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| |    Books and the Older Toddler: 18-24 Months by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. A chance to snuggle, an excuse to slow down and enjoy each other -- story time can become a very special part of the day with your older toddler. Offer books at predictable times, such as before a nap or bedtime, after lunch -- any time your child tends to enjoy quiet play. Don't be surprised or discouraged if sometimes your toddler says, "No!" Being in control is so important to toddlers that they might even give up a story just to make sure that the choice is really theirs. You can tempt your child with attractive books, but it is a mistake to try to force the issue. By 18 months, many toddlers are walking steadily, and a favorite activity now becomes walking while carrying something, often a book. A toddler who knows that a book is a ticket to attention from parents will walk over and deposit one on a parent's lap, often accompanied by the demand "Read!" Words, words, words As they approach their second birthday, toddlers are making great strides in language development. At 18 months, many toddlers have only 10 or 15 words; by 24 months, many have 50 to 100 words and are putting a couple together to make mini-sentences, such as "More milk!" or "No dog!" One of the best ways you can support this very important development is by looking at picture books together. Books help teach language by giving the older toddler many opportunities to name things, and to get feedback from a grownup. This is the same as with a younger child. The parent points at a picture, and asks, "What's that?" Then, depending on what the toddler responds, the parent either says the name of the object, praises the child, or offers a kind correction: "Nope, that's not a dog, that's a horse!" What makes this sort of back-and-forth teaching so very powerful is that it happens over and over. For a young child, repetition is a key to learning. The fact that the same pictures come up again and again, on the same pages, paired with the same words, allows him to feel a measure of control over the book. The child expects a particular picture or word to show up on the next page -- and it does! Brain researchers tell us that repetition strengthens the connections between neurons, or nerve cells, that underlie all learning. As long as they are learning, children seem to have a natural hunger for repetition. (Parents, on the other hand, are likely to find the repetition very boring indeed. If you get bored, try to think about what is happening from your child's perspective.) At the same time your toddler is conquering new words, he also is figuring out how they come together to make sentences, and sentences to make stories. You won't see the results of this learning for many months. But by 2-1/2 or 3 years, you may notice your child using complex story-like phrases in his play, such as "Once upon a time" or "What's gonna happen next?" The seeds of this later rich language are planted early through lots of experience with books and stories. The wrecking crew Toddlers can be rough on books. Many bent pages, even a tear here and there are expected. Scribbling over the pages of a book is something almost every toddler does at least once or twice in their literary career. While it looks destructive, often it's a toddler's way of getting into the book -- sort of like becoming an author. A gentle reminder that books need a little TLC (tender loving care) works better than scolding (which might just convince your toddler that books are too much trouble altogether!). Even better, find a pile of scrap paper, good on one side, and some crayons, and let your toddler know that he can scribble to his heart's content on these pages. If you staple the pages together, they can become a book for your toddler to create. Research shows that young children learn a lot about reading by "writing." The earliest stage in the development of writing is scribbling. If you look over time, you might well start to see letter-like shapes appearing in your toddler's scribbling. She's writing! Click here to join the discussion on Reading and Your Child
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