Before that we were peachy keen, I was taking pictures of my new 'do, and reading up on developmental milestones. I clicked on his category, 13-18 months (he'll be 17 months in a couple of days), and found that not only has he pretty much got them all covered, but these are mostly way old news for him. So I checked out the 19-24 month range, and guess what? He's got a lot of those down too.
Stuff other kids do at 19 months
-he can use a fork and a spoon, though he's not that great at either of them.
-throws a ball.
-enjoys helping around the house (we're just starting this one, but he loves to clean with brooms and rags, and he likes to sort laundry)
-knows when he needs to pee. (But EC people believe babies feel this pretty soon after birth. But if you doubt me, he actually announces the "urge" by saying "poopoo" or "chi chi" or "potty")
-dumps an object in imitation (puts laundry in hamper/bags)
At 20 months
-"understands as many as 200 words" -- I would be surprised if he understood that few.
- points to an object on a page when you call it by name
-"may start exploring genitals" (??? I guess my kid is super advanced here -- this happened as soon as he could figure out how to control his hand, gotto be at least a year now.)-names several body parts (nose, eye, mouth, ear, hair, foot)
At 21 months
-kicks a ball (done this for ages)
-"stacks 6 blocks" -- I've seen him do 7!
-names a simple picture in a book -- oh he LOVES to do this. He recognizes and names: babies, birds, monkeys, general animals, fish, food, apples, oranges, balls, clothes, water (drinks and bodies of water, even drool!), he also names some people in pictures -- Shanti was the first one he recognized and referred to by name. And he pointed her out in a photograph without me saying anything.
23 months
-sings simple songs -- he often walks around singing to himself, and now he hums "Twinkle, Twinkle" at the same time as I'm singing it, which is hugely distracting for me.
-uses vocabulary of 50-70 words. I have recorded at least 40, and I know there are many more that I haven't recorded that he uses regularly. He's got a few made up words of his own, some are baby versions of words, but some are absolutely perfect. Yesterday he shouted, clear as a bell, "money! money!" when I got some money out of my pocket to give to a cashier. And he knows many words in English and Spanish and knows which corresponds with which parent.
24 months
-becomes attuned to gender differences - well, maybe I don't know what they mean by attuned, but I'm pretty sure he already thinks boys are cooler than girls. Though George told me he had a brief 'fling' with a little girl at the store the other day.
There are several mentions in this age range of putting on or taking off clothes by himself. He's not quite there yet, but he knows how to step into a pair of pants, and put his arms through his sleeves.
I'm convinced that either my boy is a genius, or these people grossly underestimate (aren't properly observing?) the abilities of toddlers. I suspect it is a lot of the latter, but let's say it's a combo. This makes me feel a lot better anyway after our pediatrician decided to again inform me of Regin's shortcomings (lame pun) on baby growth charts. So what he's a shorty! His mind is huge!
7 comments:
I think those milestones are just averages and I don't put too much stock in them. I started to read up on them a few months ago and then stopped because it would either stress me out that she isn't hitting the milestones or prevent me from giving her the opportunity to do something because "it's too soon".
What prompted that was reading an article about milestones and they showed some real kids and their various milestones and it was all over the board. Some kids were "early" with some things and later with others. So I'll just go with the flow. If our pediatrician expresses concern about her not hitting certain ones then I'll do more extensive reading about it.
Anywaay, that's my take on it.
Yeah, I don't put stock in them either. And I am seriously considering telling our doc that I don't want to hear about how Regin measures up on growth charts anymore.
Another thing we find ridiculous is ages on toys. We routinely buy toys meant for older kids. If it's because of small parts, then it's a toy he only uses with supervision. If it's because it's something he's not supposed to be able to 'get' yet, who cares? He may get it anyway, or he may find other ways to enjoy it till he does.
One milestone I forgot to put on here was climbing. He's supposed to be starting to get interested in climbing in the next month or so according to the averages. But this kid has been climbing since before he could crawl. He's an expert climber now. It's been months already since he figured out how to climb up on our office chairs (on wheels and the upper part spins).
But I agree with you. I don't think much good comes of looking at these things. I avoid them, I avoid the culture of fear that surrounds them, but I'm routinely sucked in against my will.
yey! thanks, i love blogs and you're bookmarked now! if mccain and palin win i'm afraid we should all jump ship. get kiko a job out there :)
your family is beautiful and your boy is a genius and perfectly perfect! (so is palmer :)
I've always struggled with the ages on toys. I read that the ages are either because of small parts OR because of development but it's not clear which one when you are looking at any given toy.
Thanks Abby. I agree. But I was adamant that I'd give up my nationality if Bush was reelected and I didn't, so I don't know if I will this time either. If you ask me, it's all a scam anyway, I'm not even sure I'll vote anymore.
Teddi, I say get the toys you like when you want to get them. If it's not obvious why they're for older kids, treat them like it's because of small parts -- i.e. just let her play with them supervised.
This toy, for example, is supposed to be for 3 years and up. We bought it for him a good year ago and he's played with it since day one. He had his own way at first, now he totally gets it and plays with it the 'right' way as if there is such a thing.
For us, it's in part because we're still trying to buy toys made from wood & natural fibers. Pickins are slim, so when we see toys, for any age group, we look at them and think if there is some enjoyment he could get out of them. If we think so, we get it (finances permitting). I don't think we've brought anything home yet that Regin wasn't able to get some kind of enjoyment out of. Although the dolls/stuffed toys have taken MUCH longer. He's just now really starting to love them.
Ooh I've seen that toy and others like it in our favorite toy store. It's the one in Superior near the Whole Foods (I can't remember the name).
My other issue with toys out there is that some of them take the creativity out of playing. Lyric spends much more time playing with non-toys than she does regular toys. It cracks me up, but I think it's because there is so much more to imagine.
I know the one. We like that store too. We actually got this one at Target.
You're right about the non-toy thing. I think toys are more about the parents than the kids, at least until they are much older. And especially the 'educational' toys are very limiting. You know, you should read this awesome book, Einstein Never Used Flash Cards. It talks a lot about how those toys are useless and how unstructured play is the way to go. It also gives you little fun ways to observe the little developmental changes that happen (though not in a stupid chart kind of way.)
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