A friend was with her child when the earthquake struck the East Coast the other day. They were still feeling the earthquake aftershocks when the child pounded her with questions that made her more dizzy.

How do you talk to yours kid about an earthquake? If they’re not experiencing this, they can see it happening from watching news on the television, or seeing it online.

First of all, if the earthquake was something you’ve experience, the first thing to teach your child is to remain calm. Your fears can rub off on your children. They can easily pick this up and you may be trigger a trauma that will never go away. Look into the tips from FEMA for disaster preparedness.

Second, if she has any questions about what happened, be patient and answer her questions. If you are unsure about the answers, you can always tell her that you both have to find out more from the news. Watch credible updates together and from there, guide her into what is happening. Don’t overwhelm her with so much information, though. Some kids can have very wild imagination that can compound their fears.

Remind her that earthquakes are something that happen to the earth all the time, it’s just that we don’t feel most of it often. You can also teach her about the earthquake by asking her what she knows and how she feels. Ask her about what she may have picked up form school and then expound these to her even more.

There’s a lot of changes when your infant finally becomes a toddler. His unfamiliar desires, needs and abilities suddenly makes you feel anxious. The following insights will somehow make you understand what your toddler would really like you to know.

• I Know how!

Whether it’s pouring her cereals, fixing her bed or doing a dozen daily tasks, your toddler wants you to understand that she can do it by herself. After she mastered walking, her sense of competence and autonomy was developed. So if she says “Mama I can do it”,  let her do it! It teaches them to be responsible

• Limitations

Toddlers are easily overwhelmed by new situations, so they need a structure “every single day”. You need to be consistent with what they can and cannot do. But make sure that you’ve explained clearly to them why they’re not aloud to do some things.

• Picky eater

It’s normal for your toddler to be choosy with food. But make sure that she eats a couple of items from each food group, and she’ll be fine. Let her enjoy eating her favorite dish. Do not force your child to eat something that she doesn’t like.

• Never get tired of answering

At this stage, toddlers will develop their communicating skills. They will start asking, Why is the sky blue?, Why is your dress red? or Why do I need to eat that? Don’t get tired of answering their questions because It’s all new to her. She’s curious with a lot of things, so be patient.

• Wild imagination

Your child’s imaginations soar, so does her fear, anxieties and nightmare. Don’t belittle them and don’t take for granted their feelings. If your child says “There is a monster inside the closet!” this is because of her imagination. It’s your responsibility to talk to her. Teaching your child how to pray will help her a lot.

These are just few points that you need to know as a parent. Learning to understand your toddler seems hard. But with great determination you’ll surely enjoy every moment with your precious child.

Great recommended reads from around our network:

Why are toddlers picky eater?

Keeping safety updated through the toddler years

Let them eat carrots

Image courtesy of care.org

I know not everyone who reads this will be religious, or of my tradition, but I felt that this prayer spoke to all parents; to our deepest prayers if we pray, but also to our deepest desires and fears for our parenting task, whether we pray or not. 

It’s taken from the book Guide My Feet: Prayers and Meditations on Loving and Working for Children by Marian Wright Edelman, the founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund. 

Dear God, I thank you for the gift of this child to raise, this life to share, this mind to help mold, this body to nurture, and this spirit to enrich.

Let me never betray this child’s trust, dampen this child’s hope, or discourage this child’s dreams.

Help me, dear God, to help this precious child become all You mean him to be.

Let Your grace and love fall on him like gentle breezes and give him inner strength and peace and patience for the journey ahead.