I have shared before that the newborn stage is not my favorite. I know some of you think that is crazy. It isn’t that I didn’t love my newborns, it just isn’t what I thrive on. I LOVE the toddlers. Love. I can’t get enough of toddlers.
- Fascinated with world: I love, love watching a toddler of any age take the world in. They watch everything. They drink in every detail. It helps me to see the world with those new eyes, also. Toddlers want to learn. I love working with eager learners.
- Growing independence: They just get more and more they are able to do on their own and they get more and more willing to figure out how to entertain themselves when they need to. I am sure this is in large part due to them having had independent playtime, but at this age, my children would start finding something to do when they were waiting on me. For Brinley, that meant emptying cupboards and that wasn’t so fun, but for the rest it was benign.
- Still pleasant: This is the pre-possessive age. Right around 18 months, most kids get possessive and don’t like sharing so much, so this is the end of the era when you don’t have the “share” talk so often with the toddler.
- Plays more independently: The child really starts to love independent playtime enough to recognize that they want it. They will start to ask for it.
- Easily amused: It is still pretty easy to entertain, amuse, and distract a child at this age.
- Still sticks by mom: At this age, my little toddler still didn’t want to stray too far from me, so going somewhere like the park never resulted in any surprise disappearing acts.
- So smart: You just really see how smart these little ones are! It is amazing what these little people can do, and you can watch their intelligence blossom before your eyes.
- End of baby: Toddlers in this age range often have a tug-of-war with themselves about if they want to be a baby or a “big kid.” So even with this new independence, the child will want to be babied and cuddled at times. It is a weaning process for them, and for you :).
- Constant new skills: The new skills are constant with toddlers. New words, new abilities, new emotions…constant. It is an adventure.
- Sleeps a lot: Most babies in this range are napping a good bit. Sleep can be a struggle as some drop their naps or are almost ready to drop the nap, but it is usually the last time you will have two naps. I actually love one nap, but two naps has its benefits so it is good to appreciate it for what it is.
What do you love about this age range?