• At 1month, your baby is experiencing multiple periods of sensitivity. On feeling discomfort your baby thrives for a loving touch.
• Your baby can see things at a distance up to 30 to 40 cm away and is highly sensitive to touch.
• Sit at a distance of up to 30 to 40 cm away from your baby. Hold your baby’s arm with one hand and gently touch/pat or stroke his/her hand with the fingers of the other. Here, you are relaxing your baby through touch. You can do the same with the other arm and feet too!
• Physical contact between mother/ father (familiar adults) and baby plays an imperative role in building mother/father/baby bonding. You can pick up your baby and hold him/her in your hands.

• Your baby hears/listens to a variety of sounds in his/her surroundings, such as doorbells, car horns. Most newborns are receptive to sounds. Through the sense of sound, your baby is beginning to understand his/her surroundings.
• You can choose and play a CD with soft rhythmic music and cradle your baby securely in your arms. Don’t be surprised if your little one falls asleep while listening to it.
• Sing lullabies in English as well as in your mother tongue with a variation in your voice. Sometimes in high as well as in soft tone.
• Your baby recognises you by your voice. You can speak and talk to your baby using soft voice.

• At birth, your infant’s body responds naturally to stimulus. Place your finger on his/her lips. If your baby begins to suck your finger, then he /she are hungry. Time to feed your baby!
• Just before beginning to feed, touch your nipple over your baby’s nose. Through the sense of touch and smell your baby searches your nipple with smacking lips and shall bring his/her mouth close to it and begins sucking your nipple.

• Your newborn shall response to a sudden sound or movement by flinging his/her arms outward and extending the head upwards. Next, your baby will quickly draw his/her arms together and begins to cry loudly.
• When your baby is not looking at you, clap your hands loudly, shake a rattle or ring a toy bell gently.
• You can place your baby over the play mat with few mobiles attached to the same. Make sure that the objects make a sound. When your baby is not looking at you, shake the objects.

• Your baby can see faces clearly (8-10 inches in front of them) from around three weeks of birth.Talk to your baby throughout the day and focus on having more face-to-face conversations.
• You can hold black and white coloured (chequered) ball at 8-10 inches in front of your baby’s face.

Majority of baby’s actions are reflex – sucking and bringing closed fists up to mouth.

• Place your finger over each of your baby’s palm. On feeling your touch, baby will grasp your finger tightly with closed fists for a few seconds and may bring both his/her hands close to the mouth and may even try to suck them.

Majority of baby’s actions are reflex – sucking and bringing closed fists up to mouth.

• Place your finger over each of your baby’s palm. On feeling your touch, baby will grasp your finger tightly with closed fists for a few seconds and may bring both his/her hands close to the mouth and may even try to suck them.

• Sit comfortably on a bed or a couch. Now, slowly lift your baby and make your baby sit comfortable in your lap. When your baby is in the sitting position make sure your support your baby’s neck and back with your hands.

• Early sensory experiences activates and wires your baby’s growing brain which is responsible for connecting your baby’s cognitive and language development.
• Play soothing music.
• Sit close to your baby. You can make soft, babbling or cooing sounds, just as your baby does! And, yes don’t forget to make sounds in different directions around your baby’s face.

• Long before your baby learns to talk, he/she uses cues or non-verbal language to communicate their tiredness, hunger, want to play or need a break. Sucking fingers is non-verbal language of your baby to say – I’m tired or sleepy.
• So, it’s time to cuddle your baby and put him/her to sleep. You can wrap your baby in soft cloth and put him/her to sleep. Try holding your baby close to you in a cradle position and gently pat or rock your baby.

• When the baby smiles at you or any other adult, your baby needs attention.
• When your baby smiles, a natural feel-good chemical (neuropeptide) is released in the prefrontal cortex of the brain which is responsible for your baby’s emotional life. This chemical builds connection between the nerve cells which stimulates the brain development and makes your baby feel happy.
• Always respond to your baby’s smile with a smile. You can even look at your baby and make funny/different facial expressions at your baby.
• Your positive respond will make your baby feel assured, comforted and shall respond positively to future interactions with you.

• When the baby smiles at you or any other adult, your baby needs attention.
• When your baby smiles, a natural feel-good chemical (neuropeptide) is released in the prefrontal cortex of the brain which is responsible for your baby’s emotional life. This chemical builds connection between the nerve cells which stimulates the brain development and makes your baby feel happy.
• Always respond to your baby’s smile with a smile. You can even look at your baby and make funny/different facial expressions at your baby.
• Your positive respond will make your baby feel assured, comforted and shall respond positively to future interactions with you.

