It's exciting for any parent or caregiver to watch their child grow and hit their milestones. But you may be wondering what sort of milestones you should be seeing in your child now that they've hit the toddler stage. Your day care professionals can help you understand what you might see in this stage of life and how you might be able to support your child's development. But, for the moment, let's look at some of the developmental milestones you might expect to see in your little one.
Hand Dominance Milestones
By around the age of two or three, you will most likely start to see signs that your child favors the use of one hand over another. Their dominant hand could change back and forth for a while. A child's main hand isn't fully settled until ages four to six. It is best not to encourage or otherwise push a child to use one hand over the other as they will naturally gravitate to their dominant hand over time.
Linguistic Milestones
At this stage, toddlers can understand simple phrases and commands such as, “I like soup” or “bring me the ball.” They are beginning to learn spatial concepts like “on,” “in,” or “under.” They can now use a questioning inflection and make simple requests. A toddler can speak simple sentences and understand much more than they can say. Early childhood is an excellent time to introduce them to a second language like Spanish or French; at this stage, they are language-learning machines and are primed to soak up any language-related information. Day care can be an excellent resource for language development as children are exposed to age-appropriate language all day and guided by childcare professionals.
Fine Motor Skill Milestones
Fine motor skills involve the coordination between eyes and hands to accomplish goals. By the time your child has reached the toddler stage, they will be able to: clap their hands, stack blocks, hold a crayon, and begin to use utensils when having meals. Your child's day care can nurture your child's developing fine motor skills through carefully planned activities that meet your children where they are.
Your toddler is growing at a lightning-fast pace and developing new skills every single day. A healthy partnership between parents and day care professionals can ensure that your child will thrive as they grow into the person they will become.