Babies And Toddlers - How To Succeed 4

Development An infant between 12 months and 36 months old exhibits a number of changes that form part of its process of development. The following series of observations focuses on that particular time span, and highlights those changes that may be classified as a “milestone.” It will consider what may be defined as an average child covering specific time periods within this development phase. Age - 18 to 24 Months Physical The child should now have moved on from drinking from a cup to the act of holding a spoon and being able to feed itself in a rudimentary manner. The ability of being able to walk unaided should now have progressed to actually running, the distance and speed increasing with confidence. The mastery of scrambling up onto low-lying pieces of furniture will now have moved on to the ability to climb up onto a small chair with confidence. The feat of being able to move beyond ground level, such as onto a chair, may provide the impetus to make tentative steps of mounting the stairs, initially at home. Mental The previous use of 10 to 20 words whilst communicating by speech will now have increased to anything from 20 to 50 words, with the ability to understand many more. The use of building blocks to create various structures will now have developed from stacking 2 blocks high, three months ago, to staking 6 blocks high. Previously, the child would understand the concept of action-reaction, such as when a box is pushed it will move. By now, it will be able to comprehend the meaning of more advanced action-reaction, such as turning on a light. The orderly mind will now manifest itself into the ability to rearrange things in a precise manner, such as sorting toys according to a specific desire. The natural inquisition will now be extended in the game where a number of objects were hidden around the house and the child was encouraged to establish their whereabouts. Another manifestation of the development of the enquiring mind is the observance of a problem of some kind and the child’s ability to resolve the problem by trial and error and a basic form of experimentation. Emotional The growing need for the child to express itself and expand its growing sphere of influence may lead to some form of confrontation with persons in authority who may not agree with a certain course of action. The mimicking of everyday actions, such as adults answering the phone, may progress into the social arena, such as the cuddling of a favourite toy. The feeling of self awareness in the child will be in its identification of its position within the social fabric of the family environment. The growing self awareness will also manifest itself in self reference, whereby the child will speak of or refer to himself through the use of the word “I”. The child will make increasing displays of attachment, referring to the bond between the child and certain figures of authority, especially its parents. The display of separation anxiety will become more apparent, referring to excessive distress regarding separation from the child’s home or from individuals with whom it has a strong emotional attachment, such as its parents. The social awareness will now become more evident in the interactions resulting from certain games, such as those in which the individual members involved in the game take it in turns to perform their contribution to the overall game. Babies and Toddlers – How To Succeed