Toddler Self-care Milestones

Rates of individual development may be as different as toddler's personalities. Some little people may be speaking in two- to three-word sentences before they are 15 months old, while others may not be interested in communicating verbally at all. Skill comparison among peers can be a scary thing for many parents, especially since it begs the question: "Can this child do more than mine? Is he smarter? Are his fine/gross motor skills more advanced?" Etc.

Typically, many parental worries are unfounded. Here are a number of self-help skills your toddler should be able to master in her second to third year of life:

- Feeding with fork and spoon:
Most toddlers will have figured out how to maneuver food to their mouths with the help of a spoon or fork by 17 or 18 months of age. Some younger toddlers may display interest in self-feeding as early as 12 or 13 months old. By preschool age, between 3 and 4 years, your child will be a pro at holding and using her eating utensils.

- Undressing:
Many toddlers will quickly learn to remove a pesky clothing item by 12 to 24 months of age. Many little people love removing their socks, mittens, hats, shoes, pants, and occasionally even their diapers (careful, this could get messy!) Undressing is a fun, new accomplishment celebrated by your toddler, and while this new skill can get a bit frustrating when time constraints come into the picture, be sure to monitor your response and acknowledge his ability to successfully remove his clothing in a positive way. Advanced undressing skills also invite the opportunity to address appropriate dress styles. For example, it is okay to take off your socks at Auntie’s house, but it is not okay to take off your diaper, underwear, or t-shirt.

- Brushing teeth:
Early dental hygiene is important for getting babies and toddlers used to having their teeth brushed. Most toddlers still love exploring new habits and will be excited to try out holding their own toothbrush and cleaning their teeth by themselves as early as 16 months of age. While young children won’t be able to give their teeth a thorough cleaning, it is important to give them a chance to test this new skill. Just be sure to do a follow up after your child is done brushing and thoroughly brush her teeth after she’s done her part. Or take turns: Your child brushes the top row and you get to scrub the bottom row of her teeth. You may also let her complete the morning brushing, while you make sure her evening brushing is done the right way.

- Washing and drying hands:
At around 24 months of age, most children will be able to pull up a step stool, turn on the water, squeeze some liquid soap into their palms, and wash their hands independently (though still messily at times). A great time to help your child master this skill is when he is getting ready to toilet-train. This way he will learn the importance of proper bathroom hygiene to prevent the spread of germs.

- Dressing:
While undressing comes relatively easy to young toddlers, dressing is a much tougher skill to master. Most toddlers are closer to 24 months of age when they are finally able to put on lighter, looser clothing without help. Skirts, shorts, and pants with elastic bands are typically some of the first times toddlers will learn to put on. T-shirts and short-sleeve dresses may take a bit longer to get the hang of.

- Toilet training:
Some toddlers may be ready to learn to use a training toilet, snap-on potty seat, or the regular toilet between ages 18 to 24 months. However, toileting is a completely different physical skill that not only requires mental readiness but also awareness of physiological signs, such as recognizing what a full bladder feels like or that a bowel movement is typically preceded by a specific sensation in the tummy. Children who are able to partially undress, especially by removing their pants or skirts, may be showing signs of potty-readiness. Young children may also be ready to use the potty once they are able to tell you that they have to go before they soil their diapers or pull-ups.

Always remember: Individual development does not proceed on a constant. Each child may reach a different milestone before or after her peers, but this is completely normal. While some children may take more interest in certain self-help skills and excel at different tasks, others may not yet be as curious to explore and learn these skills, simply because they may be used to having their needs already met in a certain way that works for them. Shy children may also be a bit more hesitant to demonstrate self-help skills in a public setting. There are a number of factors to consider when trying to determine whether your child's development is proceeding at the right rate. Of course, if you feel that she has not yet mastered an important milestone by a critical age, it is never a bad idea to mention your concerns to her pediatrician at her next check-up just to be sure.

Little Learner's Book Choice of the Week: The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book

What can the letter D turn into?

a) a laughing mouth
b) a teacup handle
c) a frog's eye

According to children's books author Lisa Campbell Ernst, the correct choice is secret answer d) all of the above. In her books, "The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book", Lisa Campbell Ernst uses a imaginative approach to studying the ABCs by flipping the letters on their sides and turning them upside down. Children are able to use their imagination at every turn-over to discover new images that each letter could represent.
My little learners and I were surprised to see how versatile the letters of the alphabet truly are.
What a great book for preschoolers who are just beginning to explore the different shapes, curves, and lines of the alphabet.
It was one of those read-it-"again"-and-"again" books.

Happy Snow Days!

With lots of new snowfall on the way, we are strapping on our snowsuits and taking full advantage of the white stuff during our afternoon outdoor play. 

Georgia loving the snow.

Mini ramps and slippery slopes abound as we race our sled downhill. Snow angels, tiny forts, and frozen pies topped our list of winter creations this week. 

Georgia giving Julian a push down the hill.

Even our smallest helper, Max, had a blast in the snow. He watched Sammy dig a tunnel through a snowy mountain and happily plopped into pile after pile of snow. 

Max helping us build an even taller snow hill. 

