Tell Toddlers What they Can Do, Not Always What They Can't

Instead of putting the focus on "stop," "don't touch," and "no," tell your children what they CAN do.

Example: Move breakables from bottom cupboards and say, "open these! Go for it." Then make sure to have "tidy time" afterward to put everything back.

You can also use an "instead of" statement like this, "Instead of climbing on that chair which can tip over, climb on this sturdy one." With toddlers, use a short label they can understand to describe which chair they can climb on, "THIS is the climbing chair!"

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