21 months

It’s not just Baby’s mind that’s expanding as he grows – his body is growing every day, too. Growth in the second year is slower than the mad dash of the first year, but it’s still steady. If your tot still sleeps in his crib, it’s important to keep an eye on him as he gets taller – once he is able to climb out of his crib when he gets antsy, the crib isn’t a safe place for him to sleep anymore.

As he grows, he is going to keep learning through active, engaged play. Active play helps him exercise and strengthen his growing body, as well as giving him the chance to explore the world around him. Baby understands the world around him better than he used to, but he still learns best when he can not just see things, but also touch them, sometimes taste them, and every once in awhile, throw them against a wall, just to see what happens.

It’s important to keep learning through active play in mind, because as Baby gets closer and closer to his second birthday, he is also getting closer to the point when the American Academy of Pediatrics no longer recommends completely limiting screen time. As that time approaches, if you do start letting your little one spend a little time watching TV or playing games on a computer, phone, or tablet, it’s important to start by setting your own limits with him. Toddlers are years away from developing any serious self-control of their own, so Baby is depending on you to do it for him – even if he doesn’t know it yet, and pushes back against the limits you set.

Toddlers are still developing the ability to learn even from educational shows and games, so the things Baby learns about the world are going to come from the time he spends playing, so the more time he spends with a phone, tablet, or TV screen, the more time he should be spending in active play or free play. Free play may not seem like a learning experience on the surface, but it’s a crucial part of the way Baby gets to know the world. He is a curious kid, and at this age, his own curiosity is one of the best teachers he could have.

Milestones

  • Identity words: Baby isn’t just learning how to say words – he’s also learning how to use them. Around this time, he might be starting to learn how to use identity words like “I,” “you,” and “me.” If he is, this means that he’s getting sharper not just when it comes to the finer points of grammar, but also in terms of his own identity, distinct from yours.
  • Climb furniture: The idea of your toddler climbing furniture can sound scary – and can be scary! But it’s an important skill. For most people, it’s easy to take the ability to climb onto the couch and make themselves comfy for granted, but for toddlers, it can be a difficult task to learn to master.

Sources
  • T. Berry Brazelton, M.D., Touchpoints: Birth to Three, 2nd Edition, Joshua D. Sparrow, M.D., De Capo Press. 2006. Print.
  • Celia A. Brownell, Stephanie S. Iesue, Sara R. Nichols, Margarita Svetlova. “Mine or Yours? Development of Sharing in Toddlers in Relationship to Ownership Understanding.” Child Development. 84(3): 906-920. May 2013. Retrieved June 23 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3578097/.
  • M. Dapretto, E.L. Bjork. “The development of word-retrieval abilities in the second year and its relation to early vocabulary growth.” Child Development. 71(3): 635-48. May-June 2000. Retrieved June 23 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10953930.
  • Mary L. Gavin. “Growth and Your 1-to-2-Year-Old.” KidsHealth. The Nemours Foundation, January 2015. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/grow12yr.html.
  • Alison Gopnik, Andrew Meltzoff. “The Development of Categorization in the Second Year and its Relation to other Cognitive and Linguistic Developments.” Child Development. 1987. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://ilabs.washington.edu/meltzoff/pdf/87Gopnik_Meltzoff_ChildDev.pdf.
  • Laura Markham. “Toddlers: Social, Solitary and Parallel Play.” Aha! Parenting. Dr. Laura Markham. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://www.ahaparenting.com/ask-the-doctor-1/toddlers-social-solitary-and-parallel-play.
  • Rebecca Parlakian, Claire Lerner. “From Baby to Big Kid: Month 20.” Zero to Three. ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, May 12 2016. Retrieved June 23 2017. https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/1249-from-baby-to-big-kid-month-20.
  • Rebecca Parlakian, Claire Lerner. “From Baby to Big Kid: Month 17.” Zero to Three. ZERO TO THREE: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families, May 12 2016. Retrieved June 23 2017. https://www.zerotothree.org/resources/1246-from-baby-to-big-kid-month-17.
  • Raising Children Network. “12-15 months: toddler development.” Raising Children. Raising Children Network, August 22 2016. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/child_development_12-15_months.html/context/563.
  • Raising Children Network. “15-18 months: toddler development.” Raising Children. Raising Children Network, February 1 2016. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/child_development_15-18_months.html/context/563.
  • Raising Children Network. “18-24 months: toddler development.” Raising Children. Raising Children Network, September 2 2016. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/child_development_18-24_months.html/context/563.
  • Raising Children Network. “Language Development: 1-2 years.” Raising Children. Raising Children, January 2 2016. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/language_development_1_to_2_years.html/context/563.
  • Jessica A. Sommerville, Marco F. H. Schmidt, Jung-eun Yun. “The Development of Fairness Expectations and Prosocial Behavior in the Second Year of Life.” Infancy. 18(1): 40-66. January-February 2013. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-7078.2012.00129.x/abstract.
  • “12-24 Months: All About Words.” Multilingual Children. Multilingual Children’s Association, 2004. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://www.multilingualchildren.org/milestones/second_year.html.
  • “18 Months.” PediNeuroLogic Exam. University of Utah Health Sciences Library. Retrieved June 23 2016. http://library.med.utah.edu/pedineurologicexam/html/18month.html.
  • “2017 Recommended Immunizations for Children from Birth through 6 Years Old.” CDC. Centers for Control and Prevention, December 2016. Retrieved June 23 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs.pdf.
  • “Developmental Milestones: 2 Year Olds.” HealthyChildren. American Academy of Pediatrics, June 1 2009. Retrieved June 23 2017. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/Pages/Developmental-Milestones-2-Year-Olds.aspx.
  • “Important Milestones: Your Child by One Year.” CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, August 15 2016. Retrieved June 23 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-1yr.html.
  • “Language Delays in Toddlers: Information for Parents.” HealthyChildren. American Academy of Pediatrics, November 18 2011. Retrieved June 23 2017. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/Pages/Language-Delay.aspx.
  • “Toddlers (1-2 years of age).” CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, January 3 2017. Retrieved June 23 2017. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/toddlers.html.
  • “Your busy toddler: Games, toys and play in the second year of life.” Caring for Kids. Canadian Paediatric Society, May 2017. Retrieved June 23 2017. http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/your_busy_toddler. 
Get the Ovia Parenting app
Get our app at the Apple App Store Get our app at the Apple App Store Get our app at the Google Play Store Get our app at the Google Play Store