Now that your precious angel is growing up, it is time to turn that nursery into a room that can grow with your toddler. Below are some easy toddler room ideas you can try.

Talk To Your Toddler

You will not be able to transform a baby nursery to a toddler room if you do not know the needs and wants of your toddler. He will be the one to use it, so it would help to know what his likes and dislikes are. Sit down with your toddler and discuss what colors or interests he would like to have incorporated into his room. Let him help you make some of the decisions.

Pick or Change A Theme

You can either keep the theme of your nursery or come up with a new one. However, the latter is a better idea because when you created your nursery, you and a few other people made all the decisions. This time, let your toddler choose the theme that he likes for his room. After all, he is going to be the one spending a lot of time in there. Go out with your toddler, shop around and help him select a theme that he likes.

Choose A Bed That Appeals To Your Toddler

The bed is going to be the major focal point of your toddler’s bedroom. Therefore, you have to pick a bed your toddler will like. You can keep his convertible crib to help him easily transition from crib to toddler bed or choose custom theme beds. They are safe, sturdy and versatile substitutes to traditional beds. Plus, it will let your toddler infuse more of his individuality into the room. You can even have custom theme beds designed to blend in with the elements of your toddler’s nursery so it will not make him feel like he is in a strange environment.

Take Out Excess Furnitures

Now that your little one can sit up, crawl and walk, he will need a room that has lots of space so he can move around without hurting himself. Get rid of unnecessary nursery furnitures such as the changing table and the nursery rocking chair. He will only need a dresser, cabinet (for storing your toddler’s clothing essentials), a toy box (for his toys) and a durable small-sized set of table and chairs where he can perform his activities (e.g. coloring, drawing, storytelling, etc.).

Change Room Accessories

One of the quickest and least expensive ways to convert a nursery to a toddler room is to change bedroom accessories. You can repaint the walls, change beddings, window treatments, lighting, use wall art, place picture frames or hang your toddler’s artworks.

Create A Quiet Area

After a long day of playing, your toddler will need a place where he can relax. Create a quiet corner that invites rest by placing books, stuffed animals, pillows and a small chair.

Transforming a nursery into a toddler room is actually very easy. All you need to do is to prepare and plan carefully so you can provide your toddler with a flawless transition from the nursery into the toddler’s bedroom.

Playtime is an imperative part of toddler development. For it is during this time when toddlers discover and understand themselves, the people around them and the world. Here are some fun toddler games to try.

Hide and Seek

Just as he liked peek-a-boo as a baby, your toddler will love to play simple games of hide and seek. Take turns hiding under the bed sheets or use a pillow to cover your face. To make it more exciting, you can gently prod your little one as he hides. When he is using a big bath towel to cover himself, say “I wonder if this is a leg or an arm?”. Games like this help educate your toddler that just because he cannot see something, it does not mean it is not there.

Let’s Pretend

Toddlers love to mimic their mommy and daddy. Play a game of make believe or do a role play by dressing each other up as a doctor, dentist or construction worker, using finger puppets, big cardboard boxes to become houses, trains and planes, toy gadgets (e.g. telephone and remote control) and housekeeping items (e.g. toddler-sized mop or vacuum, wooden toy tool kit, etc.). Do not forget to talk about what you are doing as this will help your toddler with his language skills. Do different facial expressions (be happy, sad, confused or worried) as well so he can learn about feelings and emotions while developing his imagination.

Stop Dance

Play interactive songs that allow your baby to do particular actions such as stomping like an elephant, tiptoeing so he will not disturb a sleeping lion or hopping like a kangaroo. After a few seconds of dancing, hit the pause button and make sure your toddler stays still, and resume playing the music. Not only is this game fun and easy, but it also enhances your toddler’s imagination, develops his sense of rhythm and builds up his stamina.

Clap Me Happy

By now, your little one can hold his hands open, but it may take some time before he can clap on his own. Clap them together for him or let him hold your hands while you tap them together. Sit him facing you on your lap or on the floor and sing clapping songs like Pat-A-Cake, Miss Lucy Had A Baby and Miss Mary Mack. These will improve his language skills as well as his hand-eye coordination.

