Preparation for the Toddler Years

Book excerpt: The period between twelve and eighteen months places a child on a one-way bridge leaving infancy behind and heading straight for the toddler years. A baby still? Not really, but neither is he a toddler and that is the key to understanding this phase of growth. The next six months is season of exchange: baby food is exchanged for table food; formula for whole milk; bottle for sippy cup; the highchair for a booster seat; feeding himself with his fingers replaced by a spoon and fork; babbling talk to speaking, and the first unsteady steps are taken over by strides of confidence. Your pretoddler graduated infancy with a mind of his own and whether you're ready or not, his natural inclination and challenge of "I do it myself" will become part of his and your day.