You must begin to set limits for your toddler

 Many parents do not set limits and guidelines for their infants and toddlers.

Limits are guidelines or rules. They are usually specific it explains your expectations for the child. For example you may say there should be no eating or drinking on the couch. This is a basic rule that will guide the child and she will understand your expectation. 

You should explain the limit and what the consequences   will be, the couch will get messy. Don’t say that is how my mother was we could not eat on the couch.

 When these children go to a pre-school program adhering to routines   becomes a challenge for the child and their teachers. Teachers spend a lot of time allowing these children to adjust when the child could have been guided to a different stage of development. As a result many of these children fall behind on the developmental scale. Later on many of these children requires special services. You are the root of socialization.

Reminder:  You are preparing your infant/toddler for life outside your home. Research   shows that it is important to have cognitive skills. However, cognitive abilities are not enough. Children must have social skills-that are defined as, attentiveness, perseverance, impulse control, and social ability for school success and later in life.
When you introduce limits your toddler will not cooperate the first few times because your request is new and it will take a while before the developing brain to  grasp the concept. Guiding your toddler will help her to learn how to  cooperate and with that she will begin to  develop self- discipline. This skill is needed in group setting  and it allows young children to have smooth transitions.