Insights from Irine Schweitzer, Psy.D, LCSW
Toddlerhood begins when the baby starts walking, or toddling. But first comes babyhood.
Babyhood is from birth to 18 months. Much happens during babyhood.
Through the relationship with their caregiver, babies learn to:
- Trust adults ( someone will change me, feed me, hold me, dress me, play with me)
- Trust themselves (can make mommy come, cry for help when hungry, wet or scared)
- Comfort themselves (sucking, rocking, singing, cuddling a blanket)
- Trust the world around them (floor is hard, bath is warm, kitty is soft)
Toddlerhood is from 18 months to 36 months.
Most toddlers will:
- reach for independence, feeling free to push away and feel safe
- experiment, learning more and more about themselves and others
- make demands of others, wanting things their way
Toddlers are learning to:
- be self reliant, insisting on doing it themselves
- understand the difference between mine and not mine
- conquer their fears – of the dark, of monsters, of being separated
Toddlers need to know how to do the following by the end of preschool:
- control their impulses and be able to pay attention
- relate warmly to parents, peers and other adults, like teachers
- be able to participate in make believe and distinguish it from reality
- be able to show desires, likes and dislikes with gestures and words
Resources for Parenting Toddlers
I would like to recommend some websites, books and organizations that I have found to be very helpful. Feel free to let me know if you also found them helpful and if you know of any others.
Websites
www.zerotothree.org is a fabulous collection of articles pertaining to all aspects of a toddler’s life, written by professionals, but geared towards parents.
jenslist@jenlevinson.com, commonly known as Jen’s list, is a newsletter sent out daily, written by a mom who posts all kinds of information useful to moms and kids. Definitely worth getting on the list.
www.momsclub.org – is a national organization with chapters in every state and city, run by moms, dedicated to connecting stay-at-home moms with other moms for opportunities to socialize, join a playgroup, and be a support at a crucial time.
www.autismspeaks.org is a new site full of help for recognizing the variety of red flags for autism spectrum disorders.
Books
Parenting From the Inside Out, by Daniel Siegel. This is a fabulous book, written by a pre-eminent neuropsychologist, who helps parents get a sense of what is going on with their child, before the child learns to speak.
Autism’s False Prophets, by Paul Offit. This book addresses the issues of MMR vaccine and autism and is a great reference for those who have concerns about giving their babies the MMR vaccine.
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