One Year Olds: 15 & 16 Months

Your child is curious about everything. Help your child explore her world. Most 15- and 16-month-old children are moving fast. They are crawling, scooting and walking. How exciting it is for them! Their world is full of new things to touch, throw, climb on -- and to fall from or knock down. Your quiet, cuddly baby has become a lively little person. And that means you have to be lively, too. This can be fun, but it can sometimes make you tired, anxious or angry. Playpens are OK when you need to rest or to calm down. But keep playpen times short. Children learn more when they are free to explore. Toddlers need to learn about their surroundings to feel good about themselves and their world. Careful childproofing means they can learn safely, and you can enjoy them more.

Help your toddler learn about movement. Help me discover how things move. If I like dropping something from my high chair, give me a paper napkin to drop so I can watch how the air moves it. Give me a sponge or soft ball to throw. I like to hear the sounds things make when they hit the floor. Tell me the names of things, and what they do. Roll, bounce, splat! I will soon find out that things that go splat get your attention! Bounce me gently on your knee or lap, or clap with me in time to music. I like the movement and the music. Let me have space indoors and outdoors to practice crawling and walking. I am going to be running by the end of the year. Right now, let me practice crawling, standing, sitting and walking on my own.

Telling why teaches cooperation. How do parents help children learn to cooperate? To find out, Alice Sterling Honig, professor of child development at Syracuse University in New York, looked at studies of young children. The studies showed that parents usually control and guide toddlers in one of two ways: 1. Power control includes spanking, using force and taking away things or favors. It also includes not hugging, kissing or talking to the child. 2. Reasoning control means telling the child why she should act a certain way, in simple words she can understand. Reasoning means pointing out that the behavior could hurt her or others. For example, if your child throws sand, power control might be yelling, or hitting her. Reasoning might be telling her that throwing sand could hurt other children by getting sand in their eyes -- or in her own -- and she must stop. Reasoning works better. The studies Professor Honig reviewed showed that parents who used reasoning were better able to control their children's behavior and teach them to cooperate.

What's it like to be 15 and 16 months old?

How I grow

• I like to climb on things, and I usually like to do it alone.
• I can climb up stairs on my hands and knees.
• I can climb out of high chairs and strollers, and maybe my crib.
• I'm always on the go. I can walk pretty well. I can run a little. I am learning to walk backwards.
• I like to carry things in each hand.
• I can turn pages in a book, a few at a time.
• I want to show you how independent I am by doing what I want, not what you want me to do.

How I talk

• I can say three or four simple words besides "Mama" and "Dada."
• I am learning to hold real conversations with people.
• I can follow simple requests like "Give me the ball."
• I can understand simple directions like "No," "Come," "Show me," and "Look."
• I can let you know what I want by the way I talk or point.
• When you ask me to, I can point to my shoes or parts of my clothing.
• I can point to pictures you name, if the things in the pictures are familiar to me.
• I don't usually like having a whole story read to me.
• I would rather point to pictures in a book, and have you tell me about them.
• I am beginning to say "no" a lot.

What I am learning

• I like to feel different kinds of things -- smooth things, rough things, soft things.
• I like soft things and smooth things, but I may not like things that stick to my fingers.
• I can throw a small ball, but I usually throw it crooked.
• I can scribble with a pencil or crayon.
• I may be able to build a tower of two blocks.

How I get along with others

• I like lots of attention.
• I am easily entertained.
• I can recognize myself in a mirror or photograph.
• I like to imitate the way you do things, like sweeping the floor, setting the table, or raking the lawn.
• If you show me that you like what I do, I will do it a lot.
• I will get things for you -- sometimes.
• I like to know where you are at all times.
• I'm not very good at giving, but I like to get things.
• I mostly want my own way. I don't cooperate much. I'm pretty self-centered.

What I can do for myself

• I like to do things for myself, but I don't do them very well.
• I can let you know when I have wet or soiled pants. But I'm still too young to be toilet trained.
• I may be able to use a spoon, but I spill.

Play I enjoy

• I like to turn switches on and off. I like to throw things, push things, and pound on things.
• I like to spin wheels.
• I like to play with spoons, cups and boxes.
• I like to carry around a soft doll or toy animal.
• I like to play in sandboxes.
• I like to roll a ball with you.
• I don't play very long with any one toy.

Reproduced with the permission of CCSS National Network for Childcare