Parenting Toddlers

Thus far in this series on toddler development, I have covered imaginative play, fine motor skills, and gross motor skills. Today is toddler language development.

The chasm is wide for typical or normal language development in toddlers. Each stage from 12 months to 23 months has its own set of milestones. The range of typical development becomes more restrictive at 24 months, but not by much if a toddler is developing well. It’s more to raise red flags for children at risk for language delays and disorders so they can receive the help they need at the early in their development. (more…)

If your toddler is beginning to walk, she is already working on her gross motor skills or large muscle movement. She may even be climbing and will soon add jumping and dancing to her repertoire. Before you know it, your toddler will be running through the house. Large motor skills are important for balance, endurance, strengthening muscles and bones, and helping your toddler be active and healthy. (more…)

Recently I had some interesting conversations with my older children’s Kindergarten teacher and with Drew’s preschool teacher. Both of them commented to me that they have a higher number of children in their classrooms who have little or no experience using scissors. Some are even unaware of what to do with Play-Doh. At first I was surprised, but then I realized that in this digital age, young children know more about Pokemon, video games and computers than they do about coloring, cutting and forming shapes in Play-Doh. (more…)

Toddlerhood is the time when imaginative play skills begin to emerge. Cars and trucks begin to travel toward a destination, possibly with noise accompaniment. Dolls are fed and put to bed. Toy phones and other objects are used to make phone calls. By 24 to 30 months old, your toddler will likely be using imaginative play, usually in multiple steps such as feeding a doll then putting it to bed or driving a car to it’s destination then parking it. (more…)

I’m always curious what other people have on their book shelves. It’s one of the first things I check out in homes, offices, classrooms, etc. Primarily I’m simply curious, but I’m also looking for common interests and new reading ideas. If I’m at a home where I’m highly impressed with the parents, I look to see what parenting books they have on their shelves. When at family’s home where I know they read a lot of interesting books to their children, I seek out their shelves of children’s books. (more…)

My third toddler moved from toddler to preschooler the day before yesterday. Drew is quite proud to tell everyone she is now 4 years old and she goes to preschool. She wants to do almost everything herself because, she says, “I a big girl now!” (more…)

Same song, nothing like the first verse. K showed us that two children born to the same parents could be completely different from one another. He was also as typically developing as any baby could possible be; it was as if he read the manual on how to be a baby. Everything he did was either on target or early. What came as a complete shock, though, was his ability to socialize, even at a very young age. It was K’s progress and growth that helped me put into words what was giving me the “mother’s instinct” feeling about Z’s development. I final able to say, “Look at what K is doing. Z still isn’t doing that!” (more…)

Z is my almost 9-year-old daughter who absolutely loves cats. At one time it was to the level of perseveration but now it’s down to the dull roar of an obsession. She is in 3rd Grade this year with a teacher who has M&M collectibles all over the classroom. Guess what she wants to find for her teacher’s collection? An M&M cat. I can count on one hand the number of times Z has brought home books from the school library and the book wasn’t about a cat. (more…)

I am the new writer for Parenting Toddlers. I have been with 451Press for over a month writing the Parenting After Adoption blog. I also write on raising Daughters at BellaOnline.

My name is Rebecca, and I am the mother of four children at home and two children waiting for their passports and visas; my children range in age from 4 to almost 9. I have been married to my college sweetheart for almost 11 years and we live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest in the United States. (more…)