Parents often think that communicating with a toddler is not at all necessary, but nothing could be farther from the truth. The years that your children are toddlers are the times that many habits and mindsets are formed.
I started communicating and talking to my daughter in simple language by the time she was 2 years old. I have to admit that sometimes I felt that she wasn't hearing a single word I said, until I started seeing results.
We may not always see the results right away, but God designed words to have so much power. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." The things you say and even the things you don't say to your child can make or break his or her life for good or bad. Here are three conversations that you can start with your toddler today:
Discipline and reward
Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Discipline is like laying a foundation for a building -- the sooner you start doing it, the less it will cost fixing mistakes that we should have made a long time ago.
Discipline is vital in raising children to become what God has intended them to be. So many movements have gone against stern and loving discipline, but the facts will never change -- we all need discipline, and the younger we start, the less the collateral damage.
Grace and love
While discipline is done out of love, it is not enough to assure a child of affection by simply imposing rules, sanctions and rewards. There must be an equal balance of affirmation and affection. Every child yearns to hear those words "I love you" or "I'm proud of you" from their parents.
Just as God constantly assures us of His grace and love by blessing us despite our sinfulness and stubbornness, He calls us to love and assure our children based not on their merits but on the sole fact that they are our children.
Passion and purpose
I can't think of a better example than Jesus Christ when it comes to parenting. Sure, he didn't have biological kids (don't believe those conspiracies that He does), but He had many spiritual children and in each of them He instilled passion and purpose.
When He called His first disciples, He called them to the purpose of being "fishers of men." What purpose does God have for your children? Though we are in no place to impose passions on our kids, we should constantly motivate them to pursue and try new things -- painting, singing, dancing, sports and the like.
