Toddler brain development stage 18-24 months
During this phase, the following areas of the toddler’s brain start to develop: 1. Cognition and Learning 2. Movement 3. Language 4. Social Emotional
COGNITION AND LEARNING
- During the period of 18 to 24 months, cognitive growth in children is mostly from exploring things around.
- Encourage toys that offer sensory experiences. Play-dough, sand, water, finger paints are some brilliant materials that you can offer your toddler.
- During 18 to 24 months, music plays a very vital role in developing cognition and learning.
- Music, melodies and lyrics help young children grasp concepts much faster.
- At this age, the best way to teach a child is through repetition. Repetitive learning drastically increases retention levels in a child’s brain.
- Understanding ‘symbolic representation’ is something that is common to children of this age group.
Symbolic representation: Children begin to understand that each object/symbol has a meaning. For example, they may hold a phone to their ear and pretend to talk / say hello. They understand the difference between an image of an animal in a book and a real animal. He/she may pick toy fruits and vegetables and pretend to eat them. Symbolic play serves as a base for fantasy play in the future.
MOVEMENT
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS -18 TO 24 MONTHS
FINE MOTOR SKILLS -18 TO 24 MONTHS
LANGUAGE
- During 18 to 24 months, an infant’s vocabulary increases from 20 words to around 50 words.
- At around 18 months, your child will start to refer to him/herself by his/her name.
- He/She will begin to put 2-3 words together. For example, “Hi Mummy”,”want Apple”, “Go car”.
- Your toddler may mix words and toddler talk/babble.
- Don’t worry if your child pronounces words differently.For example, “tite” instead of “kite” or “duv you” instead of “love you” or “wata” instead of “water”. By 24 months, this pronunciation will improve.
- Children at this age will love to listen to stories read by you. They love big images.
- Even though they will be able to speak around 50 words, children between 18 to 24 months of age will be able to understand anything between 200 to 500 words.
- While talking, your toddler will use a lot of gestures and tones to help you understand better.
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
- During the age of 18 to 24 months, social and emotional development in children continues to undergo several changes.
- At this stage, a parent/care giver can expect a lot of “no” and “mine” from a kid
- At this age, make sure you teach your child some basic good manners like ‘please’, ‘thank you’ etc.
- Teach your child to put away toys after play.
- Sing happy and simple songs to your toddler.
- Your child may also be able to put on some simple clothing by him/herself
- Most importantly, have fun with your toddler. It makes the emotional bond stronger.
Some of the common behavioral patterns that one can expect from a child of this age are :
- The child enjoys playing alone
- Likes to do things by him/herself
- Doesn’t like to share
- May push or hit if made to share
- Likes to help with simple household chores like keeping a glass on the table
- Can be reassured when afraid
- May act like he/she owns certain objects
Related Posts:
Baby Brain Development Stage 0-2 months
Baby Brain Development Stage 2-6 months
Baby Brain Development Stage 6-12 months
Toddler Brain Development Stage 12-18 months
How to improve your child’s thinking skills
