A child learns certain skills as she grows up. These skills are called developmental milestones, which involve physical, cognitive, social and emotional skills that a child acquires at a particular point in time. It is important to note that children develop at different rates. For instance, walking is a developmental milestone that one child may learn at 10 months and another child at 12 months. Children between the ages of 1 and 3 years are toddlers, so an 18-month-old child is a toddler. During the 18th month of a toddler's life, she should reach certain developmental milestones.
Motor Skills
Motor skills describe tasks that a child can do with his body and muscles such as sitting, running or walking. They can be gross motor skills such as catching a ball or fine motor skills such as scribbling. Gross motor skills usually developed at 18 months of age include being able to walk freely and with confidence, according to the book "A Parent's Guide to Child Care." Other gross motor skills that occur at 18 months are being able to throw a ball, walk up the stairs with assistance and creep down the staircase. Fine motor skills displayed at this age are the ability to pick up and put small beads in a container, use a spoon, turn two or three pages of a book at a time, build a tower of two to four blocks.
Cognitive Development
The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program describes cognitive development, i.e. mental or intellectual development. Cognitive tasks include thinking, perception, memory and problem solving, to name a few. According to MedlinePlus, an 18-month-old can usually say 10 or more words, point to objects and name them, identify parts of her body and listen attentively to stories.
Social Development
Social development of a child refers to the child's ability to interact with others. "Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice" says that between the ages of 12 and 18 months, a child becomes aware of strangers, explores his immediate environment, engages in parallel play (playing alone, but close to others), learns to be more independent from parents, and develops a clear sense of security in things such as a blanket, toys or thumb sucking.
Emotional Development
Emotional development involves development of personal traits and characteristics, such as personal identity, self-esteem, feelings and emotions, as stated in the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program. MedlinePlus says that at 18 months, a child may begin to show affection. She may comfort other crying children. According to the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, a child between 8 and 18 months goes through anxiety when separated from parents and gets easily frustrated and angry.
Considerations
MedlinePlus recommends the following activities for 18-month-old children: physical activity in a safe environment, playing with safe copies of adult tools and equipment, and reading and playing that involve creativity and building. Toys an 18-month-old may like are blocks, teddy bears, dolls, pots, pans and phones, according to "Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice."
References
- "A Parent"s Guide to Child Care"; Dr. S. Keshan; 2000
- MedlinePlus: Developmental milestones record--18 months
- National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families: From Baby to Big Kid--Month 18
- Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program: Developmental Milestones Summary
- "Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice"; Sandra M. Nettina; 2009
