We will tell you about the peculiarities of this age and with the help of our expert – pediatrician Elena Startseva we will analyze where the norm is, and where is the reason to see a doctor.
In our previous issue, we analyzed in detail all the nuances of the first year of the baby’s development. But even after the first anniversary, the questions of mothers do not end there. Here, growth is already more stable, and it is not necessary to track changes every month. To help you with the highlights accompanying a new period in your child’s life, we spoke with a specialist and compiled a development calendar from one to two years.
What a child should be able to do after a year
Over the course of a year, the little man learns many new skills.
– Within a year, the baby begins not only to walk confidently, but also to run. He sits down on a highchair himself. Sits down on his haunches to pick up the object. Carries toys on wheels. Climbs and descends the stairs, holding the hand of an adult.
– Drinks from a sippy cup, can drink from a cup, if supported by an adult. By the end of the second year, he himself drinks from a cup. He eats from a spoon – at first hesitantly, but by the end of the year everything is better.
– The baby begins to control the act of defecation, so from about 15 months he begins to ask for a potty. Control of urination occurs a little later – by the end of the second year. Begins to undress a little – with the help of his parents. Learns to wash and imitate brushing teeth.
– Holds a pencil, draws with it on paper, gradually learns to draw a circle and straight lines. Turns the pages in a book. By the end of the second year, he can build a tower of 5-6 cubes. Assembles a pyramid according to the size of the rings.
– Understands a lot of words, says more and more: if at the beginning of the second year it was 5-6 words, then by the end – more than 50. Builds simple sentences of 2-3 words. And he can even sing songs. Distinguishes the volumes of objects well. By the end of the second year, he knows the main 4-5 colors, but sometimes he confuses them. Can play independently for a short time, story games appear.
– By the end of the second year, the baby begins to talk about himself “I” (before that he called himself in the third person).
Height and weight: by the end of the second year, the child weighs from 9,2 to 13,8 kg, height – from 78 to 91 cm.
Features during this period: During this year, the child learns to understand a lot, but still cannot express his thoughts and desires in words. Parents and others can not always understand what their child needs, the result is the so-called crises of the first year of life and the crisis of two years. How do they manifest themselves? The kid is prone to emotional outbursts, in other words, he makes tantrums, if something is not for him. The two-year-old is already beginning to assert itself, but at the same time is very dependent on adults, cannot stand loneliness.
There are several reasons for these tantrums:
– the child cannot yet control his emotions, but he needs to throw them out;
– too many prohibitions. There should be no more than 3-4 of them, a two-year-old will not be able to remember and understand more;
– during hysterics, the baby learns self-control: let him knock a toy on the floor, throw things, but if he does not do that, you forbade him, then the process is underway.
How to develop a child
Help him learn to run, jump, climb. It is also necessary to develop fine motor skills – it is she who is responsible for oral speech.
1. To begin with, constantly complicate simple walking: walk not only on a flat surface, but also uphill, downhill, conquer bumps and holes with your baby that need to be stepped over. If the baby is tired, put him in a stroller – he will be ready to abandon it only closer to 2,5 – 3 years. When the child becomes comfortable in rough terrain, most likely, he will run on his own. You can give your child a ball that he will kick.
2. If it is possible to install a Swedish wall at home, it will be a good help for physical development. As a rule, children learn quickly to climb up the stairs, but it is still difficult for them to climb without your help. Explain to your child that it is necessary to crawl on the Swedish wall in your presence. Also have your toddler learn to jump off it (with your help first).
3. Learning to jump for a child is not so easy. For this, the vestibular apparatus must be sufficiently developed and there must be no orthopedic problems with the feet. Exercise with your child.
4. To develop fine motor skills, engage in creative work with your child: sculpting, drawing (with fingers, pencils, paints, felt-tip pens), playing with sand, applications. At the same age, you can buy the first constructors – they should be with large details, as well as lacing and mosaics. At one and a half to two years, children love to put small objects into holes – all in-ear toys will do, as well as a regular box in which you can cut holes and hide small toys there.
5. Sorting is very useful for the development of fine motor skills: balls, peas, cereals, beans – the more varied in shape (balls, grains, cubes) and surfaces (smooth, rough, silky) the details are, the better. A wonderful game that children are able to do for a long time (by the way, it calms down): take a deep pallet, pour semolina or other small cereals into it, bury glass colored balls (they are sold in stores), small toys – fish, insects from sets in it. Show the kid: “What is hidden in the sand?” The kid can catch objects from the decoy for 20-30 minutes. Complicate the task: ask him to sort them, for example, put the red balls in one glass, and the blue ones in another.
In no case leave him unattended in this game – children at this age still drag everything into their mouths and can swallow!
6. Play finger games:
– squeeze and unclench the cams;
– stroking something soft (relaxation exercise);
– “the wind is blowing” – we relax our hands from the elbow and shake them as if the wind was blowing.
– count the fingers. Under the rhyme, one by one we bend our fingers (“This finger carried water, this finger cooked porridge …”). At the end, open the cam and shake it with a brush. Pull slightly, pressing lightly, for each finger;
– “the chicken is pecking by the grain”: help the child to fold the fingers in the form of a beak, rhythmically tilt them, saying: “The chicken is pecking by the grain”;
– we catch a finger. The kid runs his finger across your open palm. When you say “up!”, You close your hand and catch your finger. The child must have time to remove it.
– The game “Airplane”, which you played earlier, becomes more active: the child can be swayed on the legs bent at the knees with a large amplitude.
– Rolling from back to tummy and back – let the baby do it himself.
– Take the baby by the legs (it is convenient for dads to do this from the position when the child lies on the stomach of an adult), turn him upside down. Then gently, holding your neck, lay it on the sofa. As a rule, children enjoy this exercise.
– Learn to walk on the balance beam.
– Trampoline jumping is still good.
– And fun sledding downhill.
From one to two years we teach the child to potty. Plant it after every feed and every hour throughout the day. Take off the diaper at home completely, leave it only for sleep and for a walk. And it will be easier for mom to understand after what period of time the child goes to the toilet. At a year and six – a year and seven, the baby himself tries to eat from a spoon: he holds it, but turns it over, without reaching his mouth. And closer to the age of two, she already knows how to eat on her own. Drinks from a mug, holding it, starting from the age of one and a half years to a year and seven months. And from the same age, he gradually moves to a common table. Starting from the year of three months, the child helps his mother dress him: he substitutes an arm, a leg. And in a year and eight he tries to put on his pants, socks, sandals himself.
And now about the reasons to worry: if in a year and a month the baby hasn’t gone to a doctor. If he does not chew solid food, but only swallows, see a doctor. Only specialists will be able to help develop the skill of chewing. But if by the age of two the child does not dress and does not go to the potty, it is not scary. The permit to the garden is now issued late, and many children only learn these skills by the age of three. By the age of two, the baby should ideally start talking in simple sentences: “my mom”, “my kitty”, “I run.” The very minimum for the norm is to speak in simple words, without sentences. But if this is not the case – urgently go to a speech therapist! And if he does not cope, then you need to connect a neurologist, he will prescribe vascular drugs.
Minimum skills in the game by the age of two: although the pyramid is wrong, he must assemble, be able to draw a chaotic doodle. A typewriter should play like a typewriter – roll, not lull. If a child confuses everything in the game, it is neurology. As for mental development: the most important thing is that the baby should be interested in contacting children, doing something with them together.