Toddler Milestones
Being a parent and watching your kid grow and change over the years is one of the most fulfilling experiences possible. These first few pivotal years in life lay a child’s foundation for lifelong development. Sorting the developmental stages your toddler should be hitting between the ages of 1 and 3 can help you track their progress. American pediatric research has stated that most toddlers should meet these milestones within this age range.
The Milestones Your Toddler Should Hit
Developmental milestones involve many different aspects of a child’s development: physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally. All children are different and may develop at their own rate, but it is important to be familiar with these milestones so you are better equipped to track your toddler’s progress and pick up any concerns early.
Physical Milestones
Gross Motor Skills
By the age of 1, a child should be able to stand alone and take a few steps without support. At 2, toddlers are agile enough to kick a ball, carry a large toy while walking, and may even jump in place. By 3, most toddlers can pedal a tricycle, walk up and down stairs with alternating feet, and build towers of more than six blocks.
Fine Motor Skills
At age 1, the child will start to self-feed by hand. By age 2, toddlers grasp, stack, and scribble. In 3-year-olds, the child is supposed to self-feed with utensils, feed themselves, stack blocks, and draw lines.
Speech and Language Development
By age 1, toddlers say their first words. When your baby is two years old, they should be able to put sentences together that contain 2-3 words and follow simple directions. By age 3, they should know approximately 200 words and be able to hold brief conversations.
Cognitive Milestones
Problem Solving
Your child might be able to solve simple problems like finding a hidden toy by the age of 2. Children should be able to sort items based on their shapes and colors by the age of 3.
Memory
By age 1, toddlers remember voices. Around 2, toddlers remember routines and familiar faces. At age of three, some kids may be able to recall past occurrences.
Imaginative Play
By age 2, they may begin to make-believe and imitate others, like pretending to feed a doll or conversing on the toy telephone. Three-year-olds start to engage in more sophisticated imaginative play.
Social and Emotional Milestones
Empathy
By age 1, your toddler may show signs of separation anxiety when you leave. At age 2, a toddler may be able to display empathy and console others when they are upset. By the age of 3, they begin to understand the feelings of others and express their own more clearly.
Independence
At about the age of 2, infants start to demand autonomy to act on their own. At about 3 years old, they can learn to explore more and communicate with others.
Temperament
During toddler years, a child’s temperament starts to show. While some kids are careful, others are “daredevils.” Temperament will guide you in adapting your approach to parenting for your child.
Monitor Growth
In conclusion, tracking your little toddler’s development is essential to parenting. Knowing what to expect at every given age does help you develop growth and tends to come up in area growth; some may like it in stages, and some may require more than others. Every child is unique, so development and growth may differ from one child to another. If you are concerned about your child’s growth, don’t be afraid to seek the advice of a medical professional, ideally a physician or child development specialist. Also, check out Triangle Learning Center’s blog for more early childhood advice.
Sources-
-American Academy of Pediatrics. “Developmental Milestones: 2 Years old.” Retrieved from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/Pages/Developmental-Milestones-2-Year-Olds.aspx
-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Important Milestones: Your Child By Two Years. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-2yr.html
-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Important Milestones: Your Child By Three Years. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-3yr.html
-Mayo clinic. Infant development: Milestones from 7 to 9 months.https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/infant-development/art-20047086