• Gently and lightly hold your baby’s hands in your hands. Slowly hold your baby’s hands just above his or her stomach. In a few seconds, your baby shall carefully loosen his/her hands from your hands (grip) and carefully rest them back on the ground level.

• Lay your baby over the play mat/ bed/ cot. When your baby is not looking at you, shake a rattle or clap your hands suddenly. On hearing the sudden sound, your baby shall move her/his arms/legs with jerky movements.

• Firmly hold your baby from his/her arms. Support your baby’s neck with your hand. Let your bay’s feet touch the floor/mat. Hold your baby in this position for a few seconds.

• Gently stroke your baby’s cheeks with your fingertip while feeding, when you are cradling your baby in your arms or even when you are face-to-face conversations with your baby.
• Slowly your baby will respond to your touch on the cheeks by turning the head or by simply smiling or gazing at you.

• It’s time you sit comfortably on a couch or a bed. Make your baby sit comfortably on your legs. Let your baby’s head rest over your stomach.
• Now hold a hand mirror at a distance in front of your baby, bend a little to talk to your baby – “Look….who is this?”
• Your baby is fascinated on seeing his/her reflection in the mirror and will either respond by smiling or may even begin sucking his/her fingers.
• If your baby starts crying, place your hand mirror aside and comfort your baby by cradling him/her in your arms.

• Lay your baby in the crib. Leave the baby and sit at a distance from your baby’s crib.
• Once your baby is settled in the crib, take a rattle and make a sudden sound.
• On hearing the sound all of a sudden, your baby will be startled shall fling the arms and legs in an outward direction and shall extend the head and will definitely cry. Immediately comfort and make your baby feel secured by cuddling him/her in your arms.

• Sing action songs with lots of facial expressions such as ‘Twinkle, Twinkle little star’, ‘Here We Go’.
• Your baby is a keen observer and a good imitator. Your baby in future will attempt to imitate all your expressions!

• Clapping brings both the hands together. So, when your baby is happy or has just finished having a conversation with you, applaud your baby’s achievements by holding your baby’s hands together and show how to clap with hands together.
• You can even sing the action rhyme – Clap your hands with your little one!

• Babies find pleasure in exploring their hands and feet.
• Make your baby wear colourful hand gloves on the hands and colourful socks on the feet.
• Don’t be surprised if your little one tries to pull out the glove or the sock.

• You sit comfortably on a colourful play mat or on a bed.
• Hold your baby comfortably in your arms. Share a few snuggling moments with your baby.
• Support your baby’s back and neck with your hands and make him/her sit next to you. Here, do not leave the baby unattended.
• Your baby shall sit comfortably for a few seconds and may even try to rest hands on the mat. As soon as your baby show signs of uneasiness, it’s time you hold your baby in your arms and give a hug.
• The growing coordination of the large muscles – back, hands and legs assists your baby to sit with support for a few seconds.

• Spread out baby’s soft towel/blanket on the floor. Lay your baby over the tummy on the towel/blanket. Position your baby’s tummy on the towel/blanket.
• Now, stand in front of your baby and bend down from your waist. Hold the towel/blanket from the left and the right side and slowly pull it forward.
• All the while look at your baby, talk to your baby and do not forget to smile!
• Your baby will lift up his/her head at 90 degrees to have a look at your smiling face!
• As soon as your baby shows signs of discomfort, hold your baby in your arms and lay a soft kiss to appreciate his/her efforts.

• Take your baby for evening strolls to a garden or a park. On seeing a different environment as well as people, your baby will keep looking around and may even sway his/her arms and legs.

• All babies love surprises. Your baby is fascinated and attracted to different sounds heard in the surroundings. Your baby will search for the sound through his/her eyes and by moving its head its direction.
• Sit facing your baby. Hold a cardboard tube of toilet roll, silver foil or a kitchen roll close to your baby’s ear.
• Make soft and gentle funny silly sounds, animal sounds, gurgling sounds or you may even babble just like your baby!
• This is engaging your baby’s sense of hearing for enhancing future listening skills..

• Lay your baby on the bed or in the baby crib.  Hold a colourful squeaky ball about 6inches above your baby’s face.
• Once, your baby is looking at the toy, slowly move the toy in an arc shape from left to right (180 degrees).

• It’s time you get toys such as child-friendly squeaky toys, soft washable animals, soft balls which your baby can easily clench and put it in mouth.
• Hold the above mentioned objects at a distance from your baby, to motivate your baby to stretch out the arms and clench it easily.

