Toddler Development

Toddlers range from ages one to three. During each age their development progresses. Some toddlers develop quicker than others. Therefore, those that develop more slowly may need more attention and special accommodations. “How your child plays, learns, speaks, and acts offers important clues about your child’s development (Important Milestones).” That's how people can keep up with how their toddler is doing compared to how they are supposed to be doing. A toddler develops in three different ways every year: physical appearance, physical skill, and mental abilities.

When your baby hits the one year old mark he/she will look different than they did when they were first born. An average one year old’s weight has …show more content…
Typical behavior of an average one year old is being shy or nervous around strangers, they may cry when mom or dad leaves, and they might show fear in some situations. Over time as a toddler develops he/she will grow out of these things and become better with people and life situations. At this age they also will hand you a book when they want to hear a story be read, repeat sounds or actions to get attention, and will play games such as “peek-a-boo” and “pat-a-cake.” One year olds start to be able to communicate better than they did when they were younger. At one year most toddlers are able to respond to simple spoken request, use simple gestures (such as waving “goodbye” and shaking head “no”), and may be able to say ‘mama” and “dada.” (Communication and Your 1- to 2-Year-Old.) They also begin to start actually thinking and trying to solve problems. One year olds may start to explore things in different ways, find hidden things easier, look at the right picture or thing when it's named, copy gestures, and put things in and take thing out of a container. On year old's may also follow simple directions like ‘pick up the toy”, point/poke with index finger, and start to use things correctly. For example most toddlers at this age start to drink out of a cup and brush their hair the right way (Cognitive …show more content…
They are also able to do a lot more physical activities. Some large motor skills that toddlers at this age are able to do are walk without help, walk backwards, toss or roll a large ball, can stoop or squat, and can bend over to pick up a toy without falling over. Two year olds also are getting very good at walking up and down stairs with one foot on each step, rotating their forearms to open doorknobs, and jumping with both feet. Most can climb, kick, and run without losing balance and falling over. They really like to push, pull, and dump objects such as toys or anything else. Toddlers at this age also love ride-on toys, activities that involve lots of action, and dancing to upbeat and fast music. Two year olds start to get a lot better with small motor skills and begin to pick up many different abilities. At this age children should be able to feed himself/herself with a spoon with little spills, turn pages of a book, and stack four to six objects on top of each other. They are also usually able to scribble vigorously with a crayon or marker, string large beads (always with supervision of an adult to make sure toddlers don't swallow a bead), undress and begin to dress self, and may be able to handle safety scissors but with extra careful supervision for safety. During this age toddlers tend to put objects in their mouth so it's very important to watch them closely when dealing