Toddler Quality Toolkit

Top Tips for practitioners working with toddlers
I am only
2 years old
Don’t expect
me to wait
Who’s my
key person?
I can do
it myself!
Remember I am only 2 years old;
I may have only been walking for
a few months or just starting to
talk. Please remember to have
realistic expectations of what I
should be doing.
Please don’t expect me to wait
unnecessarily for long periods of
time. I’m not supposed to and if
you insist I may eventually
conform but will I be engaged? I
prefer long periods of
uninterrupted time to play within
my daily routine. I don’t like
stopping, starting and waiting.
Spend time with me and my
family and get to know who I am
and what I like to do.
Will you be available and know
me well enough to be there when
I need you?
Even though it may take me ages
to do something and I may not
get it right; it’s really important I
have a go.
I may become frustrated if
everything is done for me.
You’d be surprised how much I
can do given the chance.
Is your environment
ready for me?
It’s mine!
Where’s
my silky?
Finally remember I’m not
a mini 3 or 4 year old!
Expect me to be nosy, noisy, and
physical. I will be on a one person
mission to explore the
environment fully. However, being
so busy makes me tired as I’m
little. I will need somewhere cosy;
readily available for when I need
to ‘crash’! Please respect and
value these qualities.
It’s all about the process and not
the end product! I want to explore
resources and objects, I don’t
mind if I have nothing to take
home.
I like to paint where ever I want to
on the paper with lots of colours
or just one … I don’t mind if it
doesn’t look like anything to you;
It’s mine!
Take the time to find out if I have
a comforter or a special toy as
this is important to me.
Think about where I can keep my
comforter so I can always get to it
when I need it.
And most of all remember, it may
be a smelly and dirty looking
blanket but it’s important to me.
Enjoy me and give me praise
for who I am and what I can do
now, not for what I will be able
to do in the future!
8 Toddler Quality Toolkit © Bath & North East Somerset Council
Toddler Quality May 2019 aw.indd 8 03/10/2019 10:54