• Lay your baby over the bed.
• You sit comfortably facing your baby. Make your baby feel comfortable by making an eye contact or by talking to your baby.
• Place your index finger on each of baby’s hands. Your baby will grasp your finger tightly. Once, your baby has grasped your fingers, gently pull your baby into a sitting position. This means your baby will first lift up the head and then the shoulders. Finally, your baby will pull himself/herself in a standing position.
• Your baby will enjoy being in this position as he/she will have a view of his/her surroundings. As soon as your baby shows signs of discomfort; lay your baby back to the sleeping position.

• Place a soft pillow on a bed. Lay your baby slightly propped up upon the pillow.
• You sit comfortably facing your baby. Make your baby feel comfortable by making an eye contact or by talking to your baby.
• Place your index finger on each of baby’s hands. Your baby will grasp your finger tightly. Once, your baby has grasped your fingers, gently pull your baby into a sitting position. This means your baby will first lift up the head and then the shoulders. Do not leave your baby unattended.
• Your baby will enjoy being in this sitting position as he/she will have a view of his/her surroundings. As soon as your baby shows signs of discomfort; lay your baby back to the propped up position.
• Do not forget to appreciate your baby’s efforts in this activity.

• By 5 months, during night time your baby shall sleep for longer stretches and will take the much required two naps of 2 hours each approximately during day time.
• To assure that your baby sleeps peacefully and comfortably during day and night time:

a. Always make your baby sleep on his/her back. Never let your baby sleep over the stomach as there are chances of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

b. Do not stuff too many pillows around your baby. As this may suffocate your baby.

c. Avoid letting your baby sleep for longer hours during day time.

d. Do give your baby the much required 2 naps in a day as overtired baby has a difficult time falling asleep and staying asleep.

e Try and set a sleep routine for your little one. For instance, a bath, drinking milk, a lullaby and then off to sleep!

 f. Always let your baby sleep close to you. This builds a positive and a secured   socio-emotional bonding between you and your baby.

• Let your baby always see your smiling face. On seeing you smiling, your baby will slowly learn to smile back.
• You may even tickle your baby to make him/her smile and do not forget to smile back! You may even coo or make funny facial expressions or silly animals sound for a smile on your baby’s face!
• Your smile builds a strong positive bonding between you and your baby.
•  Your smile makes your baby feel safe, secured, reassured and knows well that there is someone to respond to his/her feelings.

• Sit facing your baby. Engage your baby in face-to-face conversations.
• Include cooing and sounds such as ooh, ah and aw.
• Wriggle your fingers over your baby’s tummy and make a sound with a vowel –consonant sound, similar to “ah-goo”. Your baby is a best imitator. So, say it slowly and let your baby observe your lip movements.
• Give a few seconds for your baby to respond to you.
• Do applaud your baby when he/she responds to you and talks to you using different sounds.

• Sit a little away from your baby. Call out your baby’s name. Your baby will turn the head and will search for the sound he/she heard using his/her eyes.
• You may even babble and coo just as your baby to motivate your baby to turn in the direction of your voice.

• Sit comfortably of the floor. Now, make your baby sit on your lap. Place a toy bag filled with colourful balls and a rattle close to you.
• Now hold a ball in front of your baby. Encourage your baby to either push the ball or throw the ball. Collect the dropped ball. Your baby will be keenly observing how you pick up the object.
• Next, let your baby hold a rattle in his/her hand. As soon as your baby loosens the grip and drops the rattle, collect the dropped toy. You shall notice that your baby is observing how you pick up the object.

• Your baby’s developing muscles of the arms, hands and fingers now assists your baby to reach out easily for a toy.
• Squeak a squeaky toy just above your baby’s tummy. Your baby will stretch out his/her arms to reach the squeaky toy.
• Repeat this activity using different colourful toys.

• Hold your baby comfortable from under the arms and make him/her stand on floor with his/her feet touching the floor.

• Your baby shall bear somebody weight on the legs and stand on the floor comfortably. Your baby shall try to stand with both legs touching the floor for a few seconds.

• Lay your baby over the tummy at least once or twice in a day. Do this activity an hour after your baby’s meal time. Sit close to your baby when he/she is on the tummy Do not leave your baby unattended.

• Your baby enjoys cause and effect, so choose toys that have pop-ups that surprise, or sounds that catch the attention of your baby.

• Every baby has a unique ‘vocabulary’ even before they learn to speak. If you listen carefully you will be able to translate baby’s sounds into meaningful conversations, which will result in baby’s trust and satisfaction.

