Proper development of a child after one year and up to two years. Development of children from one to two years old Mastered new skills and abilities

The two-year-old toddler does not sit still for a minute. What can a 2 year old child do? He is in constant motion and searching for new experiences. At this stage, the baby is developing so rapidly that many parents do not even have time to track this process. Just yesterday the child picked up scissors for the first time, and today he already skillfully handles them. A couple of months ago, the toddler was expressing himself with fifty incoherent words, but now he is starting to construct whole sentences from them. All these successes bring great joy to adults and give them a reason to be proud of their baby. But still, parents involuntarily continue to compare their children with each other, noting that their child is lagging or, on the contrary, advanced in development. Therefore, information about what a 2-year-old child should be able to do will be useful for adults. Let's look at this issue in more detail.

Speech of a child at 2 years old

By this age, the baby's vocabulary reaches 300 words. He begins to compose simple sentences and more clearly formulate his needs and desires.

Since a child’s thinking develops through speech, parents need to constantly communicate with the baby, tell him stories, read books and answer questions.

Adjectives and pronouns begin to appear in the vocabulary of children. Often two-year-old babies talk about themselves in the third person. Simplified words (“yum-yum”, “boom”) are replaced by correct ones (eat, fell). At the request of the parents, the child shows various objects in the picture and understands a short story about familiar events.

Physical development

New skills

Unlike one-year-old babies, they are no longer interested in aimlessly moving around in space. They do not follow instincts and reflexes, but strive to direct their activity in a useful direction.

By the age of two, children not only walk confidently, but also easily perform the following actions:

step over obstacles;
climb and descend stairs or inclined planes;
go for short runs;
can jump low;
walk on a log or curb;
kicking the ball.

The little ones set a specific goal for themselves: slide down a slide, catch up with a cat, climb onto a high chair - and go towards achieving it. The child's movements become much more confident.

Coordination of movements

What a 2-year-old child can do is the ability to control both hands and coordinate his actions. He already manages to catch the ball at close range, draw and sculpt from plasticine on his own. This age is optimal for introducing a baby to scissors. Just don't demand too much from him. The child is not yet able to cut out shapes along the lines. It is enough to simply teach your child how to hold scissors correctly and give him complete freedom of action, watching the process from the side.

Always be there, trusting your child with scissors!

Cognitive development of a child at 2 years old

The baby has learned a lot! What a child can already do at 2 years old:

New knowledge

At 2 years old, children distinguish between 4 and 8 primary colors;
group objects by shade;
identify geometric shapes and point to them;
recognize objects by other parameters: weight, texture, temperature (warm-cold, light-heavy, smooth-rough);
They know numbers and can count. The baby can already tell and demonstrate on his fingers how old he is.

Role-playing games

At the request of the parents, the baby performs a sequence of specified actions. For example: “get up from the table, go into the room and bring me a yellow ball.” This skill also manifests itself during games. So, the little one first feeds the doll, then washes it and puts it to bed. The imagination is involved in the game process. The baby himself builds the storyline of events, selects suitable characters, uses substitute objects (a box instead of a garage for a car, small balls instead of apples, etc.).

Imitation of adults

At this age, kids love to imitate adults, copy their actions, and show independence. A two-year-old child willingly participates in adult activities. Together with his mother, he does the cleaning and cooking: wiping the floor with a damp cloth, bringing food, mixing ingredients in a cup, etc. Of course, it is much easier and faster for parents to do everything themselves, but there is no need to limit the child’s ability to show independence. Two years is an excellent age to begin labor education.

Margarita, mother of two-year-old Maxim: “My baby has been helping me with housework since he was one year old. At first he wiped the floors, then he began to show interest in cooking. We bought him a toy stove, which we placed in the kitchen next to the real one. When I cook, he watches and does the same with toy foods: frying bread, making compote, stewing fruit, etc. Sometimes I put part of the lunch in his saucepans, and he puts it on his plate. Sandwiches are assembled from several ingredients. The dishes are in the sink. Recently I started actively interacting with the machine: he loads laundry into it, then takes it out and hangs it out. Of course, a lot of things have to be redone. But the child feels useful.”

Emotional and social development

Two-year-old children delight their parents with their sociability and desire to interact with others. If earlier the baby cuddled up to his mother at the sight of a new person, now he is more willing to make contact with him. The social behavior of boys and girls at this age is somewhat different.

Girls

Young ladies diligently attract attention to themselves and react violently to praise addressed to them. Girls evaluate adults from the perspective of their attitude towards them. Two-year-old babies think something like this: “This guy is good. He brought me a chocolate bar and let me play with his glasses.”

Boys

Boys judge others by their desire to teach the child something, to play active games with him. A guest who demonstrates to the baby how to greet like a man and plays brave pirates with him will certainly win the baby’s favor.

According to child psychologists, at 2 years old a child begins to realize his gender identity.

The child is enthusiastic about entertainment, shows interest in music and singing, and watches cartoons with enthusiasm. When communicating with peers, children smile at each other and use emotionally charged speech.

When communicating with adults, children show vivid emotions. This is reflected in the toddler’s facial expressions, exclamations, and movements.

Psychological changes

It is worth noting that the thinking, memory and attention of children under five years of age cannot be controlled by them. The baby is simply not able to independently manage these psychological processes. The attention of two-year-old children switches very quickly; you just need to interest them in something new and exciting.

At this age, the baby absorbs everything like a sponge. He quickly learns new skills, which he subsequently carries throughout his life.

Little ones quickly become infected with emotions from the people around them. If a toddler who is in a good mood sees that the baby playing with him is starting to be capricious, he can take over his discontent. That is why the psychological environment that surrounds the child every day plays a very important role at this stage. What can you expect from a baby whose parents constantly quarrel with each other and periodically lash out at the baby? Most likely, such a toddler will behave very nervously and will start screaming at the slightest provocation. A favorable, friendly environment around a child will allow him to grow into a psychologically balanced personality.

