Most children will take their first steps and say
their first words during the next six months. It is an exciting time for
both you and your toddler. Go at your toddler’s pace and resist making
comparisons with other children; he will reach the same point as
everyone else—in his own good time!
“All children develop at
their own pace but, in general, most have a grasp of approximately 10
words by 15 months, 50 words by 20 months, and as many as 200 words by
24 months.”
“Jessica learning to talk has been so exciting and rewarding. A real person has begun to emerge.”
—“Jessica learning to talk has been so exciting and rewarding. A real person has begun to emerge.”
Toddlers are very
determined. As well as crawling, toddling, and running, at this age your
child will probably enjoy climbing into, under, and over all kinds of
obstacles, as well as up and down stairs. This natural behavior will
help strengthen muscles and improve coordination and balance.
How to encourage movement and learning:
Allow your
child freedom to move. Go for daily walks with him—both indoors and
outdoors. He is much closer to the ground than you, and so every step is
a sensual adventure. Talk to him about the surroundings, pointing out
colors, creatures, and objects.
Provide safe areas to play and wander, where your child can do no damage either to himself or your belongings.
Give
plenty of praise while your child explores and make positive and
encouraging comments to reinforce his understanding of his progress.
If
you feel nervous while you watch his vulnerable wobbling, try to keep
it to yourself. Tumbling over is inevitable, but he doesn’t have too far
to fall and once he is comforted, without too much fuss, the experience
will encourage him to keep trying and he will learn from his mistakes.
Useful props
A toddler truck that is pushed along is an ideal toy for this age
group. Although beginning to find her feet gives her greater
independence, your toddler will still need constant adult supervision.
Essential balance
Learning how to
balance is a vital skill that we have to learn, beginning in the womb.
It is controlled via the body’s balancing mechanism, known as the
vestibular system. This is one of the first systems of the body to
develop as we move and turn around in the womb. It helps us to
understand where we are in relation to the things around us: for
example, we can tell how far away a chair is from us so we don’t fall
over or bump into it, and we know how big we are in relation to the
objects around us, so, for example, we know whether we will fit through a
doorway. Until the vestibular system is fully developed, the other
sensory systems will not develop fully either. All the sensory systems
need to be integrated for development of the “higher” systems to take
place, such as thought and understanding (cognition) and the ability to
control behavior. An undersensitive balance system leads to clumsiness;
an oversensitive one leads to motion problems, such as motion sickness.
As anyone who has ever
watched a small child learning to walk will have witnessed, balance
takes time to perfect. Childhood activities such as swinging, bouncing,
and rocking, and other forms of repetitive movement, are all beneficial
in helping to develop the vestibular system. It may help to remind
yourself of that when your toddler next jumps up and down on a bed or
sofa! It drives development of movement, head position, eye movement,
coordination, and body awareness. Encouraging your child to do movement
activities will stimulate the development of balance and help him learn
to focus. Signs that the vestibular system is still developing include:
squirming or rocking excessively at the table, a need to run around
continuously, “hyper” activity and an inability to focus or concentrate.
Most of these types of behavior are normal and not a cause for concern,
unless they persist beyond the toddler years. The balance mechanism has
usually developed by the time a child is 12 months old but, in some,
will continue to be developed through play, and through learning to be
calm and to concentrate.
Learning to balance
A toy such as a rocking horse is great fun for a toddler and it
will help him develop his ability to balance. Some ride-on toys can also
be propelled along.
Learning to talk
Your baby started
to communicate from the moment he was born, and by 12 months will be
able to show you what he wants by pointing and gesturing. However, it is
learning to talk that marks a true transition from babyhood to
childhood. First words will be very simple and will usually involve a
person (me, Daddy), an object (cup, bed) or an action (bye-bye, go), and
over the next few months many children will build a vocabulary of some
20–50 words. By the time he reaches his first birthday, your toddler
will be able to make himself understood verbally to some degree.
The way in which he
discovers words will be largely accidental, but very exciting for you as
a parent, nonetheless. He will be able to understand many more words
that he can say and will start to understand and respond to simple
instructions.
It is common at this stage
for toddlers to use the same word to mean several different things: for
example, the word “cat” may be used to mean any animal; the word “hot”
could be used to mean “it is hot” or “I don’t like it” or “make it
cooler.” This stage will continue for several more months. Don’t worry
if his words are unclear or imprecise to begin with—that will improve in
time.
Learning to talk is
very rewarding for toddlers since being understood removes a lot of
frustration, so there is plenty of incentive for them to pick up new
words and meanings quite fast. Giving your child plenty of smiles and
positive feedback when he uses words will encourage him further and help
him to see that talking is fun.
Tuning in to your toddler:
Tune into his
style of speech and pay attention to his tone of voice. You can often
tell more about what he is trying to say by noting the rise and fall of
his voice.
Show excitement and exaggerate your responses, so that your child picks up the cadence of the words more easily.
Watch
his body language. What is he looking at while babbling? Is he making
any gestures, such as pointing or smiling? Well over 70 percent of the
messages we give out are nonverbal. What else is your child saying?
Keep
talking to him. The more people speak to your toddler, the more
language he will learn. Get down to his level and make good eye contact
while speaking. Language is learned not only by listening to the words,
but also by absorbing the tone of voice, facial expression, mood, and
emotion.
Sing songs, tell stories and jokes, make up silly rhymes, and use nursery rhymes with actions.
Match
your mood, facial expression, and body language to his, as this will
echo back to him that you understand his feelings. This means he is less
likely to become either frustrated or withdrawn. For example, if he is
happy and excited, show him that you are happy and excited, too.
Give
him time to respond. Leaving pauses will encourage your child to speak
and learn to use language to tell you what he wants to do. For example,
if you are tickling him, wait for a sign from him to “do it again.” This
also means you won’t continue something he wants to stop.
Have patience with your toddler’s love of repetition! It’s all bedding down in the brain.
How language develops
Babies develop the ability
to understand single words in the first few months of life, but won’t be
able to speak until thinking and reasoning skills have developed and
the vocal system, including the vocal cords, have matured. An important
part of language development is the experimental sounds a baby makes
since these exercise the vocal cords and encourage the brain to use and
recognize sounds.
Children have an
innate ability to distinguish sound patterns and word use in any
language. They will learn the sounds and rules of the languages to which
they are most exposed.
1 month
Reflexive and reactive noises, such as coughing, sneezing, and crying.
2-4 months
Cooing and laughing, often in response to someone.
4-6 months
Babbling, making experimental noises, and the development of muscles and skills that move and co-ordinate the mouth and tongue. All babies go through these first three stages, but will need external input after six months.
6-10 months
Babbling
becomes more wordlike and babies need plenty of chat and interaction to
ensure ongoing language development; without these, language
development will slow down and then eventually stop. It is at this stage
that child deafness may first be detected.
10-12 months
By 12
months, your baby will have started to use sounds and different levels
of pitch to express meaning—for example, a higher pitch to express
surprise or a question.
