On Becoming Toddlerwise

Let's face it. There is no end to a toddler's creative expression, from munching on crayons to striking a Superman pose while standing on the grocery cart seat, when your head is turned to the artichoke bin. A toddler's day covers a gamut of challenges, including small tantrums in the pizza shop because there is a bubble on the cheese, to tantrums at naptime because he is just too tired to rationalise the benefits of sleep. But there is a tender side of the same child.

As educators, parents, and grandparents, we know of no greater fulfilment that a parent can receive than the upturned face of a child, eyes speaking wonders, and a face of confidence in discovering the world with you. This is what makes parenting the most interesting subject in the world. In just over a year, the helpless infant emerges as a little moving, talking, walking, exploratory person marked by keen senses, clear memory, quick perceptions, and unlimited energy. He emerges into a period of life known affectionately as the Toddler Years.

'On Becoming Toddlerwise' concerns itself with this brief but significant window of growth, this vibrant period of your child's life--from taking his first steps to mastering potty-training. The second year of life is an amazing, spontaneous, engaging, yet challenging, time for the emergent child and his parents.

A toddler's mind is driven by curiosity, a need to investigate and a tendency to try to rule the world with a smile or a scream; therefore, it becomes essential to consider the influence of the home as the principal learning environment, and Mum and Dad as the principal teachers. The self-evident truth that early family life lays the foundation for later adjustments exists above all other assumptions.

About the Authors

Gary Ezzo, M.A. serves as the executive director of Growing Families International. He and his wife Anne Marie have spoken to millions of mothers, fathers, educators and medical clinicians through their best-selling books and weekend seminars. Their parenting concepts are now translated into 25 languages.

Dr. Robert Bucknam, M.D., F.A.A.P. is the founder and director of Cornerstone Pediatrics in Louisville, Colorado where he resides with his wife, Gayle, and their four sons. He has served thousands of parents in Colorado for the last 28 years as their Pediatrician. With a targeted interest in preterm and high-risk newborns, Dr. Bucknam's opinions are highly respected within the pediatric community; He has expanded his practice into multiple hospitals in the area where he works closely with 37 licensed Pediatricians. Dr. Bucknam's work on Parent Directed Feeding is being utilized by 6 million parents worldwide in 20 languages.