Household skills

As a rule, at 2 years old a child can, without parental help:

eat liquid food with a spoon;
wash your face and hands;
go to the potty;
put on some things.

Kristina, Yulia’s mother (2.5 years old): “The kindergarten teachers say that my daughter dresses herself and almost faster than anyone else. At home, I didn’t notice anything like that about her. To take it off is no problem, but to put it on – “I don’t know how”, “I can’t do it”. She can only fit into her shoes herself. And recently we went with her to the hospital. My daughter was very afraid to stay there and as a result, literally in two minutes she completely dressed herself, and absolutely correctly. But we were convinced that she could do anything, she just didn’t want to.”

Quick Skills Chart

As can be seen from the above material, a two-year-old baby has a whole range of knowledge and skills. A summary table will help you put them together. What should a 2 year old child be able to do?

This is what the list of its capabilities looks like:

*Speech*	Pronounces about 200-300 words; Speaks in sentences; Replaces simplified words with correct ones (not “meow”, but kitty; not “bi-bi”, but car); Uses pronouns and adjectives; Asking questions; Names the objects shown in the picture.
*Emotions and communication*	Willingly makes contact with others; When communicating, shows vivid emotions through exclamations, facial expressions, and movements; Reacts painfully to his failures and rejoices at his successes; He is stubborn and insists on his own; Cries out of resentment or when parting with mother; Is aware of her gender identity.
*Cognition*	Distinguishes from 4 to 8 colors; Groups objects by hue; Recognizes various geometric shapes; Recognizes objects by weight, texture, temperature; He speaks and shows how old he is; Builds a chain of sequential actions.
*Physical activity*	Walks and runs confidently; Climbing up and down stairs or inclines; Steps over obstacles, walks on a log, jumps; Kicks the ball and tries to catch it; Draws lines on a sheet; Uses scissors and plasticine as intended.
*Household skills*	Goes to the potty; Eats liquid food with a spoon; Washes hands and face; Helps adults with housework; Puts on some things (hat, mittens, socks); Knows how to use a handkerchief.

Height and Weight Chart

As for the physical parameters of two-year-old children, they are purely individual and directly depend on genetic factors and the developmental characteristics of the baby. One way or another, there are certain standards developed by Russian pediatricians and the World Health Organization. We present these indicators in the form of tables.

Educational games and exercises

Activities and games with parents are the most important source of new knowledge for a child, as well as a way to broaden his horizons. Therefore, it is so important to devote as much time as possible to the baby, communicate with him, answer questions, thereby creating fertile ground for his development. Let's talk in more detail about activities, games and exercises for two-year-olds.

Exercises for physical development

Physical exercises for two-year-old children are aimed at developing back muscles and strengthening bones, as well as at the proper formation of the musculoskeletal system. Lack of movement at this age can lead to poor posture, which often causes scoliosis. It is quite obvious that all activities for children should be carried out in a fun playful way with the participation of their favorite toys. Do not overuse physical activity. 3-4 exercises with a total duration of 15 minutes will be quite enough. Here are some of them:

"Along the Path"

Having placed a long narrow piece of fabric or a paper strip on the floor, you need to ask the baby to walk along it, maintaining balance and not going beyond the boundaries. To interest the baby, you should place his favorite toy at the other end of the “path” and ask the child to bring it. The little one will be happy to make this difficult journey together with his best “friend.”

"Harvesting"

Having scattered toy fruits, vegetables or small balls on the floor, you should invite the baby to collect the crops in a basket. To do this, the baby will have to either bend over or squat. To make it more fun for your child to play this game, you can arrange real racing competitions. Of course, parents will have to give up the palm to their little one.

"Show me how"

Imitating the movements of various representatives of the world of flora and fauna perfectly develops the baby's muscles and coordination. You can ask the child to show how a cat walks, a fish swims, a bird flies, a tree sways, a flower grows, etc. Such exercise will not only benefit the child, but will also greatly amuse him.

Ball games

Rolling the ball with your hands from a standing position helps develop the baby's torso muscles. And playing football will teach the baby to maintain balance and control his movements. To avoid injuries and falls, you should roll the ball while walking, not running.

Development of fine motor skills

Exercises

Here finger gymnastics and various creative activities come to the aid of parents. The baby can clap his hands, changing the volume and tempo, clench his fists and then unclench them, clap his phalanges on the table, etc. The following exercises will also be very useful for your baby:

alternately rolling small objects with different fingers: beads, pebbles, balls;
“walking” on the table with the middle and index fingers with a gradual increase in tempo (changing hands is required);
waving in the air with one fingers;
collecting all the fingers into a “pinch” and then moving them apart (“running away and running away”).

Creation

Among creative activities, modeling and drawing are ideal for two-year-old toddlers. You can give the baby a large sheet of whatman paper or a piece of wallpaper, offering to apply a drawing on it with finger paints. It is worth teaching your child to make prints of his palms and feet, draw lines with his finger, or leave colorful splashes on paper. Of course, after such activities, the child will have to wash for a long time in the bathroom. An alternative to such active creativity can be classic drawing on a landscape sheet with a simple pencil. The baby will be able to practice his artistic skills and at the same time remain absolutely clean.

Developing hearing

Games aimed at developing the baby's auditory perception will teach him to focus on sounds. And without this ability, the child simply will not be able to perceive speech addressed to him.

Singing and dancing

Performing songs with tapping rhythm and playing out the plot will turn ordinary music-making into a real theatrical performance. You can also hum the tune of melodies known to your baby so that he can guess them on his own. Voicing various requests in a whisper will teach the child to listen to speech, and playing with a bell will teach the child to determine the direction of the sound. After asking the little one to close his eyes, you need to move around him, ringing a bell or knocking on a tambourine. Let the baby point his hand in the direction where the sound is coming from.

