How I Handle a Wild Toddler at My Sessions
Toddlers, wow. They can be something else. :-) We’ve all heard of the terrible twos, the “THREE-nagers”, etc, and there is definitely some truth to these sayings! When it comes to getting your toddler to cooperate for family pictures, you might be thinking “How the heck is that supposed to happen?” Call me crazy, but it CAN happen. Experienced mother of three here!
Without giving away all my tips and secrets, I figured I would share a few to help put you at ease for your next family session.
Let them be curious. If you’re doing a shoot at the studio, they will definitely want to explore the space for a bit before they feel ready for photos. Let them explore and spend time taking it in! Their brains can only handle so much at a time, so it’s important to give them the space to feel at ease and comfortable.
Make it fun. If your toddler thinks that all they’re doing it taking pictures, they will most likely be miserable. Making it fun and incorporating play/games makes things much more bearable for you as a parent, and it also creates the most organic and candid photos! If your toddler loves to be tickled, we can use that as a strategy!
Play copycat. If you have older kids, have them help out with this one. Have your older child strike a pose and then ask your toddler to do the same. We can try some funny poses first so that it’s enjoyable for them. And make sure to give them alllll the praise. Tell them how good they’re doing, how beautiful/handsome they look, anything! We want them to know that what they’re doing is GOOD.
If all else fails…bribery. Whoever told you that bribery is a bad parenting strategy was lying…because it works! I still like to use this as a last resort, but at least it’s a good last resort. If your kiddo loves fruit snacks, bring some along in case we need to bust them out. You’ll thank me later.
