Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[leslie]

Hi Teachers,

What do you usually say when you want to tell a toddler that h/she shouldn't touch things on the ground? Do you know any websites that are helping people with english on expressions similar to what I am asking?

Your help is always appreciated!

Leslie
_________________
Less Is Blessed

[asterix]

You say, "No".
A toddler does not need a detailed explanation.

[Anuradha Chepur]

My sister who lives in Florida says "No" to her daughter (a toddler). The toddler in turn says "No" to her parents when they want to give her food/medicine/bath.

[asterix]

Obviously, she has learned what it means!

[leslie]

Thank you very much.
_________________
Less Is Blessed

[Jintii]

You can also say:

Don't touch!
That's dirty/icky/yucky.

[lotus]

Yes, try:

Don't touch that, it's dirty!

Be careful of "no." It can be the first word your child learns (before "mama" or "dada"). Re-direct.

http://zerotothree.org/magic/book5/article4.html


Zero to Three is an excellent resource for parents of infants and toddlers.

http://www.zerotothree.org/ztt_parents.html


--lotus

[hideko]

I like to use a more positive approach and tell them what to do instead of what not to do.

Take for example when telling a child who is about the fall down the stairs...don't do blah blah blah....the child will probably do it because that is the message you have sent to the braind...tell the child to move towards you and you might have a better chance of saving the child's life...I know this is not picking something off the ground, but I think you get the message.

H.