Never mind the Bucket List, here’s the Potty List – a tongue in cheek guide to 36 things toddlers should have crayoned off a must-do list....by the time they are toilet trained.
The list was inspired by suggestions from parents nationwide and endorsed by experts, including nutritionist Amanda Ursell, psychologist Dr Richard Woolfson and trends forecaster Sean Pillot de Chenecey. The list comprises 36 activities for your ‘Little One-der’ – one for each month of their toddler years.
It forms part of the Little One-ders’ Toddler Census[1], commissioned by Growingupmilkinfo.com, and has been designed to celebrate the extraordinary growth and development Little One-ders go through from one to three years.
By no means exhaustive, it does however pinpoint some wonderful experiences for toddlers, from the fun to the fundamental.
Child psychologist Dr Richard Woolfson says: “As your toddler turns one and becomes a Little One-der their extraordinary growth over the next couple of years will amaze you. Toddlerhood is about learning, about development and about progress – it's also about pushing the boundaries a little.
“A growing child needs to be loved and to be happy, but fun activities play an essential part during the toddler years too, as now is the time they will master many of the skills that will set them up for life. Making a mud pie or jumping in a puddle has never been so important!"
The 36 must-do activities that make up ‘The Potty List’ are:
1. Made a mud pie
2. Baked a cake
3. Finger painted
4. Sung loudly in public
5. Climbed a big hill
6. Picked fruit
7. Danced with no inhibitions
8. Made sandcastles on the beach
9. Been chased by a monster
10. Jumped in a puddle so hard the water went in mummy’s shoe too
11. Belly-flopped
12. Fed the ducks
13. Blown bubbles
14. Had a teddy bear’s picnic
15. Chosen a favourite book
16. Ridden on the top of double-decker bus
17. Visited a museum
18. Been on a train ride
19. Fed an animal
20. Grown cress in the shape of your name
21. Worn pants on your head
22. Ridden the tea-cups at the fair
23. Flown a paper aeroplane
24. Poo’ed in the bath
25. Stayed the night away from home
26. Ridden on daddy’s shoulders
27. Scribbled somewhere you shouldn’t
28. Cleaned your own teeth
29. Answered the phone
30. Mastered a party piece
31. Had a ‘first love’
32. Bought something in a shop
33. Set your sights on a future career (pirate, fairy or builder, perhaps?)
34. Told a fib
35. Made up an inappropriate nickname for someone
36. Broken something valuable
However, in order to achieve the demands of The Potty List, toddlers require lots of energy.
Growingupmilkinfo.com nutritionist, Leanne Olivier, adds: “During this phase of amazing growth and development, relative to their size, toddlers’ energy needs are nearly three times greater than an adult’s. They require more than four times the amount of iron and vitamin C, plus about three times the calcium, zinc and vitamin A.
“Their stomachs are a lot smaller than ours, so they need to eat small amounts of foods often to give them energy and nutrients throughout the day, so they can make mud pies and climb hills.
“This means that they need three small meals with regular snacks in between to meet their very specific energy needs and each meal and snack needs to be balanced and nutrient-packed.”
It’s also why the UK Departments of Health recommend that children are given a supplement of vitamins A, C and D from the age of one-to-five2, to help support even a healthy balanced diet. Research by Growingupmilkinfo.com[2] surprisingly found eight out of 10 parents were not aware of this advice.
Growing Up Milk is made from cows' milk but it is enriched with key nutrients that toddlers need like vitamins A, C and D, iron and calcium. Giving your Little One-der two 150ml beakers of Growing Up Milk each day is an easy way to help provide them with the extra nutrients they need, as part of a healthy balanced diet.
