Your toddler is in the middle of a phenomenal growth period. Between 12 and 36 months toddlers experience physical and mental development that rivals just about any other period in their lives. Play is an important element in your child’s development. How your toddler plays reflects their emerging abilities and awareness of themselves and others. You can aid this development by being aware of what your toddler learns from playtime activities and providing toys and items that help with their development.
Your toddler is in the middle of a phenomenal growth period. Between 12 and 36 months toddlers experience physical and mental development that rivals just about any other period in their lives. Play is an important element in your child’s development. How your toddler plays reflects their emerging abilities and awareness of themselves and others. You can aid this development by being aware of what your toddler learns from playtime activities and providing toys and items that help with their development.
During the toddler years, your child undergoes several developmental changes including the following:
Visual acuity- Your toddlers vision is still evolving. During this age your toddler develops depth perception, which can help w/ spatial perception and equilibrium
Hearing, smell, taste and touch- Each of these senses become more developed and begin to be used in conjunction with one another
Gross motor skills- During this period you will see your child evolve from a wide toddling gait to full upright walking. Your toddler will also develop the ability to run, climb, jump and maybe even balancing for a few seconds on one foot.
Fine motor skills- Toddlers begin grasping and manipulating smaller objects.
Social development- Toddlers now recognize that they are an individual being and they begin to assume their own personality traits. They become increasingly independent but also become aware of others and begin to “parallel play”.
Language development- Between 12 and 24 months your toddler’s vocabulary grows from a few words to sentences made up of two to three words.
What toys or activities are best to support and encourage your toddler’s development? There is no shortage of products on the market that promise to do just that. You don’t need to have a large toy budget or an overflowing toy box to assure that your child has what he needs. Chances are you already have everything you need.
For gross motor skills- push-pull toys (wagons, push carts, etc.); rocking horse; balls; toddler-sized gym and slide.
For fine motor skills- blocks; pail, containers & shovel with water, sand or dirt; play dough; large beads for stringing; finger paints; simple puzzles; drawing/coloring which requires the integration of multiple sensory activities.
For social development- household items (dust broom & pan, dishes, telephone) and the chance to “help”; dress-up items; dolls/stuffed animal “friends”.
For language development- Music and child-friendly player; picture books; age appropriate and educational tv programs or DVD’s
Don’t forget that one of the most important things your toddler has to encourage and guide them through their development is time spent with mom and dad. Kids love to imitate mom and dad and allowing them to “help” with grown-up tasks gives them additional opportunities for learning.
Tags: toddlersplayyoung childrendevelopmentlearningchildren
Your toddler is in the middle of a phenomenal growth period. Between 12 and 36 months toddlers experience physical and mental development that rivals just about any other period in their lives. Play is an important element in your child’s development. How your toddler plays reflects their emerging abilities and awareness of themselves and others. You can aid this development by being aware of what your toddler learns from playtime activities and providing toys and items that help with their development.
Your toddler is in the middle of a phenomenal growth period. Between 12 and 36 months toddlers experience physical and mental development that rivals just about any other period in their lives. Play is an important element in your child’s development. How your toddler plays reflects their emerging abilities and awareness of themselves and others. You can aid this development by being aware of what your toddler learns from playtime activities and providing toys and items that help with their development.
