Truth be told, I never compare notes with other parents how my two children fare in terms of growth and development. Because every child has his own pace and unless your child has a big delay in development (that’s another story), I see no point in checking what your child can or cannot do in comparison with his peers.
You shouldn’t either.
Until recently, I couldn’t help but notice my 19 months old son, K, has grown tremendously. Not in size but his skills. It seems like he has a long list of things he can do now. I’d better write them down before I forget. You know how fast kids grow.
Note that this is uniquely for K and please don’t use this to ask your pediatrician why your child can’t do certain things while my son can… or the other way around.
Now here’s the list of “skills” my son has now. Not in any particular order. Some skills he acquired earlier, some in the last month.
Some good ones
- Nodding or shaking his head when he’s asked a yes and no question. He knows nodding is “yes” and shaking means “no.”
- Playing hide and seek. He used to “seek” but now he knows how to “hide.” He actually learned to do this by imitating others. I know this because he hides in ONLY ONE place where I used to hide when we played last time.
- Recognizing and addressing people close to him. Such as papa and mama.
- Scribbling on a piece of paper.
- Asking for water. When he asked for water for the first time, it took me hell lot of time to figure it out as I didn’t know what he was trying to say, as it was never happened before.
- Mimicking talking on the phone. Be it a real phone, toy phone, or an object (soft toy, TV remote, etc.). He starts mumbling like an adult talking on the phone closing business deals like Donald Trump.
- Playing drums. Put drums, containers and boxes together. He will grab a drum stick and hit the “drums” to create self-made rhythm.
- Stacking. Get whatever he can and stack them up. Still not very good at it as he sometimes puts things in the wrong order (you know small at the bottom, big on top).
- Echoing with a long “aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” sound. He loves to do this with his elder sister.
- Pronouncing one-syllable words or the like. For example dog, car, star (pronounced as “tar”), bird, papa, and mama.
- Reading the alphabet. Not from A to Z but from A to A.
- Learning to say “no.” He now learns that he has another option other than following instructions. Just last night, he stated his preference. He chose oranges over Kiwi fruits.
- Recognizing his possessions. He can differentiate which pairs of shoes belong to him, which pairs do not.
- Handing the buckle. First thing he does when he gets in a car is to go for the car seat. Even before I get to it, he will pass me the buckle and say, “Nah…”
Not so good ones
- Taking longer time to sleep at night. Now that he can walk and climb, he will do his rounds of walking and climbing on and off the bed before he lies down and sleeps.
- Standing on an object on the floor.
- Opening and closing drawers. Ouch!
- Playing with electrical switches.
- Throwing tantrums if you go against his wishes. His secret weapon of getting what he wants. But we have to be firm with him.
Growth
- Weight: 11 kg.
- Height: 81 cm.
For more Works for Me tips, head on over to Shannon’s Rocks in My Dryer.
