Life Kit: Parenting · NPR

How to talk toddler

October 2, 2025·27 min·2 clips
Pediatric psychologist Roger Harrison reveals why toddlers are terrified as they realize they're separate from their caregivers.
This episode of Life Kit explores how to communicate effectively with toddlers by understanding their developmental stage. Experts explain why toddlers behave irrationally, offer strategies like playful distraction and modeling behavior, and provide tips for managing tantrums and power struggles.

As heard by us

A steady toddler guide that favors usable calm over perfect answers.

Life Kit handles toddler behavior as something ordinary and legible, not as a puzzle to decode or a failure to fix. It does its best work in the everyday standoffs: ownership, attention, transitions, and the small need for control that can send a day sideways.

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Why you'd press play

For weary travelers in toddlerhood, this episode offers a calmer route through the mysterious, often maddening day.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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