Question About Toddler Development

Hi K., they are great sites you can check to follow up on development. I like parents.com and babytalk.com, and if you sign up they even send you free magazines.

Your daughter should be doing whatever it is she is doing. There are so many "timelines" that first time Mom's get sucked into and then become paranoid about their own child's development. DON'T WORRY!!! Your little girl is on pace for HER. My first daughter didn't walk until she was 19 months old. My second daughter was up and around at 13 months (and climbing stairs at 9 months!!!). They are all different, no matter what any "expert" (including your Mom or Mom-in-law) tells you. Just enjoy the things she is doing now and don't worry about the rest...it all comes in time.

In terms of what my girls were doing at 16 months, it is different for each of them, but the one thing they had in common was the beginning of babbling. Haley is almost 21 months right now and the past 3-4 months have been so much fun listening to her verbal skills improve. She can now understand us much better and is using 2-word sentences. She also is able to better communicate her needs with us, so it is really helpful.

If you are really concerned she isn't doing something, ask your pediatrician. They are honestly the only ones you should be consulting with and even then, they will probably tell you to "wait & see" until your next appointment. Why? Because kids typically will meet the milestone you are concerned about by then! :o)

Good luck & enjoy your little girl!

Just remember when you look at charts or read articles about developmental stages that those are only general charts. Every child develops differently. In my family the kids are late walkers and late talkers. Generally speaking, your daughter could have 6 to 10 words by the time she is 18 months. She may be able to id people in books or pics but probably only the ones that she wants to id. By now, she could be walking or starting to walk, she can start to stack things and figure out most age appropriate toys. She can pretty much understand you when you talk to her and new concepts are exciting to learn. Identifying colors will come a little later but she may ask you for the names of the colors. I hope this helps. Please don't compare her to other kids as far as development goes b/c it can cause worry on your end if she is not where charts and articles say she could be. If you have concerns, talk to your pediatrician about it. At this stage though, she'll develop at her own pace.

You might want to check and see if you have a Parents As Teachers program in your area. It is a wonderful program that is activity based and will focus on different stages of development and things for you to look for as your child develops and shows you ways to enhance that development. Just google Parents as Teachers. Also google zero to three it is a website that has information about developement. There is loads of information out there but I love the Parents as Teachers activities and the handouts are wonderful. Have fun this is such a wonderful age to have fun with your child. Take care, jd

If you have a regular email address I have a chart from a pediatrician on all the milestones that they should be at during different ages. If you want to send me a email address I will email it you.

Hello,

Normal is such a wide range. All children develop at different rates. I found that with my son I got alot of helpful information and babyceter.com. They just give some mile stones. they send me a monthly/weekly update to my email on somethings to look for. I find it helpful. I just keep in mind if it says they should be doing something and he isn't that doesn't mean anything. He might be doing something else or it is soon to come.

J.

There are books you can get that will help you thru just about every stage and tell you what the norm is for all kinds of things. You will probably even be able to find something like this at half price books or on Amazon. Type in CHILD DEVELOPMENT.

Keeping in mind that all children develop at their own pace, here's a website you can look at. http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-13-to-18-mont... There are TONS of these on the web, and I'm sure you'll get slightly different info from each one.

I remember wondering all that myself the first time around! I think there is a wide range of normal and moms can drive themselves crazy comparing their children to others. But I think both my girls were saying about 10 words at that age and the older one knew her colors and shapes. She could point to "the red balloon" in Goodnight Moon and she could find the mouse on all the pages. My younger one isn't as interested in colors and shapes, but loves to pick up small items and put them in a container or similar find motor movements. I think different kids are interested in different things so find out what she's drawn to and go from there!