Musical riddles

At this age, children are very willing to solve musical riddles. Before asking the baby a question, you need to tap with a pencil on various objects (a glass jar, a chair leg, a ball, etc.), listening to the sounds. After this, the child should turn away or close his eyes. Meanwhile, the mother begins to knock on the object, and the baby guesses what kind of object it is. Then you should switch roles.

Music

And, of course, nothing develops a toddler’s hearing better than listening to music. children of any age. Of course, for children under three years of age, the repertoire must be selected especially carefully. After all, the baby’s psyche is at the stage of formation and too aggressive or depressive music can traumatize it. Not only children's songs are suitable for kids, but also classical compositions by Mozart and Tchaikovsky, as well as sounds of nature. The ideal option would be a live performance of melodies on a guitar, piano or even a whistle.

Developing speech

The simplest and most effective way to develop speech at the age of two is to encourage communication. Parents need to encourage the baby to dialogue with phrases: “tell me,” “ask …”, etc. Since at this stage children are not yet very good at putting their thoughts into words, adults should pause in the conversation, allowing the child to choose the correct definitions or formulate an answer. Regular reading of fairy tales will help expand your child's active and passive vocabulary. It would be a good idea to teach your child to highlight the distinctive features of the characters by choosing the appropriate adjectives for this. For example, a fox is cunning, a bear is clumsy, a hare is cowardly, etc.

Dr. Komarovsky, pediatrician of the highest category: “You need to talk a lot with the child. If it is possible to play children's songs or audio fairy tales instead of adult music, you should do so. In general, all relatives should be involved, encouraging them to talk a lot with the baby. Only those who are talking nearby can help speak.”

Articulation gymnastics

Articulation gymnastics should become a mandatory part of a child’s daily routine. She will teach the baby to better feel his lips and tongue, as well as control them. Exercises can be done between tasks, turning them into a fun game. For example, when seeing off a child to kindergarten, it is worth introducing the ritual of blowing each other a kiss. Surprisingly, this simple action is also an element of articulatory gymnastics. During the meal, you can offer your baby a fun competition to see who can hold a nut or marmalade on their tongue the longest. And during everyday games, it is worthwhile from time to time to imitate the hum of a steam locomotive or airplane, the howling of a snowstorm, stretching your lips into a tube.

Educational toys

Since the two-year-old toddler is constantly on the move, his energy should be directed in a positive direction. Here toys for organizing active leisure will come to the aid of parents, namely:

balls of various colors and sizes;
fitball for gymnastic exercises;
sensory and orthopedic mats;
balance bike, sled, bicycle.

Among the toys for developing imagination and gross motor skills, motor coordination, constructive and spatial thinking, we can highlight:

Lego sets and other construction sets with parts of various sizes, shapes and colors;
fishing game;
stencils;
plasticine, finger paints and other materials for creativity.

The following toys will contribute to the sensory development of the baby, as well as the formation of his mathematical and logical thinking:

puzzles with 4-6 large pieces;
small objects: animal figures, cereals, acorns and cones (they can be guessed by touch, sprinkled, grouped, etc.);
mosaic;
touch cards;
frame inserts;
lotto;
domino

Of course, a two-year-old baby is not yet able to organize his own leisure time. His parents should help him with this. In order for toys to bring maximum benefit to the baby, adults need to teach the child how to use them correctly and come up with stories for games.

You should not give your baby too difficult tasks, because if he fails, he will be very upset and lose interest in the process.

To more fully assimilate new information, you should connect all the baby’s senses and alternate between different types of activities. Even if the toddler is not in the mood for developmental activities, he will certainly feel the adult’s sincere interest in the process and will involuntarily get involved in the game. As a result, both parents and child will receive a lot of positive impressions.

Conclusion

Thus, two-year-old children can already do a lot. Their active vocabulary consists of 250-300 words, from which the crumbs gradually begin to form sentences. In their speech, adjectives and pronouns slip through, which are included in communication quite consciously. As for motor skills, at two years old children can climb up and down stairs, step over obstacles, run and jump. And in everyday life, children become more independent. They ask to go potty in a timely manner, carefully eat liquid food with a spoon and willingly help their parents with housework. All these skills and aspirations must receive approval from parents and be directed in the right direction.

A baby’s age of 12 months is an extraordinary time, the time of “birth” of a new personality. During the first year of life, a child makes a huge leap in development.

How does a child develop after one year?

After a year, the toddler changes a lot: he becomes almost independent, and now his parents cannot do whatever they want with him. He will no longer obey adults without hindrance; he is already a person with his own desires and will. And all these changes are connected primarily with the fact that after 1 year a child masters two basic human skills: walking and talking. After one year of age, a child’s development proceeds in three directions at once: physical, mental-psychological and social. The child strives to learn everything new and interesting and improves his skills.

Physiology of a 12-month-old baby

From the moment of birth, in 12 months the child almost triples his weight, and by the year he usually weighs 8-11 kg. At the same time, it grows by an average of 20-25 cm, reaching a height of 70-76 centimeters. A one-year-old baby, who usually already has 6-12 teeth, tends to chew solid food, which allows him to gradually stop grinding food. At this time, he can be switched to a more adult diet. At 12 months, moms typically wean their babies off the breast or formula bottle, ending breastfeeding/bottle feeding. At the same time, it is replaced with ordinary milk, cow's or goat's. At one year old, the child already needs less time to sleep; now he sleeps only once a day during the day, no more than one or two hours.

Physical skills

In the period after 1.1 and up to 2 years, the child becomes more and more independent, during this period his character is formed. Changes in his behavior are noticeable over the months. A child's development from one to two years proceeds at a rapid pace. But he is still small and still depends on adults for almost everything.

