What to Expect the Toddler Years (148 page)

Recycle as a rule.
And as a family. Put your toddler in charge of collecting recyclable
plastics (until your toddler can handle them safely, glass bottles and cans should be the responsibility of adults or older children) and depositing them in the appropriate bin. A toddler can also stack magazines and newspapers (wash hands afterwards to remove the ink) and gather used plastic and paper supermarket bags (though never let your toddler play with plastic bags unsupervised) for deposit in the collection bins (if your supermarket recycles bags; if they don’t, suggest that they do). If white-paper recycling is available in your neighborhood (for example, some office supply stores and office buildings offer a recycling service), have your toddler deposit rejected drawings (after both sides have been used) into a special recycling box. When recycling with your toddler, explain the purpose of the undertaking: “Now these old plastic bags (or cans, or bottles) can be made into new plastic bags, and they won’t fill up the garbage dumps or dirty the air when they’re burned.”

Recycle on the go, too. When you take cans, bottles, or other recyclables on an outing, bring them back home for recycling rather than dropping them in the nearest trash bin; this puts more of a load on you, true, but less of a load on the Earth. (Never, ever drop trash on the street or out the car window, or allow your toddler to litter. Use trash cans. When they’re not available, hold onto your refuse until one is. Always bring along a bag for this purpose.)

Reuse as a rule.
Many everyday items can be given new life, reducing the drain on natural resources: supermarket bags (use as garbage bags, or reuse them again and again, instead of getting new bags on each shopping trip); food containers (fill them with leftovers; with grains, nuts, dried fruit; with crayons or beads); junk mail (the reverse sides can be used for toddler scribbles); catalogs (cut out pictures for collages). Such household items as egg cartons, straws, bits of cloth, and the like, can be used, in place of store-bought crafts supplies in art projects, collages, and “junk” sculptures. (If your tot still mouths things, don’t let him play with buttons or other small items.) Shoe boxes, decorated by your toddler, can serve as storage containers for crayons, toy cars, doll accessories, or other small items, or can become small doll “beds” or car “garages.” Explain the purpose of reusing materials to your toddler, too. For example, “Did you know that paper is made from trees? When you use the back of an old letter to draw on instead of a fresh piece of drawing paper, you help to save a tree.”

Reduce as a rule, too.
The less we take from the environment, the more it will have to give us. Instead of a new paper lunch bag every day, use a reusable lunch box or cloth bag. Instead of packing sandwiches or snacks in disposable plastic baggies, pack them in containers that can be brought home for washing (another way to reuse grocery store plastics). Instead of using individual juice boxes for drinks, use refillable cups and containers (or find out if juice-box recycling is available in your area). Instead of taking home purchases in plastic or paper bags, take them home in a reusable cloth or string shopping bag (give your toddler one, too, so he or she can share the load). Explain to your toddler that every time you use another bag or box or carton it adds to the junk on the Earth, and that if people keep using so many “things” there won’t be any place left to keep the trash: “It would be like filling up your room with garbage until there was no room left for you to sleep or play.”

Also strive to reduce the use of electricity and water in your home. That means teaching children to always turn lights off when they leave a room, to never let the water run as they brush
their teeth or soap up their hands, not to flush the toilet just for fun or take long showers.

Be a green consumer.
When shopping, choose environmentally responsible products (recycled and recyclable drawing paper, natural cleaning products, products in recyclable packaging, minimally packaged products, refills). Point out the merits of your choices to your toddler.

Give green parties.
To minimize the negative impact of birthday and other children’s parties on the environment, set the table with placemats or a reusable tablecloth and colorful, dishwasher-safe (or recyclable) plastic plates and cups. Or use biodegradable paper plates, home-decorated, if you like. Avoid throwaway plastic forks and spoons (your everyday flatware will be easier for toddlers to handle anyway) or design a menu of “finger foods.” Make your own centerpiece to brighten the table instead of buying a commercial paper or plastic one. To avoid unrecyclable plastic goody bags, tuck goodies inside a party favor, such as a plastic drinking mug or pail-and-shovel ensemble, or make your own goody bags from paper lunch bags. Wrap gifts in used gift wrap (carefully salvaged from gifts your family has received); in craft paper made from recycled materials, newsprint, or paper bags (decorated by you or your toddler); or in the newspaper funny pages. After use, recycle the wrappings, if possible. Skip latex balloons entirely; they’re hazardous to the environment and to toddlers as well.

Do a little educating.
The why’s of recycling will be easier for your toddler to understand if he or she learns either firsthand or from books, television, or DVDs, how much we depend on nature. Look for age-appropriate books that show, for example, how paper is made from trees, so your toddler can start seeing why we have to take care of trees and not waste paper.

Understanding how our food comes from the Earth and not from the supermarket can help a child understand, appreciate, and respect its importance. If you can’t plant a vegetable garden, try making that connection by visiting a farm where crops are grown and sold, or take your toddler fruit- and vegetable-picking.

Start a family compost.
If you have a garden, even if it’s just a few window boxes, and room for a compost pile, start saving food and yard wastes for composting.

Teach your child’s day care or preschool a lesson.
If they aren’t already involved in environmental efforts, suggest they start a recycling program. To conserve resources, suggest parents bring in used computer paper for drawing, and other items for crafts projects. Provide a box or boxes in your child’s classroom for recyclables. If the school has no easy access to recycling facilities, offer to take home juice cartons or bottles, juice boxes, used foil, plain paper, or any other materials that are recycled in your community. If there are numerous classes, find one or more other parents who will share the task with you.

By 3 years old,
*
your toddler . . . should be able to (see
Note
):

identify 4 pictures by naming

wash and dry hands (3.1 years)

identify a friend by naming

throw a ball overhand

speak and be understood half the time

carry on a conversation of 2 or 3 sentences

use prepositions

Note:
If your toddler has not reached these milestones, consult the doctor or nurse-practitioner. This rate of development may well be normal for your child (some children are late bloomers), but it needs to be evaluated. Also check with the doctor if your toddler still falls frequently or drools persistently, or seems out-of-control or hyperactive; highly demanding, stubborn, negative; overly withdrawn, passive, uncommunicative; sad, joyless, unable to interact with others. By this age, children who were born prematurely have usually caught up to their peers.