Early Math with Everyday Toys

Counting forwards, backwards, by 2s, by 5s, and by 10s. Math with counters is all the rage in our group right now. Our little learners are ordering and arranging by colors, creating patterns, sorting by size, and categorizing by shape. Each day I am amazed at how independently they apply previously learned concepts in their every day play.

Evan, our 3-year-old loves collecting all things train (or other wheeled vehicles with front and back magnets will do, as well) and has become an expert at assembling lines of train cars by size, color, likeness, or speed (okay, he is ultimately the final decision maker in how fast they will go, but you get the idea). After lining up train car after train car, Evan will regard his creation and patiently count each segment of his little convoy. This is a great time to reinforce concepts of order. Which train comes first? Which one is in second place? Which one is last?

Our ball pit is another math time favorite. Not only can Evan and Max dive right into the colorful, bouncy bliss but the 100+ plastic balls also make for a perfect counting, sorting, and identifying opportunity. How many red balls can you find? Let’s count all our green balls. Can you bring the yellow ball to Max? Of course, after a moment, even the balls will be lined up into a train and the counting starts over. 

Early math activities for tots and preschoolers are so much fun because the learning opportunities are endless. We can sort and count items around the house, such as crayons, blocks, buttons, or even pieces of cut up fruit, add how many steps we need to take to make it to the top of the stairs, or figure out how many blocks high we can stack a tower before it collapses. Our wooden abacus is constantly in use, as Evan and Max take turns moving the colorful counters from right to left and back again while we count out loud to 10, then 20, then 30, and finally all the way to 100. 

Math is fun! And an early appreciation of math concepts will help foster math readiness by school age. 

ACHOO – The Cold Season Is Not Over Yet

Little hands are everywhere. At no time does this teeny fact of life become more obvious than when young children are sick with the common cold or flu.

The 2012-2013 flu season started early last year - in October 2012 - and may continue on as late as May, though the actual course of potential new flu outbreaks can be rather unpredictable. Nevertheless, this is even more reason for us providers working with small children to stock up on hand soap, have one-way towels handy, and keep our bleach-dilute sanitizing bottles always filled. Sick days can get pretty yucky and germs spread quickly.

Here are a few tried and true tips on how to keep young learners and their surrounding areas clean and their peers (hopefully) protected:

1. Wash hands frequently and thoroughly! (This one is the no-brainer of all infectious disease prevention tips, of course) Wet hands, add soap, rub and scrub all sides of your child’s hands (backhand, palm, between fingers, underneath nails, if possible) for up to 20 seconds, rinse thoroughly, and then dry on a disposable towel to prevent others from using the same (already contaminated) one. Teaching kids at an early age to wash their hands before and after eating meals, after using the bathroom, after touching a pet, and after playing with shared objects is an important habit to instill.

2. Prevent children from sharing foods with each other. While sharing is a valued gesture, ensuring that each child sticks to the foods on his/her own plate will prevent the spread of germs.

3. Teach children how to cover their mouths by coughing or sneezing into their sleeves rather than the palms of their hands.

4. Help your child avoid contact with eyes, nose, and mouth as much as possible, to avoid spreading droplets that may contain the virus.

5. Keep high-traffic play areas or toys clean and sterilize items after your child is finished playing with them.

6. Last, but definitely not least: Ensure that your child has received a flu vaccination or mist prior to the beginning of the flu season. At the end of the day, this is likely the most sure-fire way to reduce your child’s chances of becoming infected with a currently circulating flu strain.

Of course, if your little guy is sick with a fever, be sure to keep him home until he’s been at least 24 hours fever-free. A sick child does not make for a happy child. 

New Location, New Beginnings ...

Our move to our new home has gone smoothly. Thankfully all of our amazing families have been very understanding and flexible going on this journey with us. It has been an exciting, if sometimes tiresome, five months for us. We have moved from our old daycare setting on Sterling Drive in Big Lake to a temporary rental home to a brand-new, custom-built home with a bigger-than-ever play-and-explore area and backyard for our little learners. I am super-excited to continue with our program and begin a new chapter in the Adventures At Home story at our Hidden River Estates location.

The first three weeks seem to have gone by in a breeze. It’s been so much fun teaching my toddler and preschoolers here. The kids are loving the increased space and are becoming very creative with their self-inspired dramatic playtime activities. Our little ‘choo-choo’ (trains) and ‘vroom-vroom’ (cars) lovers have plenty of room to recreate their favorite vehicles from storage bins, lined up chairs, wooden blocks, board books, and small toys without bumping into each other. Free play time is filled with many happy races, puppet theater acts, and restaurant tables with real waiters who will take your orders (as long as you don’t mind eating rainbow spaghetti – speak: colorful crayons – and sandwiches made from red, green, and yellow blocks).

We’ve also learned to become resourceful and use our imagination to create new learning and recreational opportunities. Some empty moving boxes gave us a chance to talk about recycling and our environment. We got to watch our waste removal crew sort and load stacks of cardboard boxes onto a huge, snorting garbage truck! Now that was just too cool for two little boys who go berserk over all things with wheels. Other empty boxes were repurposed and turned into a dollhouse, a ball pit, and a choo-choo train. Each day just brings new adventures and learning opportunities. 

Let's see what tomorrow brings ...