The second year of a toddler's life is the beginning of many milestones- cognitive, physical, motor and emotional. During this period, the toddler becomes more self aware and curious, exploring things through his/her new found mobility. Toddlers, having developed the awareness and desire to act on their whims, turn into a handful for their parents, terrorizing the household through their antics and forcing parents to take safety precautions to prevent their children from harming themselves. The new found ability to walk and run, in a haphazard, uncoordinated manner, is exercised by the toddlers extensively, providing them access to newer, dangerous areas. Baby proofing of the apartment is a must, to ensure the safety and well being of your toddler, so he/she can explore freely while the parent is more relaxed.
This is also the stage of emotional and social development, as toddlers begin to develop social gestures and show a wide range of emotions, from defiance to embarrassment. Toddlers also develop an emotional attachment to their caregivers, showing apprehension and anxiety upon separation. These are normal emotional developments, and emotional outbursts can be controlled by using toys to calm the child.
These milestones map the overall development of a toddler, signifying normal and accepted growth pattern. However deviations within the appropriate limit are quite normal, due to differing genetic and environmental factors; significant delays need to be watched out for to detect the presence of any developmental disorder.
Physical development
During the first two years of their life, toddlers grow at an exponential rate, reaching half their adult height. After the second year, growth rate slows down.
Weight has tripled since birth, while the height has increased by 50% by the first birthday. A toddler must weigh at least 23 pounds and be 30 inches tall at the end of his/her first year.
By the fourteenth month, the minimum weight of the toddler must be 24 pounds and the minimum height 31 inches which increases to 26 lb and 32.5 inches, respectively, by the eighteenth month. Roughly, a toddler grows at the rate of 1 inch and 2 lb in 3 months.
Chest circumference, which was equal to the head circumference during the 12th month, must be greater than the head circumference by the end of the second year. Head circumference should increase at the rate of 0.5 inches every six months.
Baby fat begins to disappear as the toddler learns and starts to walk.
The anterior fontanelle closes off by the end of the second year, and the skull bones begin to thicken. The fontanelle is an opening in the skull which enables the skull to deform during birth, thus, enabling easier passage through the birth canal. It also accommodates the development of the brain.
While a toddler at the age of 12 months shows 6 teeth (2 lower lateral incisors and 4 anterior molars), by the eighteenth month, the toddler should have 12 teeth. By the end of the second year, the toddler should have all four canines.
Other parameters that should be measured are the blood pressure, the pulse rate and the body temperature. These must lie in the specified range, an abnormality indicating an underlying disease or infection. Toddlers have a higher pulse rate than adults, showing a rate of 105 beats per minute. Their blood pressure is 96±27/65±27. The body temperature should be measured as 99.6 Fahrenheit rectal, 98.6F oral and 97.4 auxiliary.
The body structure also changes; arms and legs lengthen during the 18th month, gaining a more adult like appearance.
Reflexes:
Toddlers, during their second year, have abandoned almost all involuntary reflexes they exhibited at birth. These reflexes gave way to voluntary reactions to external stimuli.
The Babinski reflex gives way to the plantar reflex, i.e. the direction of arching the foot upon stimulation of the sole reverses. While babies tend to flex their toe, moving the sole closer to the stimulant, adults fold in their toe, retract their sole away from it. Thus, during the first half of the second year, toddlers will discard the Babinski reflex.
Landau reflex disappears by the second year, i.e. the tendency of the infants to flex their backs and raise their head, when held in the horizontal position.
Landau reflex
Motor Skills
Motor skill development takes place through, both, gross and fine development. While gross development incorporates the development of movements involving larger muscles, developed in a head-to-toe order, fine motor skills involve developing movements that require smaller muscles, like fingers, generally in coordination with the eye.
Toddlers begin to gain control of their bowel movements, gaining the ability to control their sphincter muscles. The use of diapers may be discarded altogether in some toddlers, if they are trained to inform their parent when they need to urinate or poop.
While toddlers during their 12th-14th month may walk with the support of objects, by the 17th month they should be capable of walking backward, forward and sideward without support. Besides walking, toddlers also become capable of climbing the stairs, with support during the 15th month, to using the railing as a support during the period of 18-23 months and finally, without support, one step at a time, at the age of 2. The walking and running motion becomes more adult like by the end of the second year, as their feet begin to turn inward.
Toddlers can also jump and run in a careless, uncoordinated manner by the 18th month. It is okay if your eighteen month old toddler falls often, it is all included in the learning process!
Toddlers, by the second half of their second year, can also feed themselves with a spoon.
Toddlers develop the pincer grasp, or grasping using the thumb and forefinger, to pick up smaller objects. This is also the age when toddlers will put anything and everything they can hold into their mouth; parents need to exercise caution to ensure they don't swallow something harmful.
Toddlers can also ride the tricycle or walk on the balance beam by the second birthday. It is encouraged to let your toddler play outside, under supervision of course, to learn how to interact with other children. They may also be able to throw objects to a greater distance.
By the second year, toddlers can draw using crayons (pencils should be avoided for their sharp points) and may be able to draw loopy circles or color figures well outside the lines. Parents may provide the toddler with coloring books; the exercise is good for mental and visual stimulation.
Cognitive skills have also seen vast development; toddlers begin studying how different objects work, through experimentation. By the 18th month, toddlers become symbol oriented, creating general images of objects. By the 21st month, toddlers can learn poems, routines and how things work. Object permanence gradually emerges during the 12th-18th month. By the end of the second year, toddlers also tend to play "pretend" by imagining objects or scenarios. This shows imaginative development, beyond concrete thinking.
As this stage marks the development of various social, linguistic and cognitive skills, parents are encouraged to play with their toddlers, challenging them and aiding the sharpening of these skills. Any lack of social responses or unwillingness to cooperate may be indicative of a behavioral disorder and needs to be addressed before it becomes worse. However, all unwillingness needn't reflect behavioral disorders, sometimes it's just the toddler being moody. It is always advisable to consult your pediatrician before upsetting yourself.
