Your baby is becoming more coordinated. They may already have learned to roll a large ball. Now they can learn to kick and throw the ball. They are now ready to perform some self-help skills. They may be very active and not want to sit still long.
Things Your Child May Do at This Age
• Jump with both feet off the floor at the same time
• Walk up stairs, holding an adult's hand (or a railing)
• Climb and stand on a chair
• Roll a ball
• Feed themselves
• May help to dress themselves
• Turn individual pages of a book
• Begin to recognize, name and pick out common objects
• Begin to make phrases or sentences of two or three words
Safety First!
Bathing is fun for most toddlers. Although toddlers can sit and stand easily, they are not safe when left alone while bathing or engaged in water play. Supervise your child closely.
Special Note
Store dangerous items on upper shelves. Toddlers are experimenters. They like to take things apart and fit them together. Keep sharp, pointed items such as scissors and knives, tools and electrical appliances out of reach.
Health Hints
Well-Baby Checkup: 18 months
Start the habit of brushing teeth before bedtime. Use a soft toothbrush with a smear of toothpaste on the brush and make it fun.
Things You Can Do Every Day to Help Your Child Grow
• Read to them every day. A nighttime book or story can often help a child settle down and get ready for bed.
• Saying short nursery rhymes (such as "Hickory Dickory Dock" or "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star") for your child can be fun as they will start to hear the similar sounds at the end of each line of the rhymes. Learning to play with words is a fun game that helps your child develop the basic skills that will help them learn to read.
• Act out word meanings. For example, hold them up and say, "Baby is up high in the air," or put them on the floor and say, "Baby is down low on the floor!"
• Take an egg carton and put a spool in each section. Let them open the carton and take the spools out and then put them back and close the carton. Teach them the words for what they are doing by saying "in," "out," "closed" and "open."
• Teach them how to put words together to make phrases and sentences. For example, if they say "want juice," you repeat, "I want some juice," to show them the correct way to say a complete sentence.
• Provide large sheets of paper and large crayons for scribbling and writing.
• Sing songs like "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" and point to pictures of the animals as you sing.
• Show them how to work simple puzzles and let them do them on their own.
• Play throw and catch with a ball.
• Wash and dry your hands and then allow your child to try. Remember to be patient.
• Show them how to walk like a tightrope walker using a long board that is lying flat on the ground.
Hint
Encourage your child to build with blocks or
other building materials such as sand, boxes, pots and pans, measuring cups, or
scraps of lumber that are sanded and safe. This will help them develop their
mind.
Toys You Can Make for Your Child
• Take a shoe box and make two or three holes of various shapes and sizes in the lid. Then show your child how to push or drop different objects through the holes. They’ll find out that some things will fit through one hole and not through another.
• Give them a plastic bottle with clothespins. Show him how to put the clothespins in the bottle and then how to shake them out again. (They may need help the first time they play this game.)
• Make a felt face. Putting the eyes, nose and mouth on a felt face can be a lot of fun. The parts of the face can be made out of felt and backed with Velcro so your toddler can put them on and off. Supervise your child during use.