A mum-of-two named Taylor has shared how implementing a new rule with her toddler daughter has been ‘life-changing’ as it encourages her daughter to think independently without stress
Parents will know that the toddler phase can be tricky, as they want to be independent while also needing a lot of help and encouragement from people around them.
While parenting a child is difficult enough, parenting a toddler comes with what parents believe are even harder challenges as they’ll often try to test the limits of what they can and cannot do as they also go through a intense growing spurt both physically and mentally, including becoming more aware of their surroundings and being able to understand questions and demands from adults. However, it can sometimes take a bit of time for them to fully understand what’s asked of them.
To help her daughter think independently while also teaching her when she needs to listen to people talking to her, a mum named Taylor has shared how implementing one simple rule has helped both her and her partner as well as their toddler daughter go through everyday life with less frustrating moments.
“One of the best rules we implemented with my toddler is the 10 second rule,” Taylor revealed in a TikTok video, where she was seen cuddling her newborn baby.
If you can’t view the video below, you can view it on TikTok.
The “10-second rule” for toddlers refers to the practice of waiting at least 10 seconds after asking a question or giving an instruction before repeating it or offering help.
This pause allows toddlers time to process the information, think about their response, and formulate their answer, rather than immediately relying on adults to provide the solution.
She went on to say that the reason they implemented this rule is because toddlers often need more processing time than adults or older children. The practice is often used in childcare settings in order to provide children the time they need to process a request and respond effectively.
“Although adults are used to getting, like, instant gratification when you ask a question, or someone moves right away when you ask them to go do something, toddlers don’t do that,” she said. “Toddlers need way more processing time in order to actually figure out what you’re asking them.”
She went on to explain that this rule as helped prevent her and her husband from repeating the same question five times in a row and thereby ‘nagging’ their toddler and feeling like she’s not listening. She also believed it’s stopped her daughter from feeling like she’s doing something wrong because her parents keep asking the same question over and over.
“Honestly, the 10 second rule is so good for us for practicing our patience. And it’s so good for our daughter for helping her learn that when someone’s talking to her, she needs to listen and process what they’re saying,” Taylor said.
“Honestly, I’d give it like an 80% success rate, which anyone who has a toddler knows that 80% is exceptional,” she told her viewers.
People soon took to the comments to share their thoughts on the rule, with one person jokingly saying: “I need to do this for my husband. He also has a long processing time….”
Another person said: “Sharing this with the grandparents cuz if I hear them cut off my toddler one more time when she’s trying to respond to what they say….”
“imagine being 2 years into learning a foreign language and someone jabbers a question at you — you’d need a minute too!!” another person commented.