5 Little Milestones of Toddlers And What They Mean

Parents often focus on classic developmental milestones: rolling over, the first step, and the first word, and fixating on these developments can lead to unhealthy comparisons and insecurity.

Christina Furnival, a psychotherapist specializing in children's mental health, reminds us that each child is unique, memorable, and wonderful regardless of their milestones and the time they reach them.

Parents with serious concerns about their child's development must talk to their pediatricians. But, many other milestones are worth celebrating.

Here are some milestones that deserve celebration, and here is why:

Dropping and Knocking Things Over

According to Huffington Post, Children constantly dropping and throwing things every time they get hold of or handed something is a big sign of growth, Rachel Robertson, vice president of education at Bright Horizons, said.

Toddlers explore a lot of cause and effect. They may drop their spoons not just once but ten times or dump a bucket of blocks. Robertson said these kids are working on muscle control, a significant step in cognitive development.

Splashing water, pressing a button on a toy for lights and sound, and knocking over a pile of blocks, encourage toddlers to use symbolic and logical thinking.

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Visual attention

An infant can distinguish objects, animals, and human faces, and these skills develop over time. Visual attention to social or nonsocial stimuli in the early life environment is the basis for more complex skills later in infancy, such as social communication and joint attention.

Joint attention is when a child looks at something, turns back to the parent, and then looks back at the object. It could be them pointing at something and checking to see if you are looking. Kristene Geering, director of content at Parent Lab, says that the development is a significant milestone for communication and cognitive development.

Strong attachments

Is your toddler a little bit clingy? Such development means that they are forming healthy attachments to a primary carer, as per NCT.org.uk. Psychotherapist Noel McDermott says that their neurological frontal lobe development, or the development of the brain for language, social thinking, and executive decision making, is happening.

The mechanism is crucial as it helps them develop bonds with others throughout their lives. While sometimes, being clingy can manifest as separation anxiety and pose challenges. It is a significant milestone that indicates that the child has a strong attachment to a parent or friend.

Taking turns

When your toddler rolls the ball back and forth with you, it is called turn-taking. It builds social-emotional skills and helps develop their communication through back and forth speech.

Kids saying NO!

Kids telling you no may be frustrating, but it also means discovering their independence and exercising their control, Bright Horizons says. It's a way for them to figure out their preferences and opinions, albeit short of words to say them.

Saying "me do it" or "I no want broccoli" means that one can express thoughts and exercise autonomy.

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