Review: Becoming a more confident parent after reading ToddlerCalm

Some days I worry about our hearing. It’s not always easy being a mum of a toddler, and 17-month old Baby Girl can get extremely upset at times, screaming loudly into my ears. This is why I was really excited about receiving a review copy of the book ToddlerCalm: A guide for calmer toddlers & happier parents.

I’ve been keen to learn more about toddler behaviour and the best ways of dealing with tantrums, and ToddlerCalm, written by Sarah Ockwell-Smith, the founder of parent class companies BabyCalm and ToddlerCalm, has been a great help.

Reading the first few chapters of this book made me feel more confident about what I was doing. It helped me relax and stop worrying about doing it right. There’s an exercise at the beginning of the book where you write down 10 qualities you want your child to have as an adult, and doing this helped me understand the best ways for me to manage different situations.

I want my daughter to be confident, caring and kind as an adult, so when she now has a tantrum I focus on staying calm, telling her that I understand she’s feeling upset, and give her a hug or say I’m there to give her a hug when she’s ready.

I like the fact that ToddlerCalm focuses on empathy and explains the science behind common challenges, such as why toddlers wake up in the middle of the night. For me, this book and the introductory exercise was exactly what I needed to feel more confident about being the best possible parent for Baby Girl.

ToddlerCalm: A Guide for Calmer Parents and Happier Parents (£13.99) is a paperback book published by Piatkus in 2013, and it is aimed at parents of 1-4 year olds.

Tags: Parenting, Reviews, Tantrums, Toddler behaviour, ToddlerCalm