Toddler hood is a really important phase, as it is a learning curve for small children. Here, they learn various life-values that help them to shape their personality. It basically forms their crux regarding the how things function inside and beyond them.
1) Patience and Calmness: The key aspect that the person mentoring the toddler is that it is necessary to have Patience and calmness in midst of the chaos. If you’re explaining an activity in a hustle, the same feeling will be passed on to the children, resulting in children too feeling confused and hyper. Therefore, you being calm and patient will help the child to feel the same.
2) Involvement: The young souls are thirsty for being involved and recognized. in a classroom, the teacher can involve students in the organizational and other various activities of classroom. Children can get along with their mentor in simple cleaning activities like sweeping and scrubbing their classroom floors. This will help the young minds to inculcate the basic values. The mentors can form various groups of children who are responsible for a particular activity. For eg: One group will be assigned to keep all the book and another group toys at their proper place after the activities are over.
3) Be Sensitive: If a mentor is trying to elevate a child while correcting his/her mistakes, the mentor must try to be as sensitive as possible. For instance: If a child has committed any mistake, a mentor must talk to the child in private instead of yelling at the child in front of the crowd .It is vital for a mentor and the caretaker to handle the situation in a serene manner. Also, being sensitive will help to build a strong student-mentor relationship and open many ways for a clear and truthful communication.
4) Become a Child again: The best way to understand a child is to become one of them and be present with them in their world. When you talk and get involved with them just like you’re one of them, it nurtures your relationship with them. Getting involved in a simple catch and throw game, playing a game or two of badminton and indulging in a book coloring activity will help you to gel with them and tell them how much you matter to them.
5) Love: Last but not the least, Love has all the energy to solve the issues. Even if you smile with love and greet every morning with Love, you’ll be sending positive vibes in the lives of these young toddlers. Love can help to erase the barriers in the minds of children and form an understanding between the child and the mentor.
These are some of the many aspects that you need to keep in your mind. If you would glue to these aspects, it might be possible that you may form more than one relationship with your student; from being a mentor to being a friend and much more!