So, you are now the proud parents of a happy, active, bundle of energy known as a toddler. You made it though no sleep, tantrums, more dirty diapers than you thought possible, learning to eat solids, and everything else that parenthood brings. Now there are some (rare) nights that you actually get to sleep for a whole 8 hours, and even the rarer time that your child sleeps until 9am! So now what do you do as a parent? Now the real worry begins. You know that they are now mobile and active. This has its good and bad points. Yes, your child can entertain themselves a little more now, they can play in the living room, and you can read them a book that they actually understand. But on the other side of that coin, they are mobile and can get hurt more often and more seriously. They can open cabinets and doors, they learn how to unlock those suckers faster than you can believe! They learn they can say "No" and don't always understand that we have their best interests in mind, just that we are telling them not to do something they want to do. So now what?

Now you have to take the time to set up insurance. Yes, you hear me talk about how horrible I feel about our medical community but the reality is that now our children can get hurt more and more, and we have to take precautions for them and our family's financial future. Basically I look at insurance as the cap of how bad you can be hurt in the case of a major incident.

You have to make sure that you block off parts of your house that you don't want the child to get into if you plan on taking a nap or are paying attention to anything else in the house. They are now mobile! They will get into things FAST! Our daughter knows the kitchen is off limits unless Dad or I are there, but in reality does she always follow this? NOPE! Baby gates are very helpful! I have found that it didn't take our daughter long to learn how to unlock the doors. Will a baby gate always stop them, nope, but it will make noise if they knock it over to let you know that they are pushing the boundaries.

If you have a pool you MUST either teach your child to swim, put up a baby fence, or put your child in lessons. Drowning is the number one cause of death of children in the US. You have to make sure that you are protecting them and doing your part as a responsible parent. Many children drown simply because they don't know what to do if they fall in. As a parent you must show your children what to do if they fall in. Meaning, if you always teach your child to swim to you, they won't know to turn around if they go in and you aren't there. You have to teach them this, you also have to teach them to let go of anything they are holding when they go in the water. I don't care if it is your remote control or cell phone that sinks to the bottom, if the child tries to hold it they are more likely to drown. Take some time to show them it is OK to let go. Another situation to keep an eye on in the pool is to intentionally knock the child in the pool in their clothes. Make sure they know what to do with the difference in the feel of the water on clothes versus a swimsuit.

Crayons and markers are a big one at this time of drawing on the wall. I actually know people who thought it was great they got a dry erase board that their son could draw on, and then put it on their white wall. Crayons, pencils, markers, etc should only be used at their table. Make sure they know this is where they do these things. It will help them not only in keeping your walls in decent condition but also in school when they get there. Sitting and focusing is a learned skill that many children don't have when they get to school because parents aren't taking the time to do things with them at the table when they are young.

Bedtime should start now if you haven't already as well. If your child still sleeps with you, you may want to start this break now, if you don't then it will just get harder and harder. If your child is already in their own bed, this is the time they will start to fight bedtime. Yes, they will fight it! We have found that it is easiest for us by sticking to the routine. This routine we follow anywhere we are. It allows us to enjoy some evenings out with friends while still having our daughter with us. Our routine is this: Take a bath, she unloads the toys and pulls the drain, she says "good bye" to the water, and we help her out of the tub. After this we dress her in the bathroom in her PJ's and she comes out to say "goodnight" to whichever of us did not dry her off. She then gets to pick 2 stuffed animals, and goes to her room. She puts her animals in the bed, turns on her humidifier, makes sure her water is in the corner, lies down, and we cover her up. She gets hugs and kisses and she is there for the night. Routine is great with children use it whenever possible.

Basically take time with them and use it wisely. They will soak up everything and while the tantrums will be there, if they know what is expected they will do better that way.