• This is because baby’s receptive-language understanding is much larger than its expressive ability. So even though baby cannot talk to you, keep your conversation with baby active, describe everything. 

• When baby does this, it means baby is waiting for you to initiate a conversation, so talk to baby when it turns to you. 

• Object permanence simply means that till now, if you would show a toy and hide it, baby would not bother to look for it. But now, if you show baby a toy and then hide it while baby watches, baby will try and search out the toy from the hiding place. 

• Sometimes giving an object to hold in both hands keeps baby busy while you can diaper or feed baby.

• Give many opportunities for baby.
• Put a toy a little away from baby on the floor so that baby attempts to move towards it. 

• Be careful about your baby’s back as it may not be strong enough to sit for long stretches of time, prop some pillows behind the back. 

• Sharing and engaging your baby in loving, attentive and sensitive interactions with you builds a strong beginning foundation for your baby’s self-esteem, self-value, self-beliefs, thoughts and feelings as well as future interactions and experiences with you as well as others.
• Provide as often as possible opportunities wherein you have face-to-face conversation/talk with your baby. When you do this your baby will smile as your baby feels secured, trusted, valued and confident.

• Softly and gently tickle, cuddle and massage your baby makes your baby feel valued and happy. These emotions are expressed through smiles, cooing or even babbling.
• Talk to your baby the way you wish to talk to your baby. Do not worry if you are even making silly sounds! Baby enjoys listening to different sounds and this makes your baby feel happy. These emotions are expressed through smiles, cooing or even babbling.

• Music helps in nurturing the neurons of your baby’s brain. Rhythm opens windows of opportunities of your baby’s brain for mastering language skills.
• At this age, your baby may not understand the words that you speak or sing, but baby enjoys listening to words and songs in different rhythm and variations.
• Sing your baby’s favourite song or the one which he/she is accustomed to and try to sing the words in different variations of rhythm such as loud, high, whisper or even loud pitch.

• Your baby can easily and quite precisely listen to and imitate sounds heard every day in the environment.
• Play soft instrumental music or lullabies during your baby’s play time. Once, your baby is intently engaged in listening to the music, turn off the music. Is your baby looking in the direction of the music or the music player? 

• Your baby’s visual-spatial skills are developing rapidly.
• Sing a song or a rhyme using finger puppets. This will give an opportunity to your baby to see and focus on the puppet.
• Yes, do not forget to place the puppets on your baby’s hands.

• Your baby at this age finds pleasure in eating with their fingers. Babies experiences self control and also feeling of ‘I can do it!’ when they independently pick up food and put it in their mouth.
• Put small dices of your baby’s favourite cooked vegetables in a bowl. Place the bowl in front of your baby.
• Babies learn best through imitation. You pick up a piece of the cooked vegetable and acts as if you are eating. Your baby will soon follow you. Your baby may even want to feed you! Enjoy!

• Support your baby securely and let your baby stand on its feet holding your hands. Your baby will not be able to stand steadily in one position. But instead will try to bounce up and down by supporting its body weight on the legs.
• Bouncing is a prerequisite activity for walking. You can bounce your baby in different ways. The one you are most comfortable with!
• As your baby tries to bounce itself, you can even add a bouncing rhyme to bring in novelty to this activity such as ‘To market, to market’ or ‘This is the way we bounce…’

• Let you baby sit comfortably on a colourful play mat or a cleaned floor with the support of pillows.
• Slightly spread your baby’s legs and you sit facing your baby with legs spread. Let your feet touch the baby’s feet.
• Take a medium size beach ball and roll it towards your baby. Encourage your baby to roll the ball back to you.
• Do not forget to applaud your baby’s initiative to be a part of this activity.

• Your baby loves to be socially active with a familiar adult. Your baby exhibits skills of imitation as well as learning to express happiness and joy.
• Action songs/ rhymes or games repeated at regular intervals will make your baby familiar to it and will also begin to imitate or even initiate the game.
• Lay your baby back on a bed, facing you. Now sing the ‘Roly Poly ‘.
• While singing this song, move your baby’s arms in the round motion for 3 counts pause and repeat. Move the arms downwards for another 3 counts, and then return to the round motion. Move your baby’s arms inwards for 3 counts and do not forget to gently and softly tickle your little one.

                                                   Roly poly, roly poly,

                                                          Up, up, up.

                                                     Roly poly, roly poly,

                                                     Down, down, down.

                                                      Roly poly, roly poly,

                                                                In, in, in.

