Understanding Toddler Development

Toddler boy reading

How to recognize developmental milestones for Children ages 12 – 36 months

 

Child Development is not a race — there is a wide range of “average” development. Children achieve milestones at different ages depending on their physical, emotional and mental attributes, as well as exposure to different environments, parenting styles and activities. Developmental milestones can be impacted by vision, hearing, general health, medical history, genetics, nutrition and the emotional health of the family.

There are certain developmental milestones, however, that most children reach within a specific time frame. The age when your toddler laughs at your silliness, puts words together to communicate, completes simple puzzles, starts to run and masters other tasks can give you and your pediatrician valuable information regarding how they are developing in relation to other toddlers.

There are three key areas in developmental milestones that your child should be achieving.  These areas are motor development (using their hands, arms and legs in a coordinated manner), cognitive development (thinking, reasoning, using memory and problem solving) and language/social development(communicating and socializing appropriately).

Following you will find a list of developmental milestones.  Under each developmental age, you will find specific milestones for that age. Following the milestones are “red flags” that you should probably bring to the attention of your pediatrician.

How to talk to your kids about the ‘Birds & the Bees’

Talking to your kids about sex

When should you talk about sex with your child?

by Cheryl L. McKinzie, M.S., M.A., LPCI

Imagine the following:

You are in the kitchen making an after-school snack for your son and his friend. They have your iPhone. You hear noises from the iPhone that are vaguely familiar. When you take your iPhone back from your 9-year-old son, you discover that they were watching adult content on YouTube. What do you do?

Or imagine this scene:

It’s spring break, and several parents bring their kids to the office (no babysitters!), and put them around a computer in a back office. These kids range from 8 to 10. They find porn on the internet. How do you handle this?

Should these scenes be your child’s introduction to sex? What is an appropriate introduction to this oh-so-touchy topic?

‘The Hobbit’ Illustrates Value of Adventure Tales for Pre-Teens

The LIghtbridge Legacy

Juveniles on Brink of Personal Journey, Says Youth Advocate

It’s only appropriate that fantastical genres of storytelling are often geared toward pre-teens, says writer Elayne James.

“It’s an extremely impressionable time, with the wonder of childhood firmly established and a dramatic transformation about to take place,” says James, author of “Destiny’s Call,” the first installment of the fantasy series “The LightBridge Legacy,” (www.lightbridgelegacy.com).  

It’s also not surprising that the “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy from 2001 to 2003 was one of the most successful in film history – and that fans were eagerly anticipating director Peter Jackson’s return to Middle Earth on Dec. 14 with the release of “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” she says.

In addition to being masterfully interpreted on the big screen, many of us were attached to the story from the books, which are often introduced during the middle school years. The narratives and personal experiences we have during preadolescence tend to stay with us more than those from other phases of life.

Researchers frequently cite pediatric neuroimaging studies, which show that during the ages of 11 and 12 our brain development is at a fundamental stage. A four-month journey across America at that age left an indelible impression on James. The trip culminated in New York City which became the launching point for the “Tolkien-esque” adventure in her most recent novel.