One Year to Two Years – Physical Development

Continue encouraging the child in the traits which he/she may have not fully developed. Encourage confidence, courage, obedience and self-amusement.

Healthy children continue to gain weight and height as well as developing their walking and talking ability. The muscles are developing and the children should be encouraged to play freely though with an adult monitoring them. Some develop feeding problems but this should not be of much concern especially in the presence of the child. Just encourage healthy feeding but try to be gentle because the physical development of the child at this stage depends mainly on his/her emotions. If you suspect that there is a physical problem due to feeding, consult the doctor and keep calm.

This is what to expect of an average child. Yours may be faster or slower than this, don’t worry much, if you suspect anything wrong consult the doctor before consulting friends and elders.

i.                    Between twelve and eighteen months most children sleep for about 13 hours. They usually take one nap during the day. The child may be able to eat using a spoon and drink from a glass but walks in toddling manner. The child may be able to go up and down stairs without help and wants to run around doing errands. The soft spot on the head normally closes at this stage. However there may be variants.

ii.                  At two years the child may run or trot and build blocks, push or pull objects. The child can even cooperate during dressing and undressing. Most children are usually dry during the day and often at night.

When the child has managed to walk, it’s time for shoes and allow the child to get dirty. Put valuables and breakable stuff away from the child as he/she will begin touching things in the house. Allow the child to eat as much as he/she wants and give the child a vacation from the food that he/she does not like, at least for a while so that the baby does not hate eating. When the child throws away food, gently remove the plate and cut down on the portion. The action normally shows that the baby is full. Start new foods gradually and don’t force them on the child. Let the child have fruit juice or a snack between meals if the child becomes cross due to hunger. Slowly cut down on milk if the child has a balanced diet. The most important thing here is to keep the idea of food always pleasant for the child.

If the child sucks the thumb, don’t stop him/her but instead offer something to eat or something to occupy and hence disrupt the child from the sucking. 

Don’t try to teach the child to walk, he/she will walk when ready. If you suspect any problem, consult the doctor first. If the child is left-handed, try not to correct it because this may have more serious psychological consequences than being left-handed.