Toddler Developmental Milestones

Developmental Summary

Children of different ages are expected to work and learn at different paces. Children between the ages of one and two years of age are expected to do a lot in terms of general learning processes so they can be getting ready to be sent off to school. Five major types of development that are looked at in a child are physical, social, cognitive, language, and emotional. For a one-year-old typical development in these areas should look as follows. As for physical skills there are two main types. There is fine motor and gross motor. Fine motor skills have to do with the use of the smaller muscles in your hands and fingers. According to the Toddler Developmental Milestones (2011) a one-year-old child, typically developing

should be able to do the following:
• Point to pictures in books
• Build structures using 2 blocks or maybe 3
• Use their hand to “hug” a toy close to their body
• Scribble with a crayon
• Point with their pointer finger
• Hold their own cup and be able to drink
• Some spilling might occur but that is developmentally appropriate
• Feed themselves to some degree using a spoon
• Some spilling might occur, again this is developmentally appropriate
• Remove their own socks
• This just means ripping or pulling the socks off the feet in a messy manner
• Put their hat on their head
• They might struggle with this for a while, reaching the top of their head might be a bit of a struggle but they should get the hang of it
Most of these skills shouldn’t be perfect, they will be sloppy, or clumsy but that’s okay. Children at this age are still trying to get comfortable with their bodies.
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A child that is about two years of age should be able to have the following fine motor skills, according to the Toddler Developmental Milestones (2011):
• Build some type of structure with 4-6 blocks
• Turn pages of a book, 2 or 3 at a time
• Most children won’t skip pages on purpose; they just won’t have the hang of the precision it takes to turn one page at a time, that’s why most young children’s books are made of thick wood. It makes the pages easier to turn
• Scribble
• You may notice the child gripping the crayon or writing utensil with a fist and scribbling, and that is developmentally appropriate at this age
• Turn door knobs that they can reach
• Throw a small ball; sometimes they might let go of the ball while it’s behind their head. This is normal and eventually the child should get the hang of it.
• Paint on paper using their entire arm to move the paintbrush
• Imitate you drawing a vertical line and a circle
• it may not be accurate
• Feed herself using a fork and spoon, there should be a little less mess than a one year old but still expect a mess
Though two year olds are a whole year ahead of a one year old, they aren’t too far ahead of them when it comes to fine motor skills.

There are definitely certain things to look for but not too many red flags in this are between the two age groups.

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Gross motor skills are another important part of early childhood development. This is the use of the bigger muscles all throughout the body. Toddler Developmental Milestones (2011) has noted these skills as being a part of the developmental process for typical one-year-old children:

• Start walking independently, this doesn’t mean they won’t fall over, gravity is still getting the best of them at this stage in their lives

• Attempt to run, or runs with stiff posture, you may notice little to no bending at the knees while the child runs, this is normal

• Squat down to pick something up as opposed to bending over at the waist. Most children at this age who bend over at the waist are apt to fall over onto their face because they just don’t have the balance yet needed to bend over and stand back

