20 month old toddler and their developmental milestones…
Children develop at their own pace. However, there are guidelines that you can check to determine the things that your child can or cannot do at a certain age. With the developmental milestones, you are able to expect the next things that your child can develop or the skills that he or she will most likely learn. At 20 months old, your toddler is starting to develop and becoming more independent. At this age, there are already a lot of things that he or she can do.
Physical drowth and development
Your child’s height will depend on his or her genes. However, your child’s weight will depend on the nutrients that his or her body is absorbing when they eat. If your child eats unhealthy foods then he or she will most likely become underweight and unhealthy. Thus, as parents, it is very important to check on the foods that we offer and let our child eat. You have to make sure that they are nutritious.
In terms of physical development, your child at this age will have reached a vision of 20/20. This means that this is the time when your child is able to see clearly and perform tasks that require eye coordination. Your child at this age should be able to throw a ball over their head or stack several blocks when they are playing. As a parent, you should always encourage your child’s interest in the different things that they can see. You can do this by conversing with your child about what he or she sees and seeking out his or her opinion. This should help teach them to become more interested in their surroundings.
Fears and phobias and how to deal with them
At 20 month old, your child’s fears and phobias start to emerge. These fears can come when your child hears sudden noises, sees strange animals or even visits the doctor. As your child gets smarter by the day, he or she begins to imagine all types of scenarios. However, they are not mature enough to sort out the possible things from the impossible ones. For such case, there are ways on how you can help him or her with his or her fears. The first thing that you need to do, however, is to acknowledge and let your child know that they are real and that you actually become afraid sometimes, too.
Dealing with your child’s aggressive behavior
Another important issue that parents face at this age is their child’s aggressive behavior. Such behavior can come in the form of biting, hitting and hair pulling. This behavior is typically fueled by frustration, lack of impulse control and egocentricity. As a parent, you should teach your child how to tame such aggressive instincts. You can do this by praising his or her positive behaviors and providing lots of opportunities for your child to vent out his or her frustrations in a more productive and positive way. There are effective strategies to help your child during this dilemma. One important thing to give your child at this time is support.
Language development and communication
Your child at this age will have his or her communication and language developing rapidly. Thus, it is important to stop using baby talk when conversing with your child. You should start focusing on teaching your child how to properly say the words for different things. You can promote and encourage communication development through conversing with them. You should ask your child questions and allow them plenty of time to reply to your questions. You should also respond when they try to speak with you. If your child says a word the wrong way, you should repeat this word with the correct pronunciation to your child.
Nutrition and your child’s health
To ensure proper development of your child at 20 months old, you should make sure that he or she is getting ample nutrition fit for his or her age. At this age, your child should drink three to six cups of liquid a day. You can provide water, juice and other healthy drinks in addition to milk.
Aside from proper hydration, you should give your child three snacks and three meals per day. However, you should not worry if your child skips a meal as they are still learning to understand the sensation of becoming hungry and full. You should not push your child to eat if they are not interested. However, you should not let your child go all day without any restrictions.
To aid your child’s nutrition, you can provide vitamin supplements. You can seek recommendations from your child’s pediatrician on the best vitamin supplements to give to your child at this age.
Sleeping patterns
At 20 months old, your child should be able to sleep for about 14 hours a day. This, typically, consists of about 11 hours of sleep during the night and a two hour nap in the afternoon. At this age, your child will have completely given up their morning naps. Since children at this age are very active, parents will have problems with putting them to bed at night. To address such concern, you should create a soothing bedtime routine for your child. A soothing routine at night can help you win the struggle of putting your child to sleep at night.
A bedtime routine should help your child tag this as a positive experience. For instance, when getting ready to bed, you can help your child to brush his or her teeth and put on his or her sleeping wear or pajamas. Once they are done with this, you can let your child choose the book or bedtime story to read before going to bed. You can let your child participate with the storytelling process.
Understand the way your child play and interact
You should also understand the way your child play and interacts at this age. Children at this age tend to find their own amusement. However, some may need some prompting. You can plan one activity per day. However, you should keep the rest of your child’s day free. This way, your child can initiate their own activity and entertainment. Moreover, this should also encourage your child’s creativity.
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