All toddlers have their own timetable, but you can watch for certain developments around this time. Celebrate with your child as he reaches or nears these milestones.
Cognitive
- Knows how household items are used (a spoon to eat, a telephone to talk)
- Imitates adult actions (throwing away trash, using a phone)
- Uses toys when pretending to do everyday tasks (feeding a stuffed animal)
- Has increasing understanding that everything has a name
- Points to at least one body part when asked (“Where’s your chin?”)
- Can follow one-step commands without gestures (“Sit down”)
- May remember favourite items that are out of sight (crackers in cupboard, a toy in toy box)
Motor
- May run
- May dance or move to music
- Jumps in place or from a bottom step to the floor
- Navigates stairs; may need support coming down
- Walks and pulls a pull-toy
- May pedal on a tricycle
- Takes off at least some clothes without help
- Uses a spoon
- May build a tower of six blocks
- Folds paper
Communication
- May say up to 30 words, 18 months
- Begins to add new words more rapidly than before
- Tries longer, multi-syllable words
- Shakes head and says “no”
- Uses gestures to make wishes known
- May use simple phrases, 18 to 24 months
- May say first sentence, 18 to 30 months
- May use first and last names
- May hum and sing
Social
- May have tantrums when upset (tantrums peak between 18 and 24 months)
- May still be afraid of strangers
- May still cling to parents or caregivers in unfamiliar situations
- May have quick emotional shifts
