Children as young as 16 months are still evolving into the functional play phase, using toys as they are intended more and more each day. You may notice that she is “driving” cars and dump trucks across the floor more and more. You may see him sweeping toys with his tiny broom. He has observed...
Suddenly he wants to do everything himself from brushing his own teeth to climbing into his carseat and the slightest helping hand from you can result in an all-out tantrum. If this is the tune your toddler is singing, you’re not alone! She is getting to the age where she craves independence and the only...
The amount of words spoken to your toddler by you and other caregivers is a strong predictor of future literacy and academic skills, but recent studies are showing that this back and forth conversation (called serve and return or conversational turns) is even more important than we originally thought! During toddler brain studies, the back...
Right around 15 months functional play, sometimes called pretend play starts to emerge. During this phase of play, toddlers begin to use toys in the way they are intended. For example, your toddler might bring a toy phone to his ear and “talk” on it or he might hammer with a play hammer. This stage...
“Clowning around” is actually an important part of development! Babies do not inherit a sense of humor, it is learned and we can help them learn this by making them laugh and laughing at them! Now that your toddler is more interactive, they are noticing that when they do something silly, you laugh. Your toddler...
He is experimenting with his own socialization right now. He is learning that some of his interactions have positive responses and some have negative responses. Maybe whining does not get him what he wants, but he learns through repetition, so he will try again and again to keep testing your reaction. He probably is paying...
Allow your toddler to play with older children. Studies show that babies and toddlers are fascinated with the faces and voices of other children. This interaction is great for building new language and communication skills. Children are more apt to get down to your toddler’s level and interact with her in an organic way. If...
Dr. Tovah Klein, author of How Toddlers Thrive recommends that parents of toddlers switch their focus from the “top down” adult position to actually thinking like a toddler. It really makes you look at your world differently. As Klien points out, thinking like a toddler requires to look at the world in very simple terms...
It might be hard to let you child truly “explore” his food when we know that food is meant to be eaten. Toddlers don’t know that the beautiful green avocado is meant to be immediately put into his mouth. He doesn’t know food from toys from dirt. Everything is to be explored. His first...
At 14 months your toddler is still learning about his world through sensory play. By touching, mouthing, tasting, and exploring, he is building those pathways in his brain that connect brain cells (neurons) together. Every sensory experience creates more pathways and when he repeats these experiences and actions, the pathways strengthen and new learning takes...
