How Behavior Changes in Toddlers

Children are born and then they grow--and grow, and grow. Here's what you can expect in your child's development as he enters the toddler stage, age 18 months to 2.5 years.

Children at this age are becoming their own people, separate and independent from their parents. They need to explore everything in their environment, to help them learn about the people and places in their life. At the same time, they are improving their walking, running, and climbing skills and learning to talk.

There are many behaviors at this age that challenge parents. As a toddler, it is likely that your child won't always hold your hand, will refuse to come when called, and say "NO." It is common for toddlers to insist on having things a certain way, to have temper tantrums, and refuse to share or take turns.

During this stage it is still important to childproof your child's environment. It is also important to be patient with your child. Don't try to make a child do something until he's ready to do it. Children aren't always ready when their parents are ready. Skills such as toilet training, eating with forks and spoons, and being careful with the pages of a book come when the child is ready to learn.

Don't expect a child of this age to do everything a parent asks. Expecting a small child to be obedient will frustrate both parent and child. It helps if you keep your sentences short and simple and be very specific and direct. For example, rather than saying, "Clean up this mess," try saying "Let's pick up these toys and put them in the toy chest"

Tantrums are common at this age; your best defense is to try to keep them from happening. Avoid taking your child someplace when he is hungry or tired, or will be tempted to demand things he sees. If your child has a tantrum keep calm and ignore it as best as you can, this decreases the chances of the behavior occurring again.

The best method of discipline for children of this age is distraction. Because toddlers have a short attention span, most will quickly do what you want after being distracted. For example, if a child refuses to let you put on her coat when it's time to leave, stop the effort and direct her attention to something out the window. After that go back to the task of putting on the coat. Chances are that the coat will slip right on. And remember to pick your battles; some behavior should simply be ignored.

The toddler years can be trying years. But they are also wonderful years, when your child is learning so much and growing in so many ways. These tips will help you and your toddler enjoy this time of life together.