Toddlers behavior and development

 You need to understand toddlers behaviors and development stages in order to monitor the progress of your child. Your child officially becomes a toddler when he learns to walk. Typically, a toddler is a child between one to three years old. This is a very crucial stage in life and everything happening to your child should be observed closely. Here is a step-by-step look at the toddlers behavior and developmental stages.

 One year old babies:

Physical development and behavior:

This is the stage when the toddler tends to eat less. However, he will eat several times during the day. He will learn to feed by himself, although you can expect a lot of spills on the table or floor. The toddler may not grow as fast as he did during infancy; however, he should learn to walk with limited support by his 14th month and backward by his 22nd month. He should be able to scribble, stack blocks and even drink from a cup with minimal help.

 Social and emotional behavior:

Expect plenty of tempers and tantrums. The child is very possessive, not willing to share his toys with the other children. He is trying to be independent, thus desiring to do things on his own even when he is not sticking to the rules. The mood shift is quite rapid at this stage, with short lived but intense emotions. The child's self-awareness is on the rise and he is constantly asking for mom and dad. Finally, emotions like jealousy, pride and even shame begins to show up.

 Intellectual development and behavior:

This is the stage when the toddler begins to identify and name people and objects that he is familiar with. He is very curious, with a short attention span. If there is a pet at home, then it should not surprise you when your little one begins to imitate its sound. He should also be able to form simple two to three word sentences.

 Two year olds:

Physical behavior and development:

At this stage, you can expect your toddler to stand up without support. He can also move around throwing and kicking his ball. Expect your child to express interest in toilet training at this stage. Also, he should be able to dismantle and assemble simple structures back together. This is the stage when the toddler is overly active, running and jumping around from point to point. He is very prone to accidents at this stage.

Social behavior and development:

The toddler begins to assert himself by crying and saying "NO" quite often. He loves imitating grownups and giving a hand with household chores. He can play simple but brief fantasy games. He enjoys playing around other children as long as he does not have to share his toys with them.

 Intellectual behavior and development:

The toddler can clearly express his feelings and wishes. He can also follow simple instructions. Although his attention span is still limited, he can easily construct simple sentences. He can also memorize and sing simple songs.

 It is important to note that every child is unique and the developmental progress and behavior do vary from child to child. You may not notice some developmental milestones in your child; however, understanding toddlers behaviors and development stages will help you monitor the progress of your child while looking out for any abnormality.