The physical development of a child from one year to fourteen months is marked by the improvement of skills acquired earlier. The development of a child at one and a half years old requires that he should already be able to:

Crawl quickly and well, get to your feet.
Take the first steps on your own or hand in hand with an adult. Walk on your own, holding on to objects you encounter.
Crawling up the steps.
With support, step over the steps and go up and down them in the same way.
Study surrounding objects with interest, climb onto low chairs, bedside tables, etc.
Pick up all the objects available to him for play, open the doors of any furniture that is not locked with a key, take out all the contents from there with interest and actively study it.
Put on and take off socks and hats independently, helping adults to do this.
Be interested in the ball, cubes, and various household items for playing.
Place toys in the basket.
Carry out simple tasks for adults.

The physical development of a child after 14 to 18 months is marked by the acquisition of the following skills in addition to existing ones:

The child walks confidently on his own without adult support.
Able to squat and turn in different directions.
After a fall, he learns to get to his feet on his own, sometimes requiring adult help.
He strives to run and jump on his own without assistance.
Can independently step over a curb or threshold.
Can climb stairs with a little adult support.
Can easily climb in and out of high chairs.
Throws it in his hands and kicks the ball.
He tests any objects.
Learns to draw, draws a pencil on paper.

Physical development of a child from 1.2 years to 2 years, i.e. The second half of the baby’s life, growing month by month, is characterized by the desire to completely do without the help of adults:

Confidently walks, runs, jumps, dances, spins and squats.
Able to climb stairs without holding hands or handrails.
He can drink from a cup himself, holds a spoon, but still does not carefully eat solid and liquid food from a plate, he splashes more and gets everything dirty.
Takes off clothes: socks, hats, pants, etc.
Able to free himself from seat belts and get out of a chair or stroller.
May ask to go to the potty, while taking off his panties on his own, etc.
Can collect small construction sets, cubes, pyramids, play with a ball, and accurately kick it.
Learns to brush his teeth with the help of adults, tries to comb his hair.

It is important for parents to know that the age from one to two years is the most active period in a child’s life. The little one cannot sit still or in one position for a minute; he only stops when he is sleeping. This feature of his is due to the fact that during this period he is a researcher, learning about the world around him, and for him everything here is new and interesting. He is able to climb on his own and stick his fingers into anything and anywhere. He can climb the stairs, the wall bars, wherever he can, and tries to get to the object that he likes and interests. At this stage, he is less interested in toys, and more and more in household and dangerous objects. This is how the human desire to learn everything new and unknown manifests itself. It is vitally important for adults at this age not to leave the child alone unattended for even a minute. At the same time, it should be protected from dangerous and harmful substances and objects.

Mental, psychological and social achievements

Mental and psychological development is especially active in the period from one to two years.
This is the age when, first of all, the speech of a small person develops well, as well as visual, auditory and tactile perception. A child up to two years old learns to understand spoken language, accumulates a passive vocabulary and begins to speak himself. At 12 months, a child’s vocabulary can be only 10 words, but after two years the baby already speaks 100 words well, and uses phrasal speech.

There are often cases when a child of one and a half years old speaks only a few simple words, such as mom, dad, baba, etc., and does not utter any new words until he is two years old. Often kids are simply too lazy to talk and are just accumulating vocabulary. At this age, the main thing is that the child understands what they want to tell him and fulfills the requests and instructions of adults. The main thing is to work with your child a lot and often, use different early development methods in games - and the baby will definitely start talking.

In the emotional and psychological development of a child after a year, there is a contradiction - at the same time, dependence on the mother and the desire for greater independence coexist.

The intellectual and social development of a child from 1 year to 14 months includes the following skills:

The child can say simple, familiar words, for example, give, no, mom, dad, his name, etc.
The baby “talks” a lot in his own language, which is still incomprehensible to adults.
Vividly expresses positive emotions: laughs, laughs, shows warm feelings, i.e. kisses and hugs people close to him.
Actively demonstrates character and will, expressing negative, negative emotions when dissatisfied or angry, while demanding something, he can shout, get irritated, stomp his feet, lie down on the floor.

From 1 year by months to one and a half years, the child’s psychological development becomes more and more active:

The child’s passive and active vocabulary literally increases by months; he is already able to speak not just individual words, but also utter several simple phrases.
The child is already familiar with the names of body parts and can, upon request, show them without errors.
In the pictures, he can also choose the right item correctly, which indicates the development of the baby’s memory.
Recognizes himself in the mirror and can say his name. He knows all his relatives by name and “position”.
He strives to imitate the behavior of adults.
Learns to listen to instructions from adults and distinguish between prohibitions.
Begins to consciously control urination. A child should start potty training at one and a half years old.

After one and a half and up to two years, the baby’s intellectual and social skills improve more and more. For this age, the following development rates are determined:

A two-year-old child already understands well the difference between what is permitted and what is not permitted, and knows exactly what is allowed and what is not allowed. Likes to perform prohibited actions in order to attract the attention of adults and observe their reaction.
He understands adult speech well.
A child’s speech increasingly contains simple phrases, and a new word can appear almost every day.
The child can already explain in simple words his actions or the actions of others.
If desired, answers questions and carries out assignments.
A two-year-old child can already listen to an interesting story or watch a cartoon for 15 minutes to half an hour without a break.
Orients himself well in familiar areas, in his apartment, on the playground, etc.
An interest in small details appears, the child is attracted to screws, buttons, etc., thereby developing fine motor skills, which contributes to better speech development.
Consciously asks to go to the potty or uses it independently.
After one and a half years, a child’s taste preferences often change, and he may begin to refuse food that is familiar to him. At two years old, the baby himself strives to eat with a spoon and drink from a cup.
He has a new interest in walking.
After one year and up to two years, a child’s imagination changes, it becomes richer, but can cause unreasonable fears in relation to toys, the dark, etc.
At this age, the child begins to miss his parents and relatives if he does not see them for a long time.
Every month the child shows more and more persistence in achieving his goals, demonstrating character. The desires of a child at this age can be unacceptable, difficult to control, and difficult to “agree” with.