Catch The Ball

Toddlers love playing with balls. Use a soft, foam ball to play catch. Both of you sit on the floor facing each other with your legs apart and toes touching, and start rolling the ball backward and forward to each other. This game promotes arm muscle strength and dexterity.

Block Party

Use his stacking toys to make simple patterns such as a square or a rectangle and encourage him to copy it. Help him stack all the blocks together to build a tower or allow him to make his own pattern. Sorting games will help boost your toddler’s problem-solving skills.

Little Treasure Hunter

Spend some time outdoors and give your toddler a short and exciting excursion. Go for a walk together and take his toy pail with you. Let your toddler collect small objects that interest him such as a huge stone, pine cone and dried leaves he found in the park or some seashells and sand he gathered during a trip to the beach. He will enjoy filling and dumping items in the bucket and at the same time, he gets to practice his hand movements. Being outdoors exposes your toddler to different places which helps him learn new concepts and vocabulary.

Make the most out of your toddler’s playtime by playing these simple games that help enrich his development. Both you and your toddler will have so much fun to even notice that he is learning.

As a parent, expect to learn over and over again. You think you may know everything there is to know about parenthood or with your child, but the truth is - every day is a surprise. You stumble upon something that leaves you completely clueless. Such is the case of raising a boy. Having an adorable toddler gives absolute happiness, as a baby you may have not encounter any difficulties raising him. But what happens when he starts to grow up and develop? How do you deal with it?

Generally speaking, it is a fact that girls mature faster than boys. Maybe this is the reason why it is easier to raise young girls than boys. Boys will always be boys and understanding the toddler development of little boys require more effort. They have their own ways so parents must be extra patient in order to communicate with them well.

A Boy’s Toddler Development Stages

Toddler development milestones of a boy is not really focused on the physical aspect but more on the emotional, intellectual, motor and social aspects. That is why, you have to spend more time with your little tyke to understand and relate to him better.

Physical

During this phase you might figure out that your boy perspires more than girls since boys are generally more hyperactive and plays rough games. Aside from that, haircut is also a necessity since little boys are not expected to grow long manes. Another physical milestone your boy goes through is the building of muscles. At an early age, maybe between ages 4 to 6, your child’s muscles will slowly form. Legs, limbs and stomach become more firm due to the running and other physical activities he does. He tends to eat more meals in a day since his metabolism is fast due to the rigorous games he plays. Circumcision also happens depending on what age the parents want the boy to be circumcised.

Motor

When your toddler reaches 12 to 24 months, expect him to be very involved with physical activities. Usually, he is more interested in drawing or tinkering with objects. For example he may tend to destroy the parts of his toy car and then reassemble them back, assemble his building blocks or slide on his own. By three years, he can dress and undress himself.

Cognitive

Your toddler may have a short attention span, thus, he may get bored easily with his toys or with routine activities. Concentration can be a problem as well especially when he starts going to school. His mind may wander around, prefer to talk with his seatmates or mess around. This is a normal condition for your little boy so disciplining him is required. However, scolding or hitting him whenever he is wrong is not helpful. It will only encourage him to do foolish actions. Instead, talk to him in a calm yet authoritative manner. This allows him to open up allowing you both to communicate freely while maintaining the respect.

Emotional

Your child’s personality starts to form during his toddler stage. He can be an introvert or an extrovert or he can be a bully. Guiding your boy in molding his personality can help him a lot in filtering the positive and negative traits of the people around him. Boys can be bullies so assist him along the way. Teach him what is right from wrong but also allow him to make mistakes and fix them on his own.

Social

Friendship is a big word for boys. As your little boy grows, he carries out his friends as well. There is no gossip, tattling and meanness. There is no drama involved. So when your boy gets into a fight expect a punch, wrestle or tumbling in the ground to happen and then five minutes later they will be friends again. Everything is cleared out. However, there are some cases where your toddler may become too violent or hot-headed. Address this immediately and point out why it is wrong. If you think he needs professional help, then go and see a doctor.

As your little tot grows, it is also expected for you to build your toddler’s self-esteem as this conveys that he is worthy of your love. For mothers, being a role model to your child is important as this allows him to learn how to treat a woman rightfully. While boys are prone to hide their feelings, they still need all the affection, attention and care from their parents.