Dear Dads: Bond with Your Toddler 



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Toddler Fun thought it might be worth providing all the dads out there with a little advice on bonding with your toddler. This can often be an issue as mother and child are bonding long before she gives birth and, in most cases, mother is the primary care-giver.
Dads, don’t feel left out! Here are some tips to help you bond with your toddler.
Touch them. Touch is one of the best ways to communicate with a little one for whom communication is all about sights, sounds and feelings. Your toddler already reacts to the feel and smell of its mother—get involved too! For example, bathe your toddler or offer skin-to-skin contact by letting your child fall asleep on your chest.

Get down to their level. Toddlers are dwarfed when adults stand up. By doing things on the floor (not just playing with them, how about sitting on the floor the next time you read a book or watch the television?), you are showing that you are accessible. If your toddler doesn’t show a lot of interest in playing with you, simply play by yourself and their natural curiosity will draw them over to have a look at what you are doing.
Be consistent. Your toddler activities may well be fickle in his/her displays of affection but show your child plenty of love regardless and they will learn from your example.

Use a baby carrier/sling. By putting on a baby sling, you instantly have your toddler with you, wherever you go. This is a helpful way of spending less-intensive time together. Simply being in dad’s presence as he wanders round the shops or does the washing up (hint, hint!) will help your toddler to bond.

Realize that your toddler/baby’s chores are a valuable opportunity to have fun. Diaper-changing, feeding or bathing time can all be fun activities to bond with your toddler and should be a shared experience between father and child as well as with mother.
There are many single-parent families nowadays, so this advice may not be useful to all, but if you are a father who wants to get to know his child better try some of these out. The best advice anyone could give you would probably be simply to spend time with your toddler, enjoy their company and have fun. The rest will come naturally.

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