• Encourage play that uses all of your child’s muscles: plenty of outdoor time and playthings like balls, ride-on toys, big cardboard boxes to crawl in and out of. “Mobility is new, so it’s important that children have lots of freedom to move,” says Jan Blaxall, a professor of Early Childhood Education at Fanshawe College in London, Ont. “Make sure when you go outside or to the mall that they’re not always trapped inside a stroller, that they can walk and run around.”
• Childproof your home with your toddler’s growing abilities in mind. But don’t restrict your child to just playing with toys — toddlers need to explore real objects and do real “work.” Invite your toddler to carry a small bag of groceries for you, talk on the phone to Grandma or go for a ride in the laundry basket.
• There are many toys and activities that build fine motor skills, but if they are too difficult, your child will quickly lose interest. Long before she’s ready to hold a pencil, she’ll be working on her grip by picking up bits of cereal or using a plastic knife with playdough. “They need lots of opportunity to do things with their own safe little tools,” summarizes Blaxall.
• Toddlers are concrete thinkers, not ready for abstract learning. It’s OK to teach your child to recite numbers, but he won’t be able to understand what those numbers represent until he has had many opportunities to sort, stack and order real objects. Matching the red socks in the laundry pile is a great “math” activity for a toddler, and more meaningful than flash cards or DVDs.
• Your toddler will make many mistakes in her speech at first, but don’t point them out (that’s discouraging to a beginning talker). Just reply in a way that shows her you understand and, while you’re at it, model the correct way to say it.
• This is the age to foster a love of books. Follow your toddler’s lead — some love a long reading session; others lose interest after a few minutes. You’ll see themes from favourite stories appear in your child’s play — a sure sign that he’s soaking them in.
• Understand where the famous “toddler negativity” comes from and, says Janice MacAulay, “don’t take it personally — it’s not about you; it’s just what they have to do.”