What should you pay attention to at this age?

The age from one and a half to two years is still the age of the first tests for the intellectual and speech development of the baby. A child between 1 and 2 years of age should be seen by a doctor if he or she is unable to do the following:

At the age of one and a half he did not start walking.
After two years he does not speak a single word.
At one and a half years old, he does not understand adult speech and does not fulfill simple requests.
At two years old, he does not react for a long time to the absence of his mother or another adult who cares for him.
At one and a half years old, he does not strive to play the simplest children's games.

These are very alarming symptoms that can mean both a delay in age-related development and signal problems with the child’s physical health. In this case, the child should be immediately shown to a pediatrician and child psychologist.

In the first two years of a child’s life, the foundations of all his skills and abilities are laid: intellectual, psycho-emotional, social, motor, speech. He constantly wants to play, run, jump, explore the world, and communicate with others. Mastering the skill of walking helps free up your hands for more active manipulation of objects. The baby decides on the leading hand - right or left, improves coordination. All this contributes to the development of the baby’s cognitive abilities. What other features of child development in the period from 1 year to 2 years should parents know about?

Age specifics

By the age of 2 years, the child stops growing and gaining weight as actively as in the first year. So, by the age of one year, the baby’s weight increases by about 3 times from birth, he can grow by approximately 30 cm. And by the age of 2 years, he will grow by about 9–10 cm and gain about 3 kg. Perhaps less if the little one is too active and mobile. In order for him to have enough strength for all daily “exploits”, it is important to maintain two naps during the day for at least one and a half years.

But the main features of age are associated with the psychology of a small person. First of all, with the crisis of the first year caused by internal disagreements. Having learned to walk, the baby felt an increased degree of independence; he wants to prove to his parents what an adult he is now and how much he can do. However, in practice, his skills are not yet so perfect, which causes a feeling of dissatisfaction. In addition, imperfect speech skills do not allow the child to fully express everything he feels and wants.

Another disagreement makes the situation worse. On the one hand, the baby wants to demonstrate his independence from adults, and on the other, he urgently needs their love and support. Therefore, the child’s behavior begins to seem inadequate to many parents: he either insists that he will do everything himself, then demands that everything be done for him, then he protests and is capricious for no reason, then he refuses his favorite toys or dishes, or he contradicts everything. This is a natural state, which, with the correct behavior of parents, will disappear over time.

4 main stages of the second year

In order to monitor the dynamics of the main areas of child development from 1 to 2 years, it is customary to divide this period into 4 time periods of 3 months. Each of them has its own distinctive characteristics.

1 year and 3 months

The child is still improving his walking skills. Even if it seems to the mother that the baby is running quite briskly, he still gets tired quickly. Therefore, a stroller should always be at hand when walking.

The kid is now a little bit of a hero - he is trying to find a more difficult path for himself: to overcome a puddle, pits and bumps, to climb onto a hill, persistently repeating the actions many times, even if it didn’t work out the first time.

Parents need to be very attentive to what kind of tracing their child is now taking from them: habits, behavior, words used, assessments of others, etc. After all, the little “monkey” absorbs it all instantly, sometimes shocking parents and others with his “antics” (repeated after adults!).

Now it is useful to play imitative story games with the baby (feeding, rolling, bathing, rocking toys, washing dishes after them, sweeping). The child will also enjoy catch-up, hide-and-seek, and ball games.

Speech development is still at the stage of autonomous speech: the child uses babbling and onomatopoeic words (perhaps also a couple of simple “real” words), understands and fulfills simple requests.

The child’s nervous system is still developing, so he acts solely on emotions, without realizing the possible consequences. The little tracker studies absolutely everything around him: from a speck on the carpet or a pebble in a puddle to a hook in the wall or a flying dragonfly. At the same time, he wants to be independent more and more, so it will be completely useless to convince him that putting a frog in his pocket or taking bags out of the trash can is bad. Now it is important for parents to give their child space for exploration, while reasonably protecting him. After all, the feeling of fear or danger is still alien to him. This means that the space around it needs to be “cleared” of dangerous objects (irons, open sockets, sliding carpets, unstable furniture). And in the yard, constantly explain why doing this or that is dangerous.

Don’t forbid your baby everything in order to calm yourself down! Your taboos must be reasoned and understandable for the child, otherwise he will have no room for development.

What can a child at this age do?

use a pointing gesture;
walk (if not independently, then holding onto furniture or an adult’s hand);
stand, climb stairs, run;
bend over to pick up a fallen object;
clap your hands;
enjoy your reflection when looking in the mirror;
pull off his socks, stretch out his arms and legs to help dress him;
use a fork, spoon, cup;
roll the ball;
“scribble” with pencils or felt-tip pens;
use gestures in speech, shake your head (“no”), indicate “quiet” with a gesture;
start games;
show body parts;
scatter and put toys in a container;
check the reaction of parents to certain actions (especially those that violate the ban).

1 year and 6 months

The development of children at this stage is different in that household items, father’s tools, kitchen utensils, and dishes become favorite toys. Therefore, there is no point in overwhelming your baby with countless fashionable toys. It is important to allow him to use those items in the game that he likes (mom’s culinary notebook, a ladle or curlers, dad’s screwdrivers, a broom, a dustpan, a colander, or anything else).

Physically, he is still the same fidget. However, parents must remember that the child still does not know how to coordinate his legs, so he may often fall and “skid” when turning. But will this stop the little pioneer?

The baby expresses emotions towards his family very violently: both positive and negative. He gets very bored when his mother or father is absent for a long time. If discord begins in the family or something changes dramatically in the usual way of life, this is a lot of stress for the child.

