Toddler emotions

[DollyMum]

I am in the sphere of a 2,5 year old boy. He is very clever in my opinion, but as a 2 year old his emotions are all over the place which I understand. He love to explore and play and can experience so many forms of joy and heartache in a short period. Many adults tend to use manipulation " be good or no gifts for Christmas" - his reaction is so extreme and heartfelt, that I can see it really affects him emotionally. I am of the opinion if an adult can remain calm and just repeatedly talk it does hit home and he can understand, especially if he has no fear I his mind and is not tired. This can be a terrible combination for him. Some children are more sensitive? Anyway, I am looking for a list of emotional abuse topics..the do's and don't guide, so to speak. Authoritative guide. Please are you able to advise me on the name of a book or send me a list please.

[TOM-RO]

Hey @DollyMum ,

Welcome to the forums .  It sounds like you have a good understanding of your child's temperament and personality.  Certainly children (like adults) have different personalities and thus some may have more sensitive than others.  Seems like you remaining calm is very helpful for your boy   We cannot offer specific advice regarding books etc.  However you mentioned the 'authoritative' parenting style.  If you research books regarding parenting styles you may find something that meets your needs 

[Mandy123]

Hi DollyMum,

If you Google a bit, you'll find a host of useful resources (essays, articles, e-books, forums). You will have to navigate through these and decide what works for you and your child. What other people (and search engines) consider authoritative isn't necessarily the best parenting advice out there. Sorry if this isn't too helpful.

Wishing the two of you a happy and healthy life.

[Jess1-RO]

Hi @DollyMum,

Building on @Mandy123's suggestion of online resources, I am wondering if you have come across the Raising Children's Network before? They have some brilliant resources for children of all ages. 

We often refer to their resources and I have just had a search to see if there are any that might be relevant for you. It depends on what action you are thinking of taking if you are concerned about a parent-child interaction. If you want to talk to the parent about some resources that might help them, then I would recommend this article about good parent-child relationships and why they are important, and this section about toddler behaviour. It also links to other articles that the parents might find helpful too!

You have mentioned emotional abuse, and there are some resources out there that cover this topic too (not necessarily a on stop shop, but a collection of resources). ReachOut have this collection of articles about different types of abuse. It is for a youth audience, but still helpful. We would also encourage you to read resources by your local child protection service (for NSW, Australia that is Family and Community Services) which gives very good definitions of what emotional abuse looks like, the signs of emotional abuse a toddler may express, and some steps on what to do.  Here are some descriptions of domestic violence including emotional abuse in NSW. Definitions of emotional abuse are very specific in different jurisdictions, so it is worth noting what the definition is where you are and whether the behaviours you have noticed fall under this category.

I noticed you mentioned you were in this child's circle, do you have a good relationship with the parents? 

I hope this helps to give you a few starting places  Let me know if you want some more ideas and I will see what I can find!