• Your baby can now understand hand gestures and voices of known and familiar adults.
• Make a ritual to speak to your baby using same simple words during bath time, meal time, and sleep time or even when you are going out together!
• You can even make simple hand gestures a daily ritual of your baby such as blowing kisses, waving hands or even clapping hands together during play time.
• Repeatedly listening to the same word, your baby will soon anticipate the activity he /she are going to do.

• The best way to introduce the word ‘no’ to your little one is by singing together the nursery rhyme, ‘Jonny, Jonny yes papa’.
• Whenever you have to say a ‘no’ to your baby, express it by saying the word aloud as well as by moving your head from side-to-side.

• Your baby now tries to imitate the different sound he/she hears around themselves. Try making simple sounds of animals and transportations which your little one will easily learn through regular repetition.

• Babies love surprises. They love to play peek-a-boo. Make this game a part of your baby’s daily routine. But, yes add novelty to each peek-a-boo to uplift the interest and enjoyment of your baby.
• Play peek-a-boo by hiding your face with your palms, handkerchief, newspaper, cooking pans or even empty cardboard boxes.
• Engage your baby in this game by asking questions such as ‘Where is mummy?’
• You can even give a chance to your baby now top play this game with you.
• Engage your baby in this game by asking questions such as ‘Where is baby?’
• Remember to softly and gently emphasis on the say word ‘peek-a-boo.’ 

• Take a colourful piggy box and colourful buttons that can easily pass through the slit.
• Do not leave your baby unattended in this activity along with the colourful buttons.
• Let your baby sit with the support of soft cushions on a play mat.
• Place the piggy bank and a bowl with colourful buttons in front of your baby.
• Show your baby how to pick the button and put it through the slit and into the piggy bank.
• Once, all the buttons are in the piggy bank, do not forget to hold it and shake it!
• Your baby may or may not be able to slip the correctly into the slit. It’s fine!
• Keep encouraging and motivating your baby.
• After repeating this game for a few times, your baby will master this skill with ease.

•  Create a mini obstacle path using pillows and blankets. As your baby crawls through each obstacle, clap and applaud your baby’s efforts and achievements.
• Do not leave your baby unattended during this activity.

• The back muscles of your baby are gradually strengthening. Your baby may now try to scoot around on its bottoms.
• Let your baby sit on the floor (clean and hygienic). You too sit down (a little away from your baby) facing your baby. Clap your hands. Once your baby looks at you, motivate your baby to come you. You can even shake a rattle and motivate your baby to scoot towards you and retrieve the rattle.
• Instead of scooting, your baby may choose to crawl towards you. It’s absolutely normal to do so as each child has individual comfort levels.
• Do not push your baby to scoot.

• You shall now feel comfortable playing with your 9 month old baby. Your baby enjoys playing with you. You can play games like passing the ball, push along toys to each other.
• Singing simple action songs with your baby such as – This little piggy went to the market!

• Your baby has a good idea of what he/she wants. Your baby will now begin to be attached to certain toys or objects.
• Let your baby sit comfortably with/without the support of the pillows on a colourful play mat. Place your baby’s favourite toys or the ones he/she plays with everyday, in front of him/her.
• Once your baby is engaged in playing with the toys, slowly and gently try to take the toy, specifically the one which he/she has in the hands.
• Your baby is likely to protest your action loudly by either throwing him/herself backwards or by crying or by simply gazing at you.

• Take a newspaper and roll it to look like a hollow tube. Now hold this close to your baby’s ear. Babble sounds such as “goo” and “gaa” or any other sound using a combination of vowels and consonants such as “pa” or “ba”.
• Wait for your baby to respond to your babbling.
• After playing this for a while, place the newspaper roll close to your baby’s mouth and motivate him/her to babble in the newspaper roll. 

• Your baby understands words that you speak through the senses of hearing and sight. Your baby listens to the sound of the word and also observes your lip movements.
• The more you associate or gain your baby’s attention by calling out their name, the more the baby will relate the name to him/herself. Young babies learn language and communication when words are directly aimed at them.
• So, when you are dressing, feeding, bathing, playing with your baby, always address your baby using his/her name.
•  Your baby through practice will begin relating the word to him/herself and shall look towards the adult or child speaking when he/she hears the name.

• Let your baby sit with the support/without the support of cushions on a colourful play mat.
• Play a toy bag, filled with toys such as bunch of keys, squeaky toys and colourful balls. Place it next to your baby. Sit close to the toy bag. Now, stand and call out your baby’s name. Begin talking to your baby. Once, you have your baby’s attention, pick up a toy from the toy bag and hold it above your baby’s eye level. Next drop the toy.
• You shall observe that your baby will look for the dropped object.

