Toddler

A toddler is a child between the ages of one and three. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child of this age.

Developmental milestones

Toddler development can be broken down into a number of interrelated areas. There is reasonable consensus about what these include:

Physical: Refers to growth or an increase in size.

Gross motor: Refers to the control of large muscles which enable walking, running, jumping and climbing.

Fine motor: Refers to the ability to control small muscles; enabling the toddler to feed themselves, draw and manipulate objects.

Vision: Refers to the ability to see near and far and interpret what is seen.

Hearing and speech: Hearing is the ability to hear and receive information and listen (interpret). Speech is the ability to understand and learn language and use it to communicate effectively.

Social: Refers to the ability to interact with the world through playing with others, taking turns and fantasy play.