Young Toddlers (1 – 2 Years)
Young toddlers like to explore. They’re active and curious and love to learn new words and phrases. They want to know how everything works. Young toddlers can also understand far more words than they can say – this can make communicating wants and needs frustrating.
Development with Legs
During this time your young toddler will learn to:
- Stand on his/her own.
- Pretend play.
- Walk and run.
- Repeat words and short phrases.
- Follow simple, one step directions.
- String together a few words, such as “All gone.”
- Assert independence by saying “No!”
- Enjoy music and dancing.
How You Can Help
Here are some things you can do to help your young toddler develop early literacy skills:
- Find slightly longer stories to enjoy.
- Point to a simple object in a picture and have your toddler tell you what it is.
- Sing songs, recite action rhymes, and do fingerplays.
- Find a special low place for your toddler’s books that he or she can easily access.
- Frequently let your toddler pick which books to read.
- Read books with simple rhymes or repetitive text.
- Read books of different sizes – from little books your toddler can carry all the way to big books as tall as your toddler.
- Read books about animals, books about saying hello and goodbye and other simple opposites and bedtime books at night.