The baby has turned into a real neat guy: dirty clothes or hands irritate him. The potty training process begins.

As for speech skills, they have improved significantly: the baby can speak up to ten (or even more) real two-syllable words. The passive vocabulary grows, the baby better understands the speech of adults and their intonation.

Buy a set of nesting dolls, sorters, pyramids, and simple puzzles for your baby. You can buy or make your own finger puppet theater. This is useful for the development of speech, thinking, and fine motor skills of the child.

What can the baby do now?

Choose favorites among toys or animals.
Turning pages when adults read a book.
Sing, sing along.
Conquer and explore different surfaces.
Take off items of clothing (not all).
Sort objects based on size, shape, color.
Combine 2-3 words, trying to create a meaningful phrase.
Brush your teeth with the help of your parents.

1 year 9 months

The baby continues to absorb, like a sponge, the behavior and manners of those around him, especially his parents, so it is important that the example is always worthy.

Running and walking remain central to physical development. The kid strives to conquer the highest points of obstacles, trying to demonstrate his capabilities. So parents should be as attentive as possible to the baby’s maneuvers in order to have time to pick him up, support him or catch him. But now, when going for a walk, you can ditch the stroller in favor of a tricycle with a handle. Let the child learn to walk for a long time and train the vestibular apparatus.

At this stage, the baby becomes more cautious; the experience gained makes him think about the consequences of his actions. But hysterics and whims become more frequent. So parents need to learn how to switch the baby’s attention, distract him, and “extinguish” hysterics.

Despite the presence of a few dozen words in his vocabulary, most of them still remain “gibberish”, which is why the “phrases” he creates often sound touching, although quite understandable. It is useful to write them down in a family album - then it will be interesting to remember these touching moments.

Make role-playing games more challenging. Let the baby take care of his bunny dolls: feed them, dress them, take them for walks, rock them to sleep. Play sellers and buyers, doctors. In such games it is useful to teach a child friendship, the ability to share and help.

What has the child learned over these months?

Undress.
Ask to go to the potty.
Wash hands, brush teeth with the help of parents.
Imitate new actions of adults (for example, putting the trash in a bin).
Build towers from 3-4 cubes.
It is elementary to describe the simplest illustrations in books.
Use the door correctly (open and close using the handle).

2 years

The psychology of this age is such that the baby turns into a real mother’s “assistant”, trying to take part in all her everyday affairs. Although often such “help” only increases the work time, the mother should under no circumstances push the child away, blaming her for incompetence. This can not only discourage any desire to work, but also cause an inferiority complex.

Now it’s much easier to come to an agreement with the baby; he understands what it means to wait. Understands gender – his own and other children’s – preferring to play with members of his own gender, adopting their behavior and skills. The child is able to share his toys. He already understands the meaning of the word “must” and reacts sensitively to praise and parental reproach.

There have also been changes in the development of speech. The baby can understand a short story from simple sentences (where we went, what we did, where we are going). The baby is able to complete more complex tasks (2 or more actions). A child’s active vocabulary can contain up to 200 words, he can construct a phrase of 3 words, finish a line of a poem, or memorize a short rhyme.

Your baby is now at the age when he can start learning colors and geometric shapes. Purchase special aids for this. Educational lotto games, puzzles, and especially musical instruments and toys that play melodies will be useful. Remember that a child’s development will be complete only if parents play with him, setting an example, teaching, helping, and communicating.

What can a baby do at this age?

Maintain balance, jump, walk in all directions.
Jump over or go around small obstacles.
Climb up an inclined surface.
Throw the ball from behind your head and catch it.
Drive children's cars.
“Drive” rolling toys.
Draw a straight line.
Go to the toilet without “accidents”.
Learn a few words a day.
Put on and take off all things independently.
Understand the meaning of the words “good” and “bad.”
Understand words with opposite meanings (big - small, high - low, cold - hot).

Parenting stage

Raising a child between 1 and 2 years old is a very difficult task. On the one hand, you cannot interfere with his independence and prevent attempts to help, on the other hand, it is important to maintain your authority so that the baby not only understands the meaning of the words “can” or “cannot”, but also fulfills your requests and reacts correctly to prohibitions. We need to help him understand that he is independent, but if something doesn’t work out, his parents are always ready to help him. And now it is vital for him to feel that his parents’ love does not depend on whether he does good deeds or not. He must have complete confidence that it is his action that is bad, and not himself.

There is no need to overreact to the child’s whims, focus attention on them, or scold them for them.

What other important aspects should you pay attention to?

Teach your child to communicate and interact with other people, including peers. He should have the opportunity to meet, play with them without interfering or bullying, and learn to build relationships.
Do not protect the baby from any trouble. After all, for him this is a necessary life experience. Any ban must be justified.
Try not to overprotect your child, giving him space for his new sense of independence.
Never reproach him for ineptitude, do not compare him with more developed neighbor children. This will lead to a feeling of insecurity.
Try to spend more time socializing and story-based games. This is a way to internalize the laws of socialization and an opportunity to learn by imitating your example.

So, at this age stage, all the basic skills, abilities, habits, inclinations and character of the child are formed. This period is difficult, requiring patience and understanding from parents. If you show all your wisdom, you can significantly help your baby overcome all the difficulties that arise less painfully and gain the necessary experience for further successful development.

The baby is now characterized by new desires: to constantly play and communicate, learn new things, make small discoveries. Parents watch with amazement at the transformation of the baby into a real little personality with its own characteristics of character and behavior, with its own requirements and expectations. What do you need to know about this period of child development?

Homo erectus

The main motor achievement of a baby at this age is walking. The child began to walk independently. Freed hands allow you to experiment with surrounding objects, the skill of preferential use of the right or left hand is formed, and coordination of movements is improved. It is motor activity that contributes to the development of the baby’s cognitive abilities.

