For toddlers as I have observed, doing chores is actually fun so as much as possible we let our little Queen B try her hands in sweeping and mopping the floors. Hopefully, she’ll still enjoy it when she is older and it is already part of her household chore.

Our little Queen B loves imitating Mommy. Here she is sweeping while wearing my slippers. 

And here she is trying her hand in mopping. 

 15. Road Safety.

With weather permitting, Georgina and I spend an hour and a half in the afternoon going around our subdivision or just playing in front of our house. Since tricycles and cars often pass by, I have taught our little Queen B to immediately go to a safe area (meaning right beside me) when she hears an automobile about to pass by. As she grows older, we will build up her education in road safety.

Only pretend driving for you, my little Queen B. It will still be years before Daddy even let you leave the back seat, much less seat in the driver's seat. 

16. Kitchen Chores.

Our little Queen B shows great interest in cooking. She’ll always ask to be carried when we are cooking so she can also see all the action happening in the pan. She also likes it when we gave her a sip or taste of the dish while it is cooking. For now, she’ll just be on observation phase. It will still be a while before I let her do some actual cooking but we have already let her help us in the preparation of some ingredients like trimming of string beans and leaves.

I'm excited for our future baking sessions together. Here is our little Queen B putting sprinkles on our brownies. 

Trimming of malunggay leaves. This activity doubles as a fine motor skill activity. An easy way to involve our children in the preparation of their food.  

17. Potty training.

Before she turned 18 months, we bought a potty and a book about pooping in preparation for potty training. It is our hope that she’ll be potty trained by the time she turns 2 years old. Well, it is easier said than done. Our little Queen B still does not show great interest in using the potty. We don’t want to rush her so we’re waiting for more signs that she is ready for potty training.

Right now, when we are cleaning her up after pooping we make her sit on the toilet bowl so she’ll be accustomed to the feel and use of it. We have also taught her to say goodbye to her poop so she knows that it is something that must go away. We have been repeatedly telling her to tell us when she pooped or better when she is about to poop but she haven’t yet. She does want to wear big girl’s underwear nowadays though especially at night.

Honestly, letting Georgina do things for herself is not an easy thing to do. I believe other parents share the same sentiment. As parents, we have the tendency to make things easier for our beloved children. We don’t want them to experience hardships and failure. We also underestimate their capabilities, thinking that they are still too young or too small for such feat. Also, it is quicker and “correct” especially the household chores if we do it rather than them. But by not teaching them these practical life skills, we are robbing them of opportunities to develop responsibility and independence. As part of a society, our children need to learn how to be productive and contributing members.

Of course, it is also important not to go overboard. Observe your children and their capabilities. They are actually the ones who can tell us when they are ready to learn a new skill.

How about you? What other practical life skills have you taught your child? Please share on the comment section and let us inspire one another in raising responsible, industrious, and helpful children.

#xoxo