Hahahaha that is so true. For most toddlers, their emotions change so quickly - and they're so strong, that it's hard to keep up. That and they're often quite energetic and strong-willed.
I think it's the fact that they have not much awareness of their surroundings and are a big danger to themselves. You need to be watching them 24/7 and if you take your eyes off of them for literally just 10 seconds, they can get seriously hurt. Even when you sleep, they can climb out of bed somehow and wonder around the house. Like one time we found out that one of the children was turning on the stove at night. Why? I don't know but it happened.
I think teaching "good" and "bad" is hardest thing when it comes to parenting toddlers. They don't understand what is good and what is bad. If you say bad, you will have to explain the toddler why this is bad.Unfortunately, most of the time the toddlers do not understand your words.
Based on my experience, the hardest part in taking care of the toddler is in preventing harm. Toddlers have the tendency to test their ability to walk and run. And a running toddler is susceptible to falling that can hurt himself. It is an agony for a parent to witness an accident that will result in injuries.
I feel every stage is a challenge in itself. It's difficult to understand where pain is when they cry for instance and then again when they crawl you never know what goes in their mouth! Just sighting two random examples. For parents, every minute is a challenge for in a wink they can fall, hurt themselves or sustain an injury!
In my experience safety was the key factor. Toddlers are at the age when they want to get into everything and explore. You always have to keep an eye on them to keep them safe. For example running through the house, trying to open cabinets, picking things up and putting them in their mouth etc..
Kids, in my opinion, are at their cutest in their toddler years. What's scary about these growth phase is that toddlers just love to do what they want and have no sense of danger at all. You can't afford to take your eyes of them for a few seconds or they get themselves into an accident with even the simplest toys. They feel invincible and are very strong-willed, too. You'd have to watch out or they'll put anything into their mouth to have a taste of whatever catch their attention.
Looking back, the thing that really bothered me when mine were tiny was when they were poorly and all you could do was dose them up with baby medication and be there for them. It was always such a worrying time because they seem so little and they don't understand why they feel so bad. When they get older they understand that everyone gets ill sometimes and are more able to cope with it.
The most worrying part is to watch out what they put in their mouth. The baby proofing has to be done in every way possible. Not just in their mouth this toddler at my neighbour's put a pea in his nose (lol)
Personally I think it's about ensuring the safety of those kids and as much as you think it's an easy task, but along the line you would definitely find out it's a difficult job to do because you can't be at all places at once. Toddlers seems to adventure prone, they like to take up things that they had never tried before, get a closer view of something flashy, play with harmful objects, etc. If you aren't careful and observant enough you tend to miss the gap to intercept the toddler and this might result in him/her seriously getting hurt. I can still remember my cousin getting burnt by hot pressing iron. His curiosity drove him to tough the pressing iron while it was plugged in, it was a very horrible experience for him as he cried all day long. If there is any way to dampen the level of curiosity in toddlers, I think it's the best strategy for controlling how they expose themselves to getting injured. Every parent is always worried about the safety of his little baby because one can really be 100 percent confident in saying he or she would always be there to make sure the kid doesn't get hurt. There was one incident that occurred in my neighborhood, the kid inserted a shirt button into his ear. The parent almost ran mad that day but all thanks to God and the doctor the child was taken, the button was removed ; although the child suffered a little bit of cuts in the process of removing the button.