• This is the best time to introduce your baby with toys such as 2 piece peg puzzles as well as toys on wheels such as bus, cars and trucks.
• Whenever possible, encourage and motivate your baby to assist you put toys into a toy bag and empty the same.

•  Your baby’s developing muscles of the legs will assist him/her to stand for a few seconds by holding onto someone or something.

• Hold your baby comfortably from under the arms and make him/her stand on floor with his/her feet touching the floor.

• Once your baby is standing comfortable, let your baby now stand with the support of child-friendly furniture.
• Do not leave your baby unattended in this position.

• Lay you baby over his stomach. At a distance, place your baby’s favourite soft toy. You sit next to the toy and motivate your baby to crawl towards the toy by constantly talking and keeping an eye contact.

• Your baby is now beginning to experience that things or people exist even when they can’t see to view or see them.
• Your baby is developing his/her visual- spatial as well as tracking skills and hence your baby can see you and others clearly in the surroundings.
• Play games such as peek-a-boo as well as hide-n-seek with your baby. Observe how anxiously your baby anticipates your return or presence by giving you verbal clues, such as sounds, vocalization and even by flapping their hands or crawling towards you.

• Baby may be comprehend and differentiate between strangers and familiar adults.
• Your baby is well attached to significant adults such as parents, grandparents or caretakers.
• Sit close to your baby along with an adult unfamiliar to your baby. You shall observe that your baby may cling to you or may even crawl to you because of the stranger in front of your baby.

• Talking to your baby should now become an integral part of your baby’s daily routine. For instance, talk to your baby during feeding time, diaper changing time and even playing time. Need not be a rhyme, but sing simple sentence with rhythm.
• Listening skills is prerequisite activity before your baby begins to read and write. Engage your baby in a rhyme which has lots of different sounds. At this age, your little one is learning to play the role of a good imitator!

• Your baby now initiates to explore toys and objects around him/her using its growing eye-hand coordination skills.
• Let your baby lie on a colourful play mat. Hold a soft ball above your baby’s stomach. Once, your baby has seen it, gently drop it. Your baby will definitely look out for the fallen ball.
• You can even do the above activity by making your baby sit with the support of cushions on the play mat.

• Your now is familiar with toys that he/she plays with everyday.
• Let you baby sit on a colourful play mat with the support of cushions.
• Place 6 to 7 toys in front of your baby. In this group place two toys which your baby is familiar or loves to play with and rest toys that don’t interest your baby.
• You shall observe that your baby will easily retrieve his/her favourite toys by pushing the other toys with either one hand or both the hands.

• Crawling is a crucial developmental milestone of your baby. Crawling strengthens your baby’s balancing, visual-spatial as well as gross motor skills. While, crawling your baby is applying the cross lateral movements by using the left arm and right leg to move forward. During crawling, your baby’s left and right brain is working together in coordination.
• Place your baby’s favourite toy at a distance from your baby (initially a little closer to your baby and with practice you can increase the distance between the toy and your baby).
• Encourage your baby to crawl towards the toy. You can also become a part of your baby’s crawling expedition – by getting down on your fours and crawling together.
• Applaud once your baby retrieves the toy.
• You may even make a pathway of toys and motivate your baby to crawl to each toy, one after the other.

• Your baby is now attempting to stand with your support or with the support of child-friendly furniture.
• Encourage your baby to stand with your support or with the support of child-friendly furniture and thereafter to sit down.
• You can even talk and encourage or applaud your baby’s achievements.

• Your baby by now can comprehend the places where you keep his/her routine objects which your baby uses or needs them everyday such as toy bag, books, water sipper, glass, eating bowl, spoon etc.
• Make it a regular ritual to keep all the above objects in specific places where your baby can easily view it. Hold your baby in your arms or if your baby holds your finger and walks around then along with your baby, place each object at a specific place. Always talk to your baby when doing this activity (name the object, ask your baby to place the object at a specific place etc.).

• Your baby’s ‘natural curiosity’ motivates him/her to initiate exploring a pictorial book placed in front of him/her.
• Show your little one a simple picture book. Point at a picture and name the picture. Now, you may ask your toddler for instance – Where is the cow?
• Reading books with voice modulation shall make your toddler laugh and squeal.

• Your baby yells or makes loud extended sounds to communicate to you his/her needs for comfort, tiredness, hunger or your baby may even need a break!
• So, now it’s time you make an eye contact with your baby, smile or you may even simply hug your little one!

