Your baby is now approaching 3. In a few days they will be going to preschool. Can you imagine? Your little bundle of joy is growing up so fast. They are now saying two-four words, running around, climbing stairs, and being more creative. I still remember being part of some imaginary tea party that my toddler threw. In between 2-3 years, your baby starts to engage in imaginative playing. You can also spot them playing with other kids. There are significant changes in their vocabulary development, motor skills, cognitive function, social and emotional developments. You can also notice your toddler throwing tantrums and bursting out in tears sometimes. Well, parenthood is full of surprises. I know sometimes you feel overwhelmed. I have been there and done that. As a fellow parent, I know we need some guidance and reassurance sometimes. We need someone to tell us, “Don’t worry Love, this is also a phase that will go away eventually.” I hope you also have someone in your life to tell you this. In case you haven’t heard it from someone in recent times then don’t worry, we are here for you. To help you out in this journey, Tinyvers has decided to prepare a list to guide you through the changes in the toddler phase. Here’s what you can do to help your toddler achieve developmental milestones at home:
Introducing age-appropriate tools
You may have noticed your baby is interested in your keys, bangles, buckets, and kitchen tools. This is because they are now more drawn towards the real world, and they want to experience everything around them. Babies also start to imitate their parents between the ages of 1-2. So, imitating you doing laundry or cooking isn’t something surprising. Do not discourage them, rather incorporate their help in doing laundry or cleaning toys after they are done playing. This will boost their confidence and they will learn some important real life skills. However, as Dr. Maria Montessori has mentioned, giving your baby some age appropriate tools to explore is always a better idea. Handing them oversized cleaning tools is not going to make any sense. They are not even going to hold them properly and this is discouraging for your little one. Rather give them the age appropriate cleaning set to assemble their toys or you can also give them a small watering can to help you in gardening. Take their help in doing these chores and watch them being so happy and proud.
Contributing in social and emotional development
In between the age of 2-3 there is a significant shift in your baby’s development. You can notice your baby is playing alone or engaging in parallel play till the age of 28 months. In between 28-30 months, your baby will gradually start playing with other kids. But don’t expect them to share their toys right now. They will learn it gradually. You can help them learn empathy and contribute in their social and emotional development by reading them different age-appropriate books like Friendship platter, Where’s Camie. These books talk about friendship and the importance of friends in our life. This will gradually help them understand how to bond with people and socialize. Organizing a play party with other kids of their age is also a good idea, but you have to be present there when your baby is playing with other kids. Remember, they are still learning how to socialize and there might be problems if they are left alone.
Introducing educational play
Between the age of 2-3 your baby's vocabulary develops a lot. From having 50 words in their vocabulary to 200 words, there are huge changes in their communication. By the age of 3 your baby is able to form 3-4 word sentences and strangers can understand 75% of their speech. At this time you can help your baby by introducing new words to them through books, flash cards or by playing memory games with them. Playing sorting games with the sort & stack can also help your baby learn the names of colors, shapes, and sizes and develop their problem solving skills.
Being Creative:
You may have noticed that your baby has started scribbling when they were 16-18 months old. Babies love colors and they can paint anywhere from paper to a wall. They are becoming more independent and creative every day. When your baby is 2-3 years old they will start scribbling vertical, horizontal lines and circles. They will also engage in imaginative play. From treating their dolls as human beings to arranging tea parties, you can notice your baby is engaging with imaginative friends and situations. Maybe you will be part of this as well. Providing them with the right tools and toys can encourage them and enhance their imagining capabilities. For example, you can give your toddler a picnic car, picnic buddies, and a picnic set to organize an imaginative picnic of their own. This will increase their curiosity and develop their creative thinking.
Apart from this there are also different multi approach puzzles in Tinyvers Activity Kit 13. Your baby can solve these puzzles in different ways. This will develop their problem-solving skills, creative thinking, and contribute to the development of cognitive function. These are a few things you can do to help your toddler grow holistically.