Practical Advice and Activities to Foster Your Toddler’s Independence and Skills
Is your toddler following you around the house like a shadow? That’s because you are their first ever best friend and they are having a blast exploring their newly found abilities with you.
What to expect?
At around 16 to 18 months you will notice a lot of changes in your little one. Some of the changes are:
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Can walk independently
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Enjoy climbing onto furniture
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Can kick a ball forward
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May have a vocabulary of 10 to 20 words
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Can follow simple commands like “Give me that book”
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Can use gestures such as pointing, nodding and shaking head
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Try to use a spoon or fork to feed themselves
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Can try to drink water from a cup with some help
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Can remember familiar people and objects even when they are out of sight
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Like to play beside other children rather than directly interacting with them
Is it normal?
Concern: My toddler is having frequent meltdowns.
Verdict: Yes, it is normal. Usually meltdowns happen when your toddler is hungry, sleepy, tired or overstimulated from loud noises or too many activities or they feel a need to be independent.
The best way to deal with meltdowns is staying calm and figuring out the reason for the meltdown. Addressing the direct factor if possible or coming up with some distractions in advance can really come handy.
Concern: My toddler eats too much on some days and too little on some.
Verdict: Yes, it is normal. Your toddler might have an inconsistent appetite. Their hunger may vary from day to day depending on their activities, their health, the food being offered to them or their need to feel independent. Developing a routine for meals, a positive environment around meal times and providing choices for your toddler to choose from can help your toddler develop healthy eating habits.
How can you support your toddler’s development?
As your toddler is learning to walk, climb, kick and perform various tasks independently, they will require practice to master those skills. As a parent, you can help your toddler master various skills and achieve their developmental milestones by providing them age appropriate developmental tools. Tinyvers has worked with a team of pediatricians, educators and many more experts from various fields to design activity kits that cater to your child’s developmental needs. Tinyvers activity kit 8 has been designed specially for 16 to 18 month toddlers with developmental tools that foster language skills, problem-solving abilities, and introduce early STEAM concepts seamlessly into their daily activities. These educational kits widen their learning skills with STEAM principles & Montessori inspired approach. The kit also comes with a milestone brochure, activity booklet and DIY activity cards that help you navigate your toddler’s developmental journey with ease.
Let’s take a tiny peek into the developmental toys included in Tinyvers activity kit 8:
1. Pop up:
As your toddler’s understanding of the world gradually widens, understanding the concept of cause and effect becomes crucial for their cognitive, social and emotional development. Pop up toy is a fun and engaging way to allow your toddler to explore the concept of cause and effect. It also helps your toddler to improve their fine motor skills, hand eye coordination and boosts their problem solving abilities.
2. Peg puzzle:
The interesting thing about pegs from the pop up toy is that it can be used as an individual game as well. It allows your toddler to experiment and explore objects in more than one way. The puzzle encourages your baby to use their logical thinking and memory skills to solve it. It also improves their fine motor skills and encourages repetitive play.
3. Pull and stick:
Your toddler is up and walking to take over the entire world. As their physical activities increase, it is important to make sure that they are using both sides of their body. Pull and stick encourages your toddler to use both the sides of their body for sticking and pulling the marine animals sticker from the ocean. It provides sensory stimulation to your toddler while promoting bilateral coordination and the development of fine motor skills.
4. 4 piece puzzle:
When it comes to developing problem solving abilities, puzzles are a classic. The colourful 4 piece puzzle promotes logical thinking, critical thinking and problem solving skills in your toddler.
5. Puzzle stacker:
A puzzle stacker is a great way to help your toddler learn how to organize their puzzle pieces once they are done playing with it. Allow them to figure out how to fit the puzzle pieces into the stacker on their own. This promotes the development of logical thinking and problem solving skills.
6. Pully duck:
Your toddler is just as excited as you as they begin walking. Pully duck is a perfect companion to drag along their little walks. Pulling the pully duck as they walk helps them to develop a sense of direction, enhances their coordination and promotes independence.
7. Routine activities cards:
As your toddler grows, they begin craving independence. Sometimes they might not like doing something like taking a bath or brushing their teeth. The routine activities cards help them to understand the concept of following a routine and performing routine activities. It also helps in building vocabulary and developing memory skills.
8. Daily objects:
Your toddler will come across many objects on a daily basis. Daily object cards are a fun and interactive way to introduce your toddler to the objects they see on a daily basis. The card helps them to identify the objects, learn new words and develop their memory skills.
9. Fiona’s lost colours book:
Fiona’s lost colours is an interactive book that allows your baby to experience the concept of cause and effect. It also helps them develop their vocabulary and language skills.
As your toddler embarks on a journey of discovering themselves as an individual, you play a significant role in guiding them in this journey. Encouraging their self discovery with developmental toys such as Pop up, Peg puzzle, Pull and stick, 4 piece puzzle, Puzzle stacker and Pully duck can boost their development. Moreover activities such as going through routine cards, daily object cards and reading books like Fiona’s lost colours help you spend more quality time with them. Each new milestone will bring unique challenges and exciting discoveries for your toddler as well as you to face together.