Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.
I'm Neil. And I'm Beth.
You may have one, or know someone who does!
And at one time you've been one yourself!
I'm talking about toddlers.
A toddler is a young child, usually between 2 and 4 years old, who is learning to walk or toddling.
It's an important stage in a child's development, as they learn to move and understand the world around them.
It's also known as the terrible twos.
When toddlers can't do the things they want to, they experience frustration, which often leads to tantrums – a sudden and noisy outburst of anger.
We've probably all seen the tears and screams when a young child can't have what they want.
Yes, the famous temper tantrums. But being a toddler is also an exciting time as a child's personality starts to develop.
So what can we adults learn from toddlers?
That's what we'll be finding out in this programme, along with some useful new vocabulary.
But first, I have a question for you Beth.
Being a toddler is certainly an important stage in a child's growth.
But which of the following statements is true?
a. toddlers are attracted to shapes that resemble the human body b.
toddlers are more active than at any other time in their lives c.
toddlers can grow up to 3 cm during sleep time Hmmm… I think toddlers can grow up to 3 cm while they sleep.
OK, Beth. We'll find out if that's the correct answer later in the programme.
At two or three years old, there's not much toddlers can do for themselves.
They depend on mum or dad to feed, clothe and care for them, so it's strange to think there is anything adults could learn.
But not according to Dr Hassan Murali, author of a new book Sleep Well, Take Risks, Squish the Peas, and father to his own toddler, who spoke with BBC Radio 4 programme Woman's Hour.
When I see the toddlers by themselves, they're doing a lot of things out loud, little Julie is putting on her mitts and saying Julie can do it.
And Colton's over in this side and he's looking down at his boots and they're on the wrong way.
And so he says, oh, Colton did this wrong.
And this idea of self -talk is really a way to decrease stress in anxiety -provoking situations.
Dr Morale observed toddlers talking to themselves out loud.
When you talk out loud, you speak so that other people can hear you.
But it's what the toddlers were saying that's really interesting.
When a little girl called Julie learned how to put on her gloves, she told herself Julie can do it!
This is a special kind of talking out loud, known as self -talk.
Self -talk means the messages that you tell yourself and the way in which you tell them.
It's your inner voice.
And in toddlers, it's usually positive and encouraging.
Unfortunately, as we grow up, our self -talk often becomes less encouraging and more critical.
Instead of a positive, loving inner voice, as adults we tend to tell ourselves You can't do it.
Or, You're no good.
Here's Dr Marali again explaining more to BBC Radio 4 programme, Woman's Hour.
We often get into the cycle of negative self -talk, and I think one of the best strategies that we can do is give ourselves more positive self -talk.
So, an easy way to do it is, when you're down on yourself and angry with yourself, think about talking to yourself as a good friend instead of actually you.
And you'll notice that difference in how you talk to yourself?
As an adult, you might be down on yourself.
If you're down on yourself, you feel disappointed and self -critical about yourself.
When this happens, your self -talk gets very negative.
For example, telling yourself you're no good.
And this can lead to a negative cycle – a pattern of repeating the same negative thoughts over and over again.
This can be a problem but not for toddlers who are naturally good at talking kindly to themselves and celebrating the little things, like learning to get dressed.
The solution for over -critical grown -ups?
According to Dr Morale, pretend you're talking to a good friend instead of to yourself, just like toddlers do.
It seems us adults can learn something from young children after all, being kind to ourselves.
because when they are not having tantrums, toddlers really are wonderful little creatures.
Which reminds me of your question, Neil… Neil Right, I asked you which statement about toddlers was true.
Feifei And I said it was that toddlers can grow up to 3 cm while they sleep.
Was I right? Neil I think you know that you're not right, Les.
That was the wrong answer.
It's true that toddlers do grow when sleeping but not as much as 3 cm.
In fact, the correct answer was that being a toddler is the most active period of your whole life, which isn't hard to believe if you live with one.
OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned in this programme about toddlers, young children who are toddling or learning to walk.
A tantrum is a noisy, uncontrolled outburst of anger, usually from a young child.
If you say something out loud, you say it in a way that other people can hear.
Self -talk refers to the messages that you tell yourself and the way in which you tell them.
It's your inner voice.
The phrase to be down on yourself means to feel disappointed and self -critical about yourself.
And finally, a negative cycle is a pattern of repeating the same negative thoughts over and over again – something a toddler would never do!
Once again, our six minutes are up.
But remember to join us again next time for more trending topics and useful vocabulary here at 6 Minute English.
Goodbye for now! Goodbye!
