Toddler Development

1
Toddler Development

• Entry-Level Training Module II
• Lesson Two

2
Understanding Toddlers

• Sensorimotor learners moving towards
  preoperational
• Dramatic increase in language skills
• For optimum development, they need to learn how
  to learn before theyre three
• Behaviors are more experimentation than malicious
  misbehavior
• Becoming separate, capable individuals that can
  function independently (autonomous)
• Built-in desire to test out their abilities
• Want adults to act as a secure base from which to
  explore

3
Toddler Property Laws

• If I want it, its mine.
• If I give it to you and change my mind later,
  its mine.
• If I can take it away from you, its mine.
• If I had it a little while ago, its mine.
• If its mine, it will never belong to anybody
  else, no matter what.
• If we are building something together, all the
  pieces are mine.
• If it looks just like mine, its mine.

4
Developmental Milestones 12 - 18 Months

• Follow simple directions
• Enjoy being with other children
• Walk alone a few steps
• Use single words
• Drink from a cup
• Show sympathy for others
• Walk well run

5
Developmental Milestones18-24 months

• Stack blocks
• Show sympathy for others
• Walk well run
• Use words to name familiar objects/ people
• Eat with a spoon

6
Developmental Milestones24-30 months

• Points to 4-5 body parts
• Imitate behaviors of adults and peers
• Use crayons
• Use short sentences
• Help in dressing

7
Developmental Milestones30-36 months

• Engage in pretend play
• Play cooperatively with other children
• Walk up and down stairs
• Say first and last name
• Show interest in toilet training

8
Developmental Alerts

• If, by 36 months, a child DOES NOT
• Eat a fairly well-rounded diet
• Walk confidently with few stumbles or falls
• Avoid bumping into objects
• Carry out simple 2-step directions
• Point to/name familiar objects
• Enjoy being read to
• Show interest in other children
• Indicate a beginning interest in toilet training
• Sort familiar objects according to a single
  characteristic (color, size, etc.)

9
Developmental Needs

• Opportunities to develop a sense of autonomy
  (self-help skills, separation)
• Space to explore and develop motor/movement
  skills (sense of power, competence)
• Opportunities for challenging sensory-motor
  exploration (mobility)
• Exposure to language, opportunities to listen and
  express themselves

10
Toddler Environment

• Child-proofed, arranged for movement
• Toddler-sized furniture, equipment, private
  spaces
• Choices, consistency/routine, self-help
• Enough materials and cozy spaces for each
• Supervision always, intervention only when
  necessary
• Active play, dramatic play

11
Child-proofing for Toddlers

• Install safety plugs in all outlets
• Keep poisonous substances in locked cupboards as
  high as possible
• Lock drawers and cupboards with sharp/dangerous
  objects
• Eliminate choking hazards
• Remove unsteady furniture
• Use gates, locks to block access to dangerous
  areas

12
Appropriate Materials/Activities

• Realistic toys and props, dramatic play/self-care
• Unbreakable mirror
• Non-stereotypical pictures and picture books
• Multi-ethnic dolls
• Sensory play (water table, etc.)
• Art activities

13
Appropriate Schedules/Routines

• Consistent, predictable, yet flexible
• Ample blocks of time, few transitions
• Carefully planned transitions
• Advance warnings
• Non-verbal cues
• Allow for individual variations
• Balance of quiet and active times
• Caregivers interact positively during routines

14
Hope NOT to see

• Restrictive playpens, high chairs, too much
  equipment to move around
• Not child-proofed/overprotection/underprotection
• Large group activities/area
• Too many fine motor activities, few large motor
  activities
• Rigid schedule, imposed activities
• Impatient, unresponsive, or disrespectful
  caregivers
• Caregivers involved in power struggles, scolding,
  and/or punishing toddlers

15
PLAY

• Early childhood teachers must understand the
  significance of PLAY to children's educational
  development and develop skills in facilitating
  enriching play in early childhood classrooms.

16
Play Builds Brain Connections

• Play
• Is a framework for learning
• Helps a child discover what is possible
• Gives a child a sense of control and power
• Encourages a child to express him/herself
• Helps a child deal with feelings
• Provides the foundation for later academics
• Helps a child integrate all areas of development
• Is the most effective teacher of social skills