Self-Confidence Grows When You Nurture and Respond to Needs

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Let your child know they are important to you. Your child’s view of themself is determined by the way you and others treat them. If they see that they are treated as important and competent by the people who are important to them, then they will feel they are valued.

Your child needs to know that you continue to love them even when you don’t like what they do. They need to know that you expect a lot from them — and that they need to learn how to act in loving and helpful ways — AND you will always love them.

Respond to your child’s needs and interests. Because you care for them, play with them and respond to their needs, they will learn how valuable they are.

• They are finding out that you believe in their ability to learn and develop new skills.
• They need your care, guidance, and respect as they continue to grow.

The ideas in this newsletter will help you guide your child to feel loved and competent.

What’s It Like to Be 15-16 Months Old?

How I Grow

• I like to climb on things, and I usually like to do it alone.
• I can climb up stairs on my hands and knees.
• I can climb out of cribs, high chairs, and strollers. I’m always on the go. I can walk pretty well. I can run a little.
• I like to carry things in each hand.
• I want to show you how independent I am by doing what I want, not what you want me to do.
• I can turn pages in a book, a few at a time.

 Play I Enjoy

• I like to turn switches on and off.
• I like to throw things, push things, and pound on things.
• I like to spin wheels. I like playing with spoons, cups, and boxes.
• I don’t play very long with any one toy. I like to carry around a soft doll or toy animal.
• I like playing in sandboxes.
• I like rolling a ball with you.

How I Talk

• I can say three or four simple words besides “mama” and “dada.”
• When you ask me to, I can point to my shoes or parts of my clothing.
• I can let you know what I want by the way I talk or point.
• I can follow simple requests like “Give me the ball.”
• I can point to pictures you name, if the things in the pictures are familiar to me.
• I can understand simple directions such as “no,” “come,“ “show me,” and “look.”
• I am learning to talk back and forth with people.
• I don’t usually like having a whole story read to me.
• I would rather point to pictures in a book and have you talk to me about them.
• I am beginning to say “no” a lot.

What I Have Learned

• I like to feel different kinds of things (such as smooth things, rough things, and soft things).
• I may not like things that stick to my fingers.
• I can throw a small ball but I usually throw it crooked.
• I may be able to build a tower of two blocks.
• I can scribble with a pencil or crayon.

 How I Get Along with Others

• I mostly want my own way; I may not cooperate much.
• I like lots of attention.
• I am easily entertained.
• I can tell when someone I know is not around.
• I can recognize myself in a mirror or photograph.
• I’m pretty self-centered and often not friendly.
• I like to copy the way you do things like sweeping the floor, setting the table, or raking the lawn.
• If you show me that you like what I do, I will do it a lot.
• Sometimes I will get things for you.
• I like to know where you are at all times.
• I’m not very good at giving —but I like to get things.

 What I Can Do for Myself

• I like to do things for myself but I don’t do them very well.
• I can let you know when I have wet or soiled pants, but I’m still too young to be toilet trained.
• I may be able to use a spoon, but I spill.

Some children do things earlier or later than described here. Most differences are normal. Focus on what your child can do and get excited about each new skill. If you notice that your child is lagging behind in one or more areas for several months, use this list to talk with your doctor about your child’s development.

Toddlers Can Eat Bite-Sized Food!

By now, your child has become an expert at putting things in their mouth.

This is good and bad news.

The bad news: lots of things go in their mouth that don’t belong there.

The good news: your child can begin to feed themself. It also means you can eat at the same time your toddler does.

They will be watching you and will try to do what you do. When they see you eating with a spoon, they will want to try eating with their spoon. (Child-size spoons are sold at most grocery stores.) They will still eat most foods with their fingers.

More good news: your child can begin eating the same foods you eat. There is no reason to buy special junior baby foods. You can make your own toddler foods by mashing, dicing, chopping, or shredding the food you eat into small pieces that are easy for them to chew and easy to swallow.

Here are some tips to encourage your child to try and enjoy healthy new foods:

• Introduce only one new food at a time. A plate full of new foods is too much to deal with. Pair a food they’ve never tried with one they like.
• Pay attention to texture. Toddlers may not like foods that are slimy, grainy, or crunchy. Start with smooth-textured foods like corn, potatoes, chicken, or pears.
• Cut food into bite-sized pieces. Your child is more likely to try a food if they can pick it up.
• Be a role model. Your child will probably try a new food if they see you eating it. Serve yourself some of the food, and ask your child to taste it with you.
• Talk about the food. Tell your child what the food is called. Talk about its color and texture. Ask your child to touch and smell it, but don’t pressure them to eat it if they aren’t ready.
• Take little steps, and celebrate any success. Trying a new food is a big risk for children. Touching the food, smelling it, chewing it, and swallowing it are all parts of trying a new food. If your child puts a new food in their mouth and then spits it out, praise them for at least trying it.
• Some children won’t eat a food the first time they see it. That’s normal, It could take 7-15 times before your child eats a food she’s never eaten before. Children have to learn to like new foods.
• Forcing your child to eat something new can make them less likely to try the food later, and more likely to dislike it.

Parents choose and prepare healthy foods – and do their best to make mealtime happy.
Children decide what and how much to eat.

Prevent Accidents!

More children die and more children are disabled due to injuries than all diseases combined.

Toddlers do not know how to protect themselves. As a parent you worry about the illnesses your child may get and you take special care to protect them. You must take the same care to protect them from accidents. Your child cannot protect themself.

Watch your child at all times. Young children are growing and developing every day. Their ability to do things changes suddenly. Often accidents happen because parents are not aware of what their children have just learned to do.

Here are some ways you can prevent accidents:

• Protect your child from falls with stairway gates and window guards.
• Don’t leave chairs near kitchen counters, tables, windows or cabinets.
• Cover electrical outlets.
• Keep your child away from hot stoves and heaters.
• Avoid scalds by turning the water heater down to 120°F.
• Lock doors that lead to dangerous areas.
• Keep dangerous substances locked up or safety capped.

Toddlers with Lead Poisoning May Not Look Sick

Since toddlers put everything in their mouths, watch them carefully.

• Remove all items in your home and yard that may contain lead.
• If you renovate your house or refinish furniture, be careful that your child does not get dust or chips from the old paint in their mouth.
• Some folk remedies contain lead. Only give your child medications prescribed by a doctor.
• If you think your child has eaten lead, ask your doctor to check your child for lead poisoning.

Children with lead poisoning don’t always look or act sick, at least not at first.

• Lead poisoning often shows up as tiredness, grouchiness, upset stomach, headaches, or loss of appetite.
• Sometimes there are no signs at all until serious damage has occurred.

The main cause of lead poisoning is chewing items that contain lead.

This includes…

• peeling paint or plaster in an old home
• colored newsprint and comics
• certain crayons
• old toys, and furniture painted with lead-based paint
• soil contaminated by leaded gasoline