• Your baby will learn to say his/her name when he/she listens to it in everyday conversations.
• Always address your baby with his/her name in conversations or even during outdoor time, play time or bath time.
• Remember not make your baby repeat the name after you.

• Your baby’s developing coordination and control of small muscles helps in easily holding and placing objects into one another.
• Give your baby nesting toys such as nesting cups or even homemade utensils that can be easily nested into one another.
• Show your baby how to nest the cups into each other and thereafter allow your baby to do the same.
• Yes, in the beginning your baby may do it correctly or may even end nesting the toys incorrectly. Wait patiently till your baby calls you for assistance. Do not interrupt your baby’s play time.
• Your baby is now implementing the trial and error method to achieve the desired goal of this activity.

• Your baby now enjoys being an active and vibrant observer rather than being a passive observer.
• Your baby now attempts to imitate your actions, the sounds he/she hears in the environment and also communicates with you.
• Encourage and engage your little one in one-to-one (face –to-face) short two- way conversations and also sing together action songs/rhymes with body movements/facial expressions and making different sounds.
• Always give few minutes for your baby to respond to your actions/ singing and conversations.

• The growing physical independence of your toddler is visible when your toddler voluntarily attempts to walk and stand.
• Choose furniture that is child-safe. For instance a couch. You sit close to the furniture and make your toddler sit beside you. Now, hold to the furniture and stand up slowly, all the while looking at the toddler and saying, “up”. Motivate your toddler to get “up”. Keep standing and talking to your baby, until your toddler voluntarily sits down. Once, your toddler sits down say, “down”.

• Lay your baby over the stomach on a play mat or on a cleaned floor. You sit at a distance from your baby.
• Place a pile of 4 to 5 cushions next to you. Show your baby his/her favourite toy. Next, place the toy over the cushions.
• Encourage your baby to come to you either by talking or singing and take his/her toy.
• Once, your baby crawls towards the toy and retrieves the same by getting into sitting position, do not forget to clap and cheer for your baby!

• Separation anxiety and stranger anxiety are similar, as both takes place in presence on unfamiliar strangers.
• Always settle your toddler in his/her favourite activity before leaving. It’s a good habit to always speak to your child before you leave.
• Keep a smiling face when you are leaving your toddler with an unfamiliar adult. If you have a sad expression on your face, your toddler shall feel the same!

• Children enjoy each other’s company in play. Let your toddler spend quality time with his/her sibling during play time, meal time as well as sleep time.

• Engage your toddler in singing chants and rhymes with repetitive words. For example – Old MacDonald had a farm, pat-a—cake.

• Toddlers are good imitators. Make sounds of different animals such as a cat, dog or duck. Take your toddler outdoors and make sounds of different modes of transportation. Pretend as if you are riding a bicycle (tring- tring), car, train or an aeroplane.

• When your toddler reaches out and grabs an object, he/she is unknowingly enhancing his/her sitting posture.
• Build up a support wall of cushions, if needed to support your in a sitting position. Hold a squeaky toy at a distance from the toddler. Squeak the toy and encourage your little one to grab it.

• You can play the game- Catch me if you can, with your toddler. Sit or stand a few steps in front of your toddler. Call out your toddler’s name and encourage him/her to walk down towards you. As soon as your toddler plops down on to the ground, crawl or walk down to your toddler. Hug and tickle him/her and say – I caught you!

• Toddlers learn best through imitation. Your baby is your best and a keen observer.
• Toddlers imitate your day-to-day simple actions like talking on the phone or may even imitate your cooking actions.
• Provide toys of objects (toy mobile, bunch of keys, kitchen set) that you use on a daily basis, and don’t be surprised if your toddler imitates your actions!

• Through familiar action songs, your toddler can comprehend an action without communicating through words. So, engage your toddler in action songs on a daily routine.
• Open them, shut them / When you are happy and you know it/ This is the way we brush our teeth, are a few of action songs that your toddler will be able to express without much use of words.

• Sit with your toddler and together look at hard cover books with simple single word names and colourful pictures.
• Point at each picture and say its related name. This activity will let your toddler associate words to pictures.
• Encourage, if your toddler repeats the name after you. Do not force your toddler to repeat after you.

• It’s time to make a small family photo album with photographs of all the people your toddler interacts throughout the day.
• Let your toddler have a look at the album and wait for your toddler’s response on seeing each photograph. Point and name the people in the photograph. For instance, mama, papa etc.