Now the child is an active researcher. He is ready to share his successes and achievements with adult family members. But he really needs the love and care of his parents, their ability to predict “problem” places in the apartment that can create serious obstacles in the baby’s path. The environment should not only be cozy and comfortable, but, above all, safe. Nowadays, various physical exercises using balls, soft rugs, uneven paths and “prickly” massage toys are very useful for the baby. You can try leading your child along a low bench and teaching him how to climb up and down stairs.

Children under 2 years old are very interested in household items, kitchen utensils, and various types of materials. They love to play with bottles and jars, pour cereals and play with flour, sort out threads and buttons of large and small sizes, use clothespins and spools. If these games are made safe, the baby will not only be able to expand his horizons and speech activity, but will also remarkably develop fine motor skills.

A child’s rich linguistic environment stimulates his speech development, expands his vocabulary and forms a culture of communication. A poor speech environment inhibits speech development. At the age of 1–2 years, the child understands the speech of adults, understands the story of the past (where they went, what they saw). He can carry out an order consisting of 2-3 consecutive actions (“take”, “bring”, “put down”), and knows the names of parts of the body and face. The baby’s vocabulary is growing very actively, and by the age of 2 he constructs sentences of 2-3 words, can change intonation, voice strength, tempo of speech, remembers quatrains, nursery rhymes, listens to fairy tales with interest, asks to read his favorite book, enters into dialogue about the pictures.

All the actions that the baby now performs develop his intellect and creative inclinations. Even when he concentratedly tears paper into small pieces, draws, collects rings on a string, scatters toys, or tirelessly plays with his favorite toys in the bathtub, all this helps in the development of various areas. It should also be remembered that, fearing for the cleanliness of the table and apartment and not allowing the child to paint enough with finger paints or regular paints, it will be difficult for parents to raise a creative personality. The parents’ task is to allow the child to cope with those tasks that he can already complete on his own, and to create a suitable environment for the child’s activities: cover the table with oilcloth, buy safe paints, give the child paper to work on, on the edges of which he cannot cut himself, etc. .

The role of fear

Any shock or fear can stop the baby’s development. Any feeling similar to fear blocks many mental processes (thinking and memory, attention). At this age, the main children's fear is the loss of mother and mother's love.

It seems to adults that mother's love is undeniable and nothing can destroy it. However, children's thinking, and most often their fantasies, require constant confirmation that the mother is here and still loves the child. Weaning or the mother going to work can be perceived by the baby as a sharp manifestation of dislike for him. The child cannot come to terms with the fact that his mother is no longer around as often as he would like. His internal tension increases and his anxiety increases. During the period of separation from the mother, parents need to be even more attentive and calm in communicating with the child, try not to be irritated by tears and hysterics. It is necessary to make it clear that even if the mother goes somewhere, she will not disappear forever, to assure the baby that when the mother returns, they will definitely play, draw or sculpt together, and go for a walk. This confidence will help in developing a sense of basic security and safety.

On the other hand, the child gradually begins to realize that the wishes of his parents do not always coincide with his own desires, so he often comes into conflict, defending his rights and demands.

In order to teach your child to name and accept his own emotions, you can make your baby a toy that would change its facial expression depending on the child’s actions. This can be a double-sided flat doll. On one side the doll has a joyful expression on its face, on the other - a sad one. Let the doll hang in a visible place, enjoying what the baby is doing. But if he is capricious or does something bad, turn the doll with a sad face. Say: “Kate doesn’t like this.” The child will notice the change in the doll's facial expression and pay attention to the facial expressions of people. In addition, such a game will save you from having to constantly make comments to the child on your behalf.

Disagreements with yourself

Love and fear of loss, irritation and demandingness - these two opposite poles affect the child’s behavior. At this time, there are periods of inexplicable whims and discontent, as well as a re-emerging fear of strangers and separation from the mother, and sleep disturbances.

Often mothers are baffled by, on the one hand, the child’s desire to become more independent, and on the other, persistent demands to share every aspect of his life with him. At this time, it is very important that the mother does not withdraw or react sharply to the duality of her baby’s behavior, that she remains emotionally available to him with predictable behavior, but, at the same time, gently guides him towards independence.

Communication

You can teach your child to interact with other people now. The baby may not want to communicate with an unfamiliar person. However, this does not mean that he should completely avoid contact with strangers. Try to organize your child's routine in such a way that he meets and communicates in a natural setting, for example, with a neighbor walking his dog or your friends. Your guests and acquaintances should always be friendly to the child: smile more often, laugh, speak more kind words to him, and never get irritated or shout.

It is also important to teach the child to play with peers nearby, without interfering with each other, to ask for toys and share them, to say hello and goodbye.

We must not forget that your word for the child should be defining and decisive, and the concepts of “not” and “can” must be understood and followed.

Remember the following principles of raising a baby:

You should not try to protect your child from all troubles by forbidding him to go down the slide or by removing any thing from his path that he might trip over.
Warn your child of the danger, be ready to help, but avoid being overprotective.
Constant reproaches that the child did something wrong, and fears that he will not succeed, contribute to the emergence of a feeling of self-doubt. If you are going to prohibit something to your child, be sure to explain the reason for this prohibition so that he understands the real risk.

Tasks for selecting, correlating and grouping objects that a child must complete by this age:

connecting parts (2 parts, 3 parts - with the help of an adult);
comparison by shape, color, size (the baby understands the words “more”, “less”), assembles a pyramid of 2, 3 parts himself, from 4, 5 - with the help of an adult;
generalization based on characteristics: the child independently chooses from 4 objects, 4 colors - according to instructions.

The child should be able to:

independently catch your favorite toy from the water (basin, bathtub) with a net;
play with sand, hammer and bushings;
build and know the names of the objects necessary for this (“house”, “roof”, “fence”, “chair”);
play story games (feeding the doll and cradling).