My thoughts are to read, say words and colors to her but don't expect her to be like other children. She is her own self and will do great. We have a daughter and two son's and they each were at different levels at the same age. A teacher told me once NEVER compare sibblings as we are ALL different in many ways. Good Luck

The range of "normal" is huge. As long as you are providing plenty of time of open-ended play each day (blocks, cars, pots/pans/spoons, boxes, etc) and you read her toddler books 20-40 minutes a day she's probably right on track. One of my kids was talking in 5-6 word sentences at 15 months and my current 16 month old says 3 words -- both well within the "normal" range. Most 16 month olds don't know colors or shapes yet although they can recognize people/characters if they've seen them enough (like a picture of Dora or grandma). Pointing to 1 body part is normal, too. Kids this age are walking, starting to run, maybe kick a ball (sorta), attempting to catch a ball, climbing everything in sight and working on the gross motor skills. Most are 100% self-feeding with their fingers but a few can use a spoon or fork (stabbing is easier than using a spoon) but otherwise don't have very good fine motor skills yet. Playing with a ball of playdoh is the best way to develop the fine motor skills needed for coloring and scissors because it strengthens the hands/fingers.

Really... if you're at all concerned then read Einstein Didn't Use Flash Cards. If she is spending most of her day in unstructured free play she's probably right on track and doing perfect.

Like the others have said, all kids are different, so everything you read is just a guideline. Also, some kids seem to focus on language skills first while others are working on gross motor skills or something else.

We just had my son's 15-month check-up, and they asked if he was saying at least 3 words besides mama/dada, so that must be at least one guideline. My son has at least that many words, but they're not clear words that anyone can understand. He says things like "nah-nah" when he wants to nurse, "nana" for banana, and "huh-tuh-tuh-tuh" for hot. He also makes lots of animal noises and uses some signs/gestures to communicate. He does have a good understanding when we talk to him.

I don't think most kids are starting to identify colors/shapes until around age 2 although I can't say I remember exactly with my girls (they're now 4 and 5).

16-month-olds can definitely start to identify objects/characters in books, though. When we read to my son, we also talk about the things on each page (if he seems interested). We also talk about the colors and even count how many of something there are. If he's impatient just to read the book, we move on, but if he seems inclined to learn more, we talk about it.

My three kids have been so different in the order they've reached their milestones, and they definitely have different strengths and weaknesses. All you can do is continue to expose your children to a variety of things and follow their lead as to what they're interested in and how quickly they want to learn.

There can be a wide range of development in early childhood. I would go to the library or resale children's shop and find What to Expect: The Toddler Years. You should be able to find plenty of books on child development. Also ask your pediatrician or call the parenting consultants at the Elizabeth Blackwell Center. ###-###-####

Another book to use as a guideline of sorts would be from the What to Expect series. The toddler years is the one, or maybe there's one more between the first year and the toddler year that would apply now. That book would also give helpful info about what to expect at Ped appts, age appropriate games and toys, etc.
HTH-
J.

You know, it kind of bothers me that so many "Professionals" worry about developement at such an early age these days. EVERY KID IS DIFFERENT IN EVERY WAY. No matter what two kids you put next to each other, they are different in MANY ways. I think that it depends on alot of things, for instance. My son knew sign language at 15 months because I showed him and worked with him, but my daughter didn't. My daughter is better at recognizing certain things and being able to tell you her shapes, colors, etc. because I am a SAHM now and can work with her...didn't get to do that with my son. She also has 3 older siblings, where my son was an only child until I married my husband. I don't think there is ANYTHING to worry about with your daughter. Just enjoy spending time with her and let her be a little girl, she's be a teenager before you know it and she be "smarter" than you. Good luck to you and your little girl.

Good lord no! A few can identify things like that but there's now "should be" at that age. My son has been slow to pick up with words, but the doc and nurse aren't worried at all.

you know...I go to some really cool parenting sites like:
parenting.com
parentsbulletin.com or its parentbulletin.com
huggies.com
oh, I can't remember all right now, but those are a few

http://www.humsci.auburn.edu/~abellel/beeprogram/links/re...

This is a great website for all your questions about development,