Ready or not, your child has reached the age of independence! He is ready to break out and explore the world on his own terms, sometimes in hand with you, but often with you racing along behind! At 18-24 months old, it’s important to support his efforts and do what you can to let him discover for himself how he fits into his environment. This interest in the world is in part a result of the improvement of his Active, Coordinated Movement skills. Active, coordinated movements skills are based on motor coordination, which is the smooth and coordinated movement of body part(s) and muscles to achieve an intended goal,¹ such as climbing on the furniture to reach a toy, going up and down the stairs, or walking or running while carrying something to you.² 

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Your child is now learning to move his body into the correct position for an activity. For instance, he has observed the proper way to sit in a chair, so he knows how to face in while climbing onto the chair, then turn his body around so that he ends up facing out towards you.³

Supporting Movement Skills

He may still find stairs fascinating and want to climb up and down them constantly. Take the time to teach him how to climb them safely. Make sure he always has your supervision on the steps, and be sure to teach him the safest ways to go down, on either his belly or bottom, until he is able to easily walk down on his own.⁴

There are many ways to support your child’s ability to use his body to achieve goals and further his independence.⁵ Be sure to to make time for physical activity every day and change up the environment or activities to keep things interesting. Ask him to help you by bringing you your shoes or stirring some muffin batter together. Encourage him to do certain things for himself, like putting dirty clothes in the hamper and putting his books back on the shelf. By offering a variety of self-help activities, you will encourage his growing sense of independence and keep him exploring, moving, climbing, and developing the ability to use his body for purposeful action.

Play Tips:

Do you want to know how you can support your child’s development of these Active, Coordinated Movement skills at this age? It’s easy! Read on for some simple tips to incorporate into your daily play time together.

1. Allow your child to climb furniture when supervised. At this age, your child is developing more independence, which means he will want to get into a chair or the couch on his own. Letting him climb up on his own will help develop his muscle coordination as well as self-confidence in tackling physical challenges. Be sure to keep an eye on him to make sure that he is not trying to climb on dangerous objects or surfaces. If you have furniture that is off limits, be specific and consistent in reminding him that he is not allowed to climb on these objects. Point to each one and say something like, “Don’t climb on the glass table. The table is a no-no.”
2. Create a fun and simple obstacle course for your child.² He will love the variety and surprise of finding new challenges in your homemade obstacle courses. Consider stacking several large cushions and/or mega foam blocks to climb on, a pop-up tunnel to crawl through, a short step stool to practice stair climbing, and thin pads on the floor to hop onto.
3. Move the party outside. Take your toddler for a walk, a bike ride (even a push bike will have him using his legs in a coordinated way), or a game of kick the ball. By skipping the stroller, you are setting him up to build better muscle and movement coordination for the long term.

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Developmental Milestones:

Has your baby achieved the following Active, Coordinated Movement  developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all the skill(s) she has already mastered to date using Playful Bee’s developmental milestones tracker. It’s absolutely FREE and easy to use, just click HERE!

• Climbs furniture unassisted.

Sources:

¹Diedrickson, Jorn, and Reza Shadmehr, Richard B. Ivry (2009). The Coordination of Movement: Optimal Feedback Control and Beyond. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14(1), 31-39. Retrieved February 12, 2014, from http://keck.ucsf.edu/~houde/sensorimotor_jc/JDiedrichsen10a.pdf.

²Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (2010). Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers.

³Maryland State Department of Education (2010). Healthy Beginnings: Supporting Development and Learning from Birth through Three Years of Age.

⁴What to Expect. Up Stairs, Down Stairs. What to Expect. Retrieved February 6, 2014, from http://www.whattoexpect.com/toddler/growth-and-development/up-stairs-down-stairs.aspx.

⁵BabyCenter (2008). How to Encourage and Develop Your Toddler’s Independence. BabyCenter. Retrieved February 6, 2014, from http://www.babycenter.in/a1019651/how-to-encourage-and-develop-your-toddlers-independence.

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Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee

Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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