From taking the first step, to the first time they say “Mama!”, toddlers experience a series of milestones ever since they open their eyes to the world. Parents appreciate it when they witness such an achievement – but what of the milestones you don’t notice?

Believe it or not, there are a lot more underlying achievements your toddler is accomplishing without you even knowing! This includes significant amounts of emotional and psychological development that affects the way they perceive and interact with their surroundings. These are minimal at first, and anyone could brush them off as habit, but they are actually important – and they should be appreciated as much as a toddler’s first step.

Fortunately, we have made a list of some of the most important developmental milestones you should look out for, when your toddler has hit the 1-3 year mark.

Pre-reading

Story-times are extremely significant for children – not is it only the perfect chance for toddlers to have some quality time with their parents, but it also develops important early reading skills. Sure, they won’t read entire books, but they will realise the concept of a story: how it starts and ends, and how you read from left to right. Best case scenario is your child recognising a few words and phrases all on their own.

As a parent, you can help build this skill without being overbearing:

• Let your child be curious; let them pick any book, and explore its pages themselves. Don’t worry if all that they’re doing is just look at pictures – they’re still learning how to grasp the idea of storytelling.
• Read their favourite story to them out loud and slowly, so that they can generate an understanding of words
• Ask questions about the story – whose dress do they like, which flower do they want to pick, etc. This way, they interact with the story they’re reading, and build a better understanding of it.
  
  

Gaining Independence:

This is possibly one of the most tricky things to handle. It is when your toddler suddenly gets the urge to do things on their own – whether its walking without holding hands, eating on their own, and the like. It gets frustrating because they suddenly latches onto the idea that they’re individuals, and won’t let go!

However, that is no reason to worry – it’s all part of the process. As a parent, what you can do is:

• Give your toddler as much time as possible to do little tasks on their own – whether it’s buttoning their coat, eating with a fork on their own, or brushing their own teeth. Don’t butt in, and don’t rush it.
• Give them enough liberty to do things on their own, but don’t get carried away. Be firm when you have to be – you can’t let your child walk without holding your hand in a crowd, no matter how much they want to!

Independent toddlers can be a hassle to manage, but it’s not impossible. In fact, we have shared a few tips and tricks here, too!

Using Simple Sentences:

This is what parents can overlook after the excitement of their little one’s first word – them speaking in small phrases. It’s often broken, and may hardly even make sense, but be patient. They’re trying to reign in their communicative skills, and are slowly building up to think – and speak – for themselves.

How parents can help?

• Model good speech habits as soon as you notice your child wanting to speak more. They’re still impressionable, and they should not have to pick up on bad language just because of their surroundings.
• Give them more opportunities to speak, whether it’s for picking their clothes, talking about their favourite colour – the ideas are limitless.
• Be patient, even if they resort to crying and forget how to communicate their feelings; they’re still learning, and need all the support they can get.
  
  

Learning Empathy

This is where they have established that their feelings have a link with other people, and learn how to acknowledge it. This is an emotional milestone, because this phase is critical for them to learn how to build relationships with other people. It may be a rocky phase to deal with, but parents can help by:

• Refusing to resort to the “easy way out”; don’t give them their favourite toy as soon as they cry. Give them the time to acknowledge why are they crying, and what emotionally distressed them in the first place. The sooner they grow more aware of their feelings, the better.
• Letting your child be aware of the impact they have on other feelings. If some habit of theirs bothers you, don’t be afraid to voice it out – be calm and open, and don’t overreact to the situation. In such cases, communication is key.

The process of trumping all these milestones can be overwhelming for children, and they may seem to regress. But don’t worry – it’s part of a slow process that requires dedication and resilience from the parent. Nurseries in Jumeirah Park like Oakfield know this, and so have designed the EYFS curriculum to include room for their emotional and psychological development. After all, their prime areas happen to be:

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development
• Communication and Language
• Physical Development

A toddler is constantly learning and growing, and as parents, it’s your responsibility to cheer for them through it all.