Toddler
From ChildWiki.com
The toddler years begin immediately following the infant's first birthday. The child begins to show signs of developing into an independent being. By his fourth birthday, the child will turn into a preschooler.
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[edit] Physical Development of Toddlers
- He can introduce one object into the other (fills up a cup with cubes, first by imitating, and later after direct instructions).
- He can open a box, and later on he will be able to open regular bottles.
- He can eat alone, first with the finger, and later with a spoon and fork.
- He can turn pages in a book, at first many at a time, and by the end of the toddler years each page at a time.
- The graphic test is developed : The toddler will be able to draw a line on a piece of paper, and later he will also draw vertical and horizontal lines, V shapes and + shapes, and will also be able to color a page, but not necessarily within the lines).
- He builds shapes from cubes, he plays with Legos, later he solves simple puzzles.
[edit] The Cognitive Development of a Toddler
- He can correctly say common words, he says small phrases, and by age 3 he may say complex ones.
- He asks the question, "What is this?" very often. The question, "Why?" appears at this time.
- He verbalizes his desires, intentions and feelings.
- He may become jealous of another child and he manifests this jealousy.
[edit] Social Development of Toddlers
- He likes to play with objects, but also with his parents or other adult caretakers. At first he will play alone, then the elements of parallel play appear (next to other children), and by age 3, he will start the group play stage, in which he plays with other children.
- He is more attached to the mother.
- He will manifest and orientate attachment towards objects (a teddy bear, a blouse, a spoon and so on).
[edit] Harmful Adult Behaviors Toward a Toddler
Permanent adult support offers security to the toddler. This is the period when the child starts to understand the differences between himself and others, and he needs valorization on the adult's behalf. This way, the toddler will gain self-trust and will start trusting others as well, including the adult that is caring for him. If the adult has a non-permissive attitude, the toddler will turn to a rebellious behavior or exaggerate obedience, a lack of self trust ( a shy child who that refuses to stay alone in the room, or has nightmares when sleeping). He will adopt a double ended type of relationship with the adult, a relationship that both rejects the adult and also needs him to feed the growing dependency.
One of the most common errors when caring for a toddler is the attitude of the parents saying, "The child is small, he doesn't know, he doesn't understand". This error will attract deficient adult behaviors reported to the development needs of the toddler. The double risk of overprotecting or restrictive behavior appears, out of the desire to protect the toddler. Disregarding toddler competencies appears as an obstacle in the normal development of the child. At the same time, these parents will not allow the toddler to experiment new things (he will not eat alone because "he is small and he cannot" or because "he cannot get the spoon to the mouth and he will probably make a mess"). As a direct consequence of these adult behaviors, the period of total dependency in a child is prolonged, the child lacks stimulation and certain delays in development will be noted.
Another type of deficit behavior is represent by either the complete lack of rules or by excessive rules, rules improper for the age of the toddler and for his power of understanding. The toddler gains knowledge by imitating the behaviors of nearby adults, especially at this age. The behavioral model he is given is the one that he will integrate and reproduce. A rule is viable only if it has been understood by the toddler and if it is respected by everyone in the house.
