Your toddler's thinking and reasoning skills are still progressing. You may notice that your
toddler is using different strategies to figure things out now. When your toddler was younger, she
used all of her senses-touch, taste, looking, and listening-to explore things around her. She had
to act on things and use trial and error to figure things out. If she wanted to open a box of cookies,
she might bang it, mouth it, or throw it.
Now your toddler is beginning to use language and mental representations (or pictures) to solve
problems. Your child may be able to think about how to open that box of cookies. She doesn't have to try
so many different strategies. She can "think out" problems. Thus you may find your toddler can push a
chair up to the kitchen counter and get the box of cookies you placed out of his reach!
Your toddler's play may be more complex now too. She is able to use language to expand on her
\play. She can put activities together. Toddlers might get play dishes together with stuffed animals for
"tea time," give their doll a bath, or "build" a house with toy tools.
Your toddler's imagination will grow as his thinking skills progress. Older toddlers use pretend
play to practice skills and figure things out. Your toddler may be very interested in learning about adults
and the things they do. Older toddlers begin to "try on roles" they see form adults. Your toddler may want
to be "a mommy" or "a daddy." Toddlers can be firefighters or doctors or teachers. They play out what they
think that "role" is and learn from their pretend play. It is amazing to watch how a toddler interprets the
roles we take on as adults. Take some time to participate in your child's play. It will be quite an experience!
Got some old clothes? Make a dress-up box for your toddler. Your toddler will love to dress up in your hats,
shirts, and shoes!
Adapted from Healthy Steps. Edited and Compiled by the Center for Promotion of Child Development Through Primary Care 2011
