Toddlerhood (19-24 Months Adjusted Age)

Get ready for another exciting phase of toddlerhood! Your little one is becoming more independent and curious, exploring the world with boundless energy. This period is full of milestones in motor development, communication, and social skills.

Motor Development

Fine Motor Skills

Puzzles and Manipulatives: Introduce simple puzzles and manipulatives, such as beads and threading toys, to enhance hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Artistic Activities: Encourage drawing, coloring, and painting to develop fine motor skills and creativity.

Mobility

Running, Jumping, and Climbing: Provide opportunities for running, jumping, and climbing and ensure a safe environment for exploration and practice.
Toe Walking: It’s common for toddlers between 19-24 months to experiment with toe walking as they explore different ways of moving. Most children outgrow this habit as they develop their balance and coordination skills. If your child continues to toe walk persistently or exclusively after the age of 2, it may be worth discussing with your pediatrician to rule out any underlying issues.

Communication

Language Development

Two-Word Phrases: Toddlers will start to use two-word phrases to express their needs and thoughts, such as “want juice.”
Increasing Vocabulary: Their vocabulary will continue to grow rapidly. Encourage this by reading books, singing songs, and talking with them throughout the day!

Hearing Development

Your toddler’s hearing abilities continue to play a crucial role in their language development. They should be responding to their name, understanding simple instructions, and enjoying listening to stories and songs. If you notice any signs of hearing difficulties, such as not reacting to sounds or not following simple commands, consult a healthcare professional.

Early Conversations

Expressing Feelings: Toddlers will begin to express their feelings verbally, using words like “happy,” “sad,” or “mad.” Help them understand and label their emotions.
Simple Stories: Tell simple stories about their day or familiar experiences; this helps them understand sequencing and builds their narrative skills.
Storytelling: Engage in storytelling and reading activities. Ask your toddler to describe pictures in books and encourage them to tell simple stories.
Interactive Conversation: Continue to engage in conversations with your toddler, asking simple questions and responding to their attempts at communication.

Calm Down Kit

Do you notice your child gravitates to certain toys when sad, angry, or overwhelmed? Certain kinds of toys or objects can be very soothing for kids (and adults too). You can put together a calm-down kit, sometimes called a sensory kit, with objects you have around the home. Generally speaking, kits can contain squishy squeeze ball types of toys, fidget toys, mini snow globes, small stuffed animals, silly putty, or play dough. These toys make pleasant noises or coloring materials, but putting a kit together in collaboration with your child can be fun.

You can also create one for yourself! Include things that appeal to your different senses, like scented candles, herbal teas, soft socks, or yummy treats. If kids see you using your calm-down kit, they might be more inclined to try it themselves.

Play

Exploration

Social Interaction: Encourage social interaction through parallel play with other children and teach sharing behaviors.

Interactive Play

Turn-taking Games: Engage in turn-taking games to teach patience and cooperation. Encourage your toddler to participate in social activities and playdates.
Group Activities: To develop your toddler’s social skills, involve them in group activities such as singing, dancing, and playing games.

Toileting Tips

Now that we know how to tell when your child is ready to start toilet training try these things at home to help make this an easy process:
- Let your child watch you use the toilet.
- Develop a routine and schedule for potty training during specific times of the day. Have your child sit on the toilet for a maximum of 2-3 minutes, and continue the entire routine even if they didn’t go, including flushing and washing hands.
- Make sure your child can access the toilet and feel comfortable – use a potty or toilet ring with a step stool so their feet are firmly planted while seated.
- Read storybooks about toilet training.
- Watch for signs that let you know your child needs to use the toilet. Ask your child if they need to use the toilet.
- Tell our child they did a good job even if they don’t go in the potty.
- Most importantly, be consistent with toilet training! Give it time and reduce pressure as much as possible.

Toileting

Start Toilet Training

Readiness Signs: Toileting can be challenging for some kids to learn. There are lots of things to consider when teaching toileting to kids. Most children are ready to start toilet training between 2 and 4 years old – every child is different! See below for toileting readiness signs, which will indicate when a good time to start toileting is. You can start toilet training when your child...
- Shows an interest in the toilet
- Can tell you when they need to “go” verbally or through gestures
- Has regular bowel movements (constipation should be addressed before beginning toileting)
- Stays dry in diapers for several hours
- Has very wet rather than damp diapers
- Can take down and pull up their pants
- Can understand simple instructions
- Can stand up and sit down
- Wants to be independent
Positive Reinforcement: Use positive reinforcement and encouragement when your child successfully uses the toilet. Avoid punishment for accidents to keep the experience positive.
Patience and Consistency: Be patient and consistent with toilet training. Establish a routine and provide gentle reminders without pressuring your child.
Timed Toileting: Some parents use timed toileting as a method to encourage early potty training. This involves predicting when a child is likely to have a bowel movement based on their daily routines, such as after meals or upon waking, and prompting them to use the toilet during these times. By establishing a predictable schedule, parents can help their child associate using the toilet with specific times of day, which can be a step towards independent toileting skills. This approach requires patience and consistency to be effective.

Sleep

Pre-literacy

Reading and Singing: Promote pre-literacy skills through reading, singing, and playing with letters and sounds. Use books with simple text and colorful illustrations.
Beginnings of Books that Rhyme: Introducing books that rhyme to your child can be a delightful way to engage them with language. Rhyming books often feature rhythmic patterns that children enjoy and can anticipate, making them an excellent early literacy tool.
Phonics and Phonetics: Phonics refers to the relationship between sounds and their corresponding letters or letter combinations in written language. It teaches children how to decode words by recognizing sound-letter relationships, which is fundamental to reading and spelling. Phonetics, on the other hand, is the study of the sounds of human speech, focusing on their production and transcription using symbols. Understanding phonics lays the groundwork for literacy development in English-speaking children.

School Preparation

Basic Skills: Prepare your child for pre-school by teaching basic skills like following instructions, sharing, and taking turns.
Routine Familiarization: Create a daily schedule similar to what they might experience in pre-school to familiarize them with the school routine. Visiting the school playground in spring and summer can help familiarize your child with the environment and make them feel more comfortable when school begins. Some schools also allow you to meet teachers and tour classrooms, which can further ease the transition and help your child feel excited about starting school.
Early Writing Skills: Encourage early writing skills by providing materials like crayons, markers, and paper. Allow your child to experiment with scribbling and drawing.
Fine Motor Practice: Activities like finger painting and playdough can also help strengthen the fine motor skills needed for writing.