Parents will never understand why toddlers do some of the wacky things that toddlers do. Parenting magazine, however, does explain some of the seemingly odd behavior exhibited by toddlers in its March issue.

For example, young children insist on wearing sandals during winter for the same reason they pair plaids with polka dots or would wear the same blue shirt every day if given the chance.

“Children might focus on how the outfit or a pair of shoes looks or feels against their skin, or they might pick clothes they’ve seen their friends wearing. They also form attachments to certain items,” explains Barbara Kay Polland, a professor of child development at California State University, in the Parenting article.

Why do toddlers howl if different foods touch one another on the plate?

Partly because toddlers have rigid ideas about how things are supposed to be, says Patricia Henderson Shimm, associate director of the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development. Toddlers also prefer the purity of tasting one thing at a time.

Childproof clothes

Parents, especially the ones doing the laundry, have an ongoing battle with nature.

At every turn in the great outdoors there is another opportunity for kids to soil their clothes.

Healthtex is offering a new weapon to combat dirty clothes in its spring line of childrenswear: the Kidproof treatment.

Kidproof is a polymer-based process that permanently bonds to fabric and aims to reduce staining, shrinking and color fading.

The treatment is nontoxic, odor-free and nonallergenic, and it does not wash out.

The process was developed by VF Playwear in conjunction with the University of Kentucky Textile Testing Laboratory and Hill Top Research, which focused on allergy testing.

Kidproof underwent rigorous “wash and wear” tests and the treatment resulted in reduced piling and color rub off as well, reports Healthtex.

Coping skills

Life happens: the good, the bad, the ugly. And as much as parents want to shield their children, eventually they need to learn coping skills.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the International Pediatric Association and Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute have created “When Terrible Things Happen,” a new printed pamphlet with a companion online component.

Infants and toddlers up to age 3 cannot understand how a crisis or a loss has changed their environment, says author Dr. Lewis Leavitt, a professor of pediatrics and the medical director of the Wasiman Center on Human Development at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. What they need from parents is their usual loving and familiar care.

Preschoolers don’t fully understand the concept of time or permanence of death and they don’t understand the reasons for physical, financial or family changes. Children at this stage are usually very focused on having their loved ones provide care and keep them safe.

Preschoolers may not talk about their feelings openly but they may have specific fears after a terrible event. Try to engage them while playing a game or drawing a picture.

School-aged children (5-12) have begun to understand how the world works. Parents can help these kids cope by listening and talking with them about their feelings and answering questions they have. It is most important to show and tell children that they are loved and protected.