18 Month Child Development...
Stages Of Development Of Your 18 Month Old Child
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...At 18 months old, your child is developing a real personality. He is still growing rapidly, but not as dramatically as in the first year.
As he begins to walk, run and climb, he gains confidence and a greater sense of independence. At this stage, he needs encouragement and freedom to explore, as well as clear boundaries and limits to feel safe.
Remember that every child develops at a different pace. So, not every child will be able to perform all of the following skills.
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His Physical Development…Motor Skills
Your 18 month old child…
- Is able to walk regularly and stop safely, without sitting down
quickly - Can climb forward into an adult chair and then turn round and sit
- Is able to kneel upright without help
- Squats to pick up a toy
- Moves without support from a squatting position to standing
- Uses a delicate pincer grasp to pick up very small objects
- Uses spoon when feeding himself
- Holds a pencil in his whole hand or between the thumb and the first two fingers...primitive tri-pod grasp
- Is able to scribble to and fro with a pencil on paper
- Can thread large beads onto a lace or string
- Can control his wrist movement to manipulate objects
- Moves small objects from a bottle by turning it upside-down
- Points to familiar objects
- Builds a tower of three or more bricks.
His Sensory/Intellectual Development
- Can identify known people at a distance
- Is aware that he is looking at himself in the mirror
- No longer explore things in his mouth.
His Language Development
- Is aware of the names of parts of his body, and can point to them when asked
- Uses 6-40 recognisable words and understand many more…but the word mostly used is 'no'
- Uses signs and gestures beside words
- Indicates desire by pointing
- Obeys simple instructions such as 'shut the door', and responds to simple questions such as 'Where's the cat?'
- Refers to himself by name
- Begins to wave his arms up and down, meaning 'start again', 'more', or 'I like it'
- Can identify that people may have desires…thinks that everyone feels the same as he does.
His Emotional and Social Development
- Knows where objects are kept... this reflects an increase in long-term memory
- Plays continuously alone... solitary play... but may like to be near a familiar adult or sibling
- Most likely to be independent, for example to dress himself
- Has the knowledge that others are fearful or anxious for him as he climbs on or off chairs
- Is likely to become frustrated, with occasional temper tantrums
- May show a sign of toilet needs by restless or words
- Is able to follow stories, enjoy stories and rhymes that include repetition.
Promoting His Development
- Make walker trucks available, pull-along animals which he enjoys to play with
- Encourage play with messy materials, such as sand, water, play dough and painting
- Make available of low firmly fixed furniture to climb on
- Provide him with pop-up toys, stacking toys and hammer-and-peg to develop hand–eye co-ordination skills
- Encourage imaginative play and language skills with toys such as simple puppets, dressing-up clothes or toy telephones
- Provide balls to roll, kick or throw
- Use action rhymes and singing games to promote conversation and confidence
- Allow him to play with other children…this is a key factor of building up his confidence and conversation
- Make available of both toys, such as simple beakers, sprinkling toys and waterproof books
- Use finger paints and wax crayons to encourage creative skills
- Make available of picture books to attract him to identify details in the picture.
Safety Awareness
- You should never leave him alone in the bath even for few minutes
- You should supervise him when in the bath
- Be aware of dangers such as sharp objects, broken bottles, litter or unfenced walls when he is playing outdoors.
Activities For Him
Treasure basket...- Have a strong, shallow cardboard box or a wicker basket
- Ensure that there are no staples, splinters or jagged edges
- Choose a variety of interesting objects…10-15 in numbers…to stimulate his 5 senses of objects with different shapes, textures, colours and weights
- You may also include objects with distinctive smell such as a small empty perfume bottle or a lavender bag.
How To Encourage His Aesthetic and Spiritual Development
- Make available of some nicely-crafted wooden toys stimulus painting and drawing, which from an early years permit him to show emotions in his creativity
- Have well and interesting illustrated picture books
- Make available of an introduction to music and outings that will bring him pleasure of the wonders of the natural world.
See Also Related Articles To 18 Month Child Development...
- Child Development 6 Months
- Child Development 12 Months
- Child Development 2 Years
- Child Development 3 Years
- Child Development 5 Years
- Child Development 6 Years
- Developmental Milestones
Return from 18 Month Child Development to Child Development Milestone
