KEY POINTS
- As a parent you give your children a good start in life—you nurture, protect, and guide them.
- Learn about developmental milestones, including emotional and social development, for toddlers from 1 to 2 years old.
- There are many things you can do to help your baby stay safe and healthy.
Developmental milestones
Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye-bye” are called developmental milestones. Most children achieve these milestones by a certain age. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (like crawling, walking, or jumping).
During the second year, toddlers are moving around more, exploring new objects, and are more aware of themselves and their surroundings. They tend to imitate the actions of adults and older children. During this stage, toddlers exhibit greater independence, may display defiant behavior, and can recognize themselves in pictures or a mirror. Toddlers also should be able to recognize the names of familiar people and objects, form simple phrases, and follow simple instructions.
Positive parenting tips
Following are some of the things you, as a parent, can do to help your toddler during this time:
- Ask them to find objects for you or name body parts and objects.
- Play matching games with your toddler, like shape sorting and simple puzzles.
- Encourage them to explore and try new things.
- Help to develop your toddler’s language by talking with them and adding to words they start. For example, if your toddler says “baba,” you can respond, “Yes, you are right―that is a bottle.”
- Encourage your child’s growing independence by letting them help with dressing themselves and feeding themselves.
- Respond to wanted behaviors more than you punish unwanted behaviors (use only very brief time outs). Always tell or show your child what they should do instead.
- Encourage your toddler’s curiosity and ability to recognize common objects by taking field trips together to the park or going on a bus ride.