First ideas about objects and phenomena:

About myself. Knows his own name and can speak about himself in the third person. For example: “Kolya wants to go for a walk” or “Give Kolya a ball”, etc.

About your appearance. Can answer questions: “Where are Kolya’s hands? Where are Kolya’s legs?” (eyes, nose, etc.).

About your actions.

It is not so easy to say exactly what a child of 1 year and 2 months should be able to do - there is too much difference at this age between different children. The presence or absence of certain skills after one year depends on many factors: from the developmental characteristics of the baby himself to the effort and time that his parents spent on playing and activities with the child up to one year old.

Physical development of a child at 1 year and 2 months

At 1 year and 2 months, the child’s height and weight increases very slightly; the increase in body weight can be 50-100 grams or the weight does not increase at all. So after a year it is much more interesting and useful to evaluate the child’s physical development by the skills and abilities he acquires. It is believed that a child of 1 year and 2 months should be able to stand up without support, stand and walk while holding onto support. If the baby has not yet begun to walk on his own, this should not cause much concern for parents; most children begin to walk between the ages of 12 and 18 months, and the age when the baby takes his first step depends not only on his physical abilities, but also on psychological readiness - it was noticed that timid children who grew up “on the hands” begin to walk later, and not because their muscles are weaker, but because of the fear of letting go of the support or moving away from their parents.

After a year, all the baby’s motor skills improve, he has much better control of his body - he can turn around, turn in different directions, bend over, he feels much more confident on his feet, he can quickly get on and off low sofas, chairs or beds.

By one year and 2 months most children move to the “adult” table, breastfeeding or formula feeding is gradually replaced by 4-5 feedings a day. At this age, the child already has from 6 to 12 teeth, he can and should chew solid food, drink from a cup independently and hold a spoon in his fist. Of course, a child at 14 months is not yet able to feed himself or hold a full glass of water, but this age is excellent for starting to teach a child how to hold a spoon and cup correctly. If you don’t yet have special dishes for children, then you need to purchase sets made of high-quality plastic - such dishes do not heat up, do not break when dropped and do not slide on the table.

Neuropsychic development of the child

After a year, the child’s neuropsychic development proceeds at a very rapid pace, the baby changes literally before our eyes: today he could not yet hold a cube in his hand, and tomorrow he is already building a tower out of them. The child’s interest in different toys that can be disassembled, assembled or folded increases.

A child can play with the same toy for a long time, making the same movements, for example, opening and closing a box, spinning a ball or stringing rings onto a pyramid.

Parents of toddlers should not worry about such “obsessive” repetitions; at this age, the baby improves motor skills and learns the connection between his actions and their results. The child’s games also change noticeably; if earlier he simply threw dice or pulled pyramid rings into his mouth, now he tries to achieve some results. For example, he puts several cubes on top of each other, puts on 2-3 rings of the pyramid and rejoices not only in the process of the game itself, but in his success, willingly demonstrating it and waiting for the approval of adults.

After a year, the child’s speech skills develop - he no longer just pronounces individual words and phrases, but tries to use them to express some desires, communicate with others, and loves to demonstrate his skills by repeating different sounds after adults. After one year of age, babies often sing and love to “talk” on the phone, copying the intonations of adults, answer questions and pronounce the words they hear, “remaking” them in their own way. At this age, when repeating words and sounds is a fun and new game for a child, parents should talk to him as much as possible, read him short and sonorous poems and sing songs with him, encouraging him to repeat them after them.

At the age of one and two months, the child’s emotional communication with parents and other adults around him grows and develops. Now the baby not only copies the behavior and actions of adults, but tries to evoke in them very specific emotions - admiration, laughter, joy. Children already understand which actions of theirs evoke the most emotions in adults and try in every possible way to attract the attention of their parents by performing them. So, if a baby lacks attention and affection and cannot get it through smiles, hugs or demonstrations of his skills, he will achieve what he wants with whims, crying and hysterics, which most children “throw” at this age.

It is very important not to succumb to such manipulations and not to react violently to the “wrong” actions of the child, you also cannot focus attention on them or punish the child, at this age they still do not understand why they are scolded and punished and such actions only reduce the child’s trust in his parents .

After a year children's suspicion and mistrust of strangers gradually decreases or disappears completely– children willingly approach or go into the arms of people who are smiling or calling to them, watch with interest children’s games and try to communicate with peers and older children. More cautious and distrustful kids prefer to stay away from all strangers and agree to communicate with others only when they are close to mom or dad. Both types of child behavior are quite normal and depend on the characteristics of the toddler’s character and on the parents’ relationship with others - children are able to perceive the slightest shades of parental feelings and behave accordingly.

It is difficult to name all the skills that a child at this age should have. Most pediatricians believe that a baby should be able to stand up and sit down independently, walk with support, climb onto low surfaces, and sit confidently in a chair.

The most important indicator of a child’s development at this age is his understanding of the speech of adults, the ability to carry out their simplest requests and instructions, and the baby must also imitate the behavior of adults in play - rocking and feeding a doll, rolling a car, vacuuming, banging with a hammer, and so on.

Almost all modern children at this age know not only the purpose of such household appliances as dishes or clothes, but also show how to talk on the phone, “turn on” the TV using the remote control and willingly “load and unload” the washing machine. Also among the required skills are attempts to communicate using words, sound combinations and gestures.

Boys and girls after a year

After a year, the differences in the behavior of boys and girls become more noticeable. Girls learn new skills faster, show more interest in everything that happens around them, are distracted faster and prefer communication with adults to games, and for little princesses at this age, mom, dad and other relatives are enough.

Boys are usually somewhat more restless, they need more time to learn new things, but then they can play with a new toy for quite a long time, not paying attention to what is happening around them. But sitting at home alone with mom or dad is not at all pleasant for little fidgets, who at this age most like to go for walks.

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