Do you have a toddler at home? Are you looking for things to teach them?
There are so many valuable skills for a toddler to learn.
But you are probably wondering what is the best order in which these skills should be learned?
A toddler should learn many things throughout their life, but we want to discuss their first few years with this post.
This is from the perspective of how we think they should learn skills and at what age.
We hope it clears up some confusion about what your toddler should be learning first and then goes ahead to talk about a couple of milestones your child might hit in their first year.
So, let’s get started.
These Are the Things That Should Be a Toddler Learn First:
Learning is a lifelong process, and most kids are pretty good at it by the age of 3 or 4.
There are plenty of skills that a toddler should learn first.
Here are some of the skills that your toddler should practice early on:
Cognitive Development:
Understanding and learning new concepts, especially math and language.
A toddler’s cognitive development is as important as a toddler’s physical development.
You know, that part of their brain that lets them figure out things independently and do things without having to be told?
So if your kid is just starting to show signs of being able to think for themselves, it might be time to start thinking about what they’ll need to make it through school.
Your child’s cognitive development will continue to develop throughout their childhood, but it’s not until at the age of 4 that children begin to think about how they learn new information.
This is when you can start talking about things like flashcards, reading books, and doing puzzles with your child.
Trying New Things Like Walking and Running:
Motor development is another important aspect of cognitive development.
While you can’t teach a toddler how to do math or read, you can help them develop fine motor skills so they can use their fingers and toes more effectively when playing with toys or doing activities such as coloring or drawing.
These skills will also help them with writing and reading later on in life!
Your child’s motor development—the physical skills necessary for them to move and manipulate objects—will continue through childhood until about age 10 or 11 years old before slowing down again as children begin to reach puberty at around 11 or 12 years old.
Social Skills:
Understanding how people communicate with each other and form relationships with others.
Social skills are yet another key ingredient for success in school (and beyond).
Kids should learn how to interact with others from an early age so that they can become comfortable being around other people and making new friends at school or elsewhere.
Social skills are especially important for toddlers because they’re still learning how to communicate with others and understand the rules of society at an early age (around 18 months old).
Parents must teach their children appropriate behavior to avoid any conflicts or misunderstandings later on down the road!
Playing With Other Kids:
This is the best time to learn how to play together with other children.
A toddler can’t play alone, but they can play with a group of children and have a lot of fun.
You should start by teaching your toddler how to play on their own so that they know what they’re doing when they’re playing with others.
- At this age, toddlers are still in the process of learning how to interact with others and make decisions for themselves.
- They’re not able to understand social cues yet, and they have a hard time understanding what’s expected of them in relationships with others, especially their peers.
So it’s important to teach them basic social skills early on so that they don’t feel like they’re on the outside looking in when it comes to making friends.
Showing Initiative:
First and foremost, toddlers should learn how to show initiative.
They need to know how to ask for things without being told that they should ask for them.
This will help them feel more confident in their abilities and allow them to make choices for themselves instead of relying on adults for everything.
The best way to teach toddlers about the world around them is to show them how things work and give them tasks that will require them to take the initiative, such as organizing blocks or sorting toys into different categories.
Your child needs independence and confidence to become an emotionally healthy person later on down the road.
They must know how to take care of themselves without overcontrolling their behavior too much!
Making Choices for Yourself:
Another skill that toddlers should develop is the ability to make choices for themselves.
If a child is given too much responsibility early on, it can cause them anxiety which leads to poor behavior later in life when they’re adults!
So children must learn at a young age how to take control of their own lives by making decisions based on their own opinions rather than having someone tell them what they should do all day long!
Teaching toddlers about choice will help them realize how important it is for them to make decisions for themselves, and this is a skill that will set them up for success in life.
Conclusion:
If you have a toddler, then you know that they are the most energetic and curious people on the planet.
They are constantly asking questions, and they seem to have an infinite amount of energy for playing.
The toddler stage is a time of growth and change.
During this period, your child is still mastering social skills and learning how to play with other kids.
They’re also working on cognitive development, which means they’re learning the skills they need to function in the world.
The most important things for toddlers to learn during this period are mentioned in this article.
If you have any questions about this topic, feel free to comment below.