up.
• Crawl up stairs and creep back down, if the stairs aren’t too steep they may be able to step up the stairs with guidance from a ramp or an adult.
• Seat self on small chair
• Pull a toy behind them while walking, the toy may not stay in a straight line and may flop all over the place, but that is developmentally appropriate.
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For a typical child at the age of two, the gross motor skills they should have according to Toddler Developmental Milestones (2011) have been listed below.
Walk up and down the stairs while holding your hand:
• Run fairly well, less awkward looking, a little more bending at the knees, less falling over.
• Jump with feet together, feet actually leaving the floor
• Jump down and forwards
o Jumping off of something
• Squat to play
• Stand on tiptoe with support
• Kick a ball forwards
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Moving on to Social/Emotional skills, these are skills that children need outside of the classroom, to be successful in every day life. This can range anywhere from learning how to get something back that belongs to you, to learning how to deal with their own emotions. Toddler Developmental Milestones (2011) says that for a child of one year old they should be able to do the following socially and emotionally:
• Recognize themself in the mirror or in a photograph. The child should seem generally intrigued about their photo
• Begin to say ‘no’ to things they actually don’t want. Understand what “no” actually means and know how to use it.
• Imitate adults’ actions and words
• Ex. Pushing the breakfast cart, taking care of the babies
• Understand words and commands, and respond to them
• Ex. Putting the toy in the kitchen area, going to sit at the breakfast table
• Hug and kiss parents, familiar people and pets
• Most children will only do this if they want to. Some children are more “cuddly” than others so don’t be worried if your child doesn’t do this as often as you’d like
• Show frustration easily
• Screaming, stomping, laying on the floor, crying
• May play next to another child, but will not really share until 3 or 4 years of age
For a child of two years old Toddler Developmental Milestones (2011) says they should be reaching these developmental milestones:
• Be assertive about what they want, some children might disobey adult requests
• Start to show awareness of their own feelings and others’ feelings, recognizing when someone is sad and giving them a hug to cheer them up for example
• Show more fear in certain situations like in the dark, loud noises, spiders
• Become shy, and may start to whine or fake cry
• Possibly become aggressive and frustrated easily
• Need an ordered, predictable routine like when saying good-bye to parents
• Watch other children in play, and join them briefly, for example if three children are playing “ring-around-the-rosie” the child might notice and want to join in for a little bit.
• Defend his possessions by saying “mine” or just grabbing it back or fighting over it
• Begin to show empathy to other children
o Respond to their feelings
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Most parents are very concerned with their child’s cognitive health and development.

These skills are very important but not more important than any of the other skills. (“Milestones for a 1-year old”, 2015) states that a one year old child should be reaching the following developmental milestones:

• Are curious about everyday objects and how they work. Your child may try turning knobs, pushing buttons, and opening drawers and cupboards. This is why it’s a good idea to put safety locks on doorknobs or cabinets you don’t want them getting in to so they can’t get too curious and discover something they shouldn’t.

• Start to remember things that happened a few hours or even a day ago. Your child may show this new skill by doing a simple thing, such as stacking blocks or getting excited when you talk about going to the store or going to grandma’s house.

• Like to play peekaboo.

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For a child of two years of age Sullivan (2015) says that a typical child of two years of age should be reaching these milestones or carrying out these

gestures:
• They should be able to understand what certain things are and point them out when asked
• Recognize the names of familiar people, objects, and body parts
• Use short phrases and two- to four-word sentences
• Follow simple instructions, for example: “put the plates in the kitchen section where the go please”
• Repeat words they overhear, for example: “no, no, no”
• Find objects even when you hide them under two or three blankets
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Language is arguably one of the most exciting parts of a child’s life. When a child says their first word it is always an important milestone in the child’s life. But there is more to language than just speaking. Communication involves more than just words. For one year olds Kaplan (2015) says that they should be able to do the following:
• The first word – If your child hasn’t already spoken their first word, they will soon. Most children speak their first word between the ages of 10 to 14 months.
• Gestures – Your child may use a lot of gestures with words to try and get the meaning across to you. As time goes on, there will be more words than gestures. Something that might help your child with language and communication is simple sign language. Little gestures that represent “more” or “all done” can really help both the child and the adult.
• Parts of the body – By around 15 months, your child should be able to point to some parts of their body when you name them. Mostly just the basic parts of the body such as the head, the feet, the eyes or the nose etc.
• Naming familiar objects – They should begin to name familiar objects between 12 and 15 months such as a table, a door, their bed etc.
• Listening – During this time, they will enjoy being read to and listening to songs and rhymes.
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By the time a child is two years old they should have acquired the following skills according to Kaplan (2015) a child should be able to do the following:
• Your child should be able to use and understand many words by two years old
• By two years old your child should be referring to themselves by name, for example: “that’s Hope’s food.”
• By two years of age they should also be putting two words together. This could be their name and a request, or your name and a request, or a question, like “mama car?”
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Both children, ages one and two, have very similar milestones when it comes to developmental stages but there are some very subtle differences which are stated above. Not all children develop at the same pace so it is okay for some children to be a little behind at some points.