 1 to 3 Years Old
What to Expect
Between their first and second birthdays, children
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- Are energetic, busy and curious;
- Are self-centered;
- Like to imitate the sounds and actions of others
(for example, by repeating words that parents and others say and by
pretending to do housework or yard work with adults);
- Want to be independent and to do things for
themselves;
- Have short attention spans if they are not
involved in an activity that interests them;
- Add variations to their physical skills (for
example, by walking backwards);
- Begin to see how they are like and unlike other
children;
- Play alone or alongside other toddlers;
- Increase their spoken vocabularies from about 2
or 3 words to about 250 words and understand more of what people say
to them;
- Ask parents and others to read aloud to them,
often requesting favorite books or stories; and
- Pretend to read and write the way they see
parents and others do.
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| Between their second and third birthdays, children |
- Become more aware of others;
- Become more aware of their own feelings and
thoughts;
- Are often stubborn and may have temper tantrums;
- Able to walk, run, jump, hop, roll and climb;
- Expand their spoken vocabularies from about 250
to 1,000 words during the year;
- Put together 2-, 3- and 4-word spoken sentences;
- Begin to choose favorite stories and books to
hear read aloud;
- Begin to count;
- Begin to pay attention to print, such as the
letters in their names;
- Begin to distinguish between drawing and
writing; and
- Begin to scribble, making some marks that are
like letters.
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What Toddlers Need
1- to 2-year-old children require |
- Opportunities to make their own choices: "Do you
want the red cup or the blue one?";
- Clear and reasonable limits;
- Opportunities to use large muscles in the arms
and legs;
- Opportunities to use small muscles to manipulate
small objects, such as puzzles and stackable toys;
- Activities that allow them to touch, taste,
smell, hear and see new things;
- Chances to learn about "cause and effect"-that
things they do cause other things to happen (for example, stacking
blocks too high will cause the blocks to fall);
- Opportunities to develop and practice their
language skills;
- Opportunities to play with and learn about
alphabet letters and numbers; and
- Opportunities to learn about books and print.
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| 2- to 3-year-old children require opportunities to |
- Develop hand coordination (for example, by
holding crayons and pencils, putting together puzzles or stringing
large beads);
- Do more things for themselves, such as dressing
themselves;
- Talk, sing and develop their language skills;
- Play with other children and develop their
social skills;
- Try out different ways to move their bodies;
- Learn more about printed language and books and
how they work;
- Do things to build vocabulary and knowledge and
to learn more about the world, such as taking walks and visiting
libraries, museums, restaurants, parks and zoos.
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Information source: U.S. Department of Education - Helping Your Preschool Child |
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