Things That Made Toddler Life 10x Easier (Real Advice From a Dad)

Life with a Toddler is mostly made up of small daily challenges that slowly chip away at your patience. Things like leaving the house, getting dressed, cooking food, or bribing your child to go to nursery…

Over time, Amy and I figured out a few small changes that genuinely made everyday life with a toddler much easier. Nothing groundbreaking — just simple things that helped reduce stress and made the day run a little smoother.

Here are a few things that made toddler life 10x easier in our house.

Giving Them Small Choices

I think I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but it really is a game changer.

Recently when making pizza, toast or something similar, I’ve been asking my little one if she would like them cut into shapes. Now it’s become a fun bonding time — she gets to choose the shapes (usually Christmas trees… I know, it’s March), but she enjoys being involved and it makes her much more excited about eating.

We also use a large wooden stool in the kitchen (it’s foldable, don’t worry). I think it might be from Mamas & Papas (I don’t have a link sorry). But she loves standing on it and “helping” when we make meals.

As I’ve mentioned before, small options like letting your toddler choose their cutlery, cup colour or plate can also make a big difference. Getting them involved is great for bonding time.

Preparing Them for What’s Coming Next

This has been one of the best things we’ve done.

Kids don’t like sudden change. Whether it’s plans changing or something as simple as you walking upstairs for ten seconds to grab something, it can sometimes cause a meltdown.

This works especially well for things your child doesn’t want to do. For us, that was nursery. Now the day before she goes, we talk about how exciting it will be — the things she’ll do, the friends she’ll see, the games she’ll play.

Then when she wakes up, we remind her about the plan again and suddenly she’s excited about the day instead of dreading it.

Even something small like saying, “Daddy’s just going upstairs to grab something, I’ll be one minute,” helps give them a sense of security that you’re not disappearing forever.

It’s also great for our stress levels as parents too.

No plan, no Dan. That’s what I say.

Keep Your Friends Close… But Keep Your Snacks Closer

Give yourself a break.

I’ve said before that parenting isn’t Instagram or Pinterest. Don’t believe everything you see on those perfect parenting pages — most of it isn’t real.

If your child is playing up and you’re completely shattered after a long day of work, parenting and existing… give them the teddy bear cake and move on.

And before anyone says:

“But that’s giving them mixed signals! You’re rewarding bad behaviour!”

Children don’t learn these things from a single moment.

If you did that every time they acted up, then yes — that might be a problem. But on the rare occasions where you’re one step away from collapsing after a 14-hour day, no lunch and a long commute… do what you need to do and move on.

It doesn’t make you a bad parent.

It makes you human.

Which leads nicely to my final point.

Accepting That Not Every Day Will Go to Plan

This might be the most important one.

Some days your toddler eats healthy meals, follows routines and goes to bed easily. Other days they eat toast for dinner, refuse to put their left sock on and fall asleep at a completely random time.

And honestly, that’s normal. Accepting that not every day will run perfectly makes toddler life a lot less stressful.

I still struggle with this one a lot. I like everything in my life planned (fun, I know). But once you have a child, you have to accept that things simply won’t always go to plan.

At 7:45am you think you’re doing the nursery drop-off in an hour.

One hour and ten minutes later you’re back home…

With your child…

Who’s supposed to be in nursery…

Smiling away…

After a huge tantrum that ended with you deciding you were too soft to send them in.

Just me?

Anyway, I hope a few of my experiences have helped some of you.

I’d love to hear some of your own toddler challenges and stories.

Dad