We are always hearing about the difficulties of toddlers, the terrible two’s, the threenagers… and don’t even get me started on the issues with teething. But I have noticed there are some serious perks to having a toddler. So instead of me venting about all the things that frustrate me, I thought I’d share with you some of the reasons why toddlers are awesome. 

1 – They are a great excuse to get out of phone conversations. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had marketing calls or telephone companies calling to ‘see if I’m happy with their service’ and I’ve used the excuse ‘oh my toddler is playing up, I’ll have to go… bye’. Brilliant!! You see, I’m really not so good at cutting these people off, they are just doing their job. So using the toddler excuse means I don’t feel guilty and they don’t get offended. Win/win. 

2 – You get to act like a child again. Seriously, if you went to the park on your own, climbed on the equipment and ran around people would start asking some awkward questions. But – take your toddler and it’s perfectly fine. I get to run around like a kid, swing on the monkey bars and act like a child again and my toddler thinks it’s hilarious.

3 – You can release your inner craftiness, regardless of how bad you are. Your toddler is not going to judge your artwork (okay, maybe some will) but you can sit and draw, paint and collage until your hearts content and it’s considered entertainment for your toddler. I am terrible at drawing but my son thinks I’m fantastic so that’s fine by me.

4 – You get to watch all the Disney movies you want. Some of my favourite movies are from Disney and I love having an excuse to sit around on a lazy Sunday with my son, stay in my pyjamas all day and watch movies. He loves the attention and loves the cuddles and certainly doesn’t judge me for not brushing my hair or putting make up on. Having a toddler is also a good way to explain why you know all the words to Finding Nemo (just keep swimming… just keep swimming…).

5 – You can use your toddler as an excuse to avoid functions you don’t want to attend. You’ve been invited to Great Aunt Maud’s 85^th Birthday dinner at the nursing home, you’re pretty sure she doesn’t even know who you are and you don’t recognise half the family… but you feel like you should go. Or should you…? Having a toddler is a great way to explain why you can’t come ‘oh I would love to but my son is teething at the moment and really cranky’ always works a treat. Alternatively, if you feel like you should go and give Great Aunt Maud a hug and kiss then you can always use your toddler as an excuse to leave early. Either way it’s certainly one of the perks to having a toddler.

6 – You get to dress them up however you want and they’re not quite old enough to complain. There are some seriously cute toddler outfits around and I absolutely love dressing my son up. Whether it’s in an incredibly gorgeous button down shirt, jeans and boots or in a Batman onesie with a cape, I get to choose what he wears and he hasn’t quite worked out that he can protest to it yet.

7 – You get to buy all the toys you wanted as a child and finally play with them. A classic example of this is all the dads out there who take over their sons Lego collection… the dads always seem far more into their Lego creations than their kids do. I’ve certainly done this too – we bought our toddler a trampoline for Christmas. He thinks it’s fun but we bought it because we wanted one. The same goes for the Disney movies we buy, the books we read…

There you go, having a toddler isn’t all doom and gloom. Sure there are days when you wonder how this child developed such attitude problems, or if they truly are there just to test your boundaries, but at the end of the day I think the perks certainly outweigh any negatives. No matter how crazy they make you feel, as soon as they look up at you and say ‘I love you mum’ you know you’d do anything for them.

What perks have you found with having a toddler? Or have you used any of the excuses listed? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.