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Parenting
with Gary & Anne Marie: Toddlers
The Walking, Talking, Curious Toddler
His little legs can carry
him where his curious mind will take him, and his hands touch as his mind directs
them. One of the most rapid areas of your toddler's development is that of control
over the different muscles of his body. This developmental achievement is significant
and signals a new milestone. Unlike the newborn, who cannot move himself from
where he has been laid or grasp a toy handed to him, your toddler moves with
freedom of desire. And this mobility multiplies his ability to learn a thousand-fold.
Throughout the toddler years,
two processes dominate: growth and learning. These processes are interdependent,
but not interchangeable. Growth refers to the biological changes and maturation
taking place in his physical development; learning pertains to the mental processes,
which include moral training and development of life skills. During your toddler's
second year, he crosses one of the most important milestones of life-the ability
to walk. This growth skill emerges around the same time that the mental process
of curiosity ripens.
Put mobility and curiosity
together and you have the essence of toddlerhood. The old adage "strike
while the iron is hot" has developmental implications for this season of
life. Curiosity plus mobility put a child in the center of a critical phase
of learning, where knowledge and habits produce lifelong consequences. The toddler
years are the learning fields, and mobility multiplies the opportunities, as
well as creating new challenges for parents.
The Walking Milestone
Your toddler's mobility is nothing new. First he covered ground by creeping,
then crawling, then standing, and then moving from object to object. Then one
day it happened-he took that first step. From that point forward, his world
changed and so did Mom and Dad's. Walking is a developmental milestone because
it marks a new era of toddler independence. Now his little feet can take him
where his mind desires to go. Since the child is on the go, it also means that
Mom and Dad are not far behind. So a mobile toddler ushers in a new era of parental
supervision.
Walking increases a child's
contacts. Mobility opens doors of opportunity and new areas of interest, exploration,
and adventure. He is also able to walk to mischief and trouble. When he was
a crawler, you knew his range of exploration. But now that he's walking, you
must keep your eye on him since his ability and resolve to get from here to
there far exceed his judgment of caution and safety.
Between twelve and twenty-four
months, the walking, talking, exploring toddler increases the demands on Mother's
time, energy, and patience more than in any other period of his life. It is
also a time when clashes of the will abound, for the walking-about toddler is
in the process of not only testing his legs, but also trying new experiences
with his hands. His mind has also caught up with his legs, so asserting himself
accompanies his mobility. If left to himself, unhindered by moral and safety
concerns, this little person can empty a bookshelf in minutes, connect with
Hong Kong on Dad's cell phone, drink from the birdbath, splash little hands
in the toilet, drain the last sips of leftover beverages, flee the kitchen with
a table knife, or take a nap in the doghouse-which, after everything else, would
be a positive thing.
Ah yes, the mobile toddler!
There is no question that the mom of a toddler is a tired mom-and for good reason.
The emotional and physical energy needed to supervise an energy-packed tot can
drain even the most physically fit mom. If your toddler happens to be a boy,
add fifty percent more energy. Never so beautiful does this child look to his
weary mom as when he closes his eyes in sleep.
Thus, walking is one of
the great milestones of life. It is the single most important skill that unlocks
a brand-new world waiting to be discovered. While his little legs propel his
body, another process is going on inside that propels his mind. It is the natural
endowment of curiosity.
Article
by Gary Ezzo / Anne Marie Ezzo