• Provide opportunities wherein your toddler has the freedom to feed himself. Place your toddler’s favourite fruit pieces, pieces of soft rotis or even small pieces of biscuit in a bowl. Let your toddler feed himself.
• Sit close to your toddler and do not leave the baby unsupervised in this activity.

• Place your baby’s favourite toys in the room a little away from each other. Give your baby a pull along wagon. Ask your baby walk to each toy and pick up each of them and place it in the pull along wagon.
• You may also use a toy bag instead of a pull along wagon.

• Your baby is now gaining gross motor coordination along with self-confidence and independence.
• Stuff six to eight empty cardboard boxes with newspapers and securely seal them. Now place these cardboard boxes in this pattern – 1, 2, 1, 2….Let your toddler walk on this path.
• Stand close to your toddler and assist only if required.
• Do not leave your toddler unassisted.

• Toddler at this age gets easily engaged in playing even when alone. During play time, place all the familiar toys of your toddler in a toy bag. Your toddler will readily and happily remove the ones that he/she enjoys to play with and unknowingly engages in what is called ‘solitary play’.

• Your toddler is now experiencing separation anxiety. He/she will begin crying as soon as you are out of their sight.
• Plan indoor as well as outdoor activities where you toddler will be interacting with other toddlers and their caretakers. Such experiences at regular intervals will make your toddler comfortable around strangers and will easily and confidently explore the environment around.

• Sing along with your toddler action songs and rhymes with concept of body parts. Like – Head, shoulders, knees and toes / Clap your hands / Two little feet go tap, tap, tap.

• Always give instructions in simple short sentence, when you want your toddler to do a task. This shall inculcate the skill of listening and following instructions in your toddler. Sentences such as-come here, sit here, go there, put the toy here etc.

• Your toddler enjoys at pointing at objects and finding the same. Place a variety of your toddler’s toys and books in a row in front of your toddler. Sit besides your toddler and name the toys and books to your toddler. Now say aloud the name of each toy. Let your toddler listen to the name, recognise the toy and then point at the toy.

• Toddlers love to knock down toys and objects. Stacking rings, blocks, empty cartons placed one above the other are good objects that the toddlers can build a tower and easily knock them down.

• Pushing or pulling while walking builds your toddler’s muscle development and adds novelty to play time.
• Push-along toys are the best toys for this activity.
• You may take a soft cloth. Hold one end and let your toddler hold the other end. Ask your toddler to walk ahead by pulling the cloth.

• Toddler is now on a spree to explore the environment using the hands and feet.
• Let your toddler attempt to climb the stairs by himself but under your supervision.
• When in a park, your toddler will try and climb the stairs of the slides with its hands and knees.
• Do not leave your toddler unsupervised.

• Parallel play is a form of play where children play adjacent to each other, but do not try to influence one another’s behaviour. Let your toddler play in company of other toddlers. He/she may prefer just playing with his/her own toys without interfering or being distracted by the other toddlers.

• Always prepare your toddler when you want to leave him/her with a caregiver by talking to your toddler, taking and visiting the caregiver for few days before you actually plan to leave him/her with the caretaker. This will make your toddler familiar to the caretaker as well as to the new environment.

• Name all the objects, things and toys that you give to your toddler every day. Your toddler will soon begin to associate words to the objects.

• Toddlers love to explore books and sing as well as listen to songs and rhymes.
• Let toddlers explore or play with books – touch and feel books, cloth books or hard cardboard books.
• You can even point at pictures and read out the names of the pictures.
• Sing nursery rhymes with a variation in your voice – high or low pitch.

• Toddlers recognise people they see every day. Place photographs of close family members at a level where your toddler can view them every day with ease. At regular intervals, explore them with your toddler by pointing at and naming each photograph. Keep the names consistent for your toddler to easily listen and recognise.

• Your toddler loves to scribble whether paper or a wall!
• Give your toddler crayons (such as finger crayons, triangular crayons, crayon balls which are non-toxic & child-friendly) and a drawing or a chart paper. Let your toddler choose his/her own colour and enjoying scribbling on the paper. Surely, a master piece is on its way!

• It’s time to have some fun with your toddler and animals. Take flash cards of animals such as an elephant, kangaroo, cat and lion. Show each animal card to your toddler. Explore the concept of how each animal walks with your toddler. Demonstrate how each animal walks – lion with quicker steps, elephant with slow steps, kangaroo with quick steps and the cat with slow steps.
• After doing the above, show each card to your toddler. Let your toddler recognise the animal and walk around like the animal in the picture.

• It’s time do some fun exercises with your toddler. You and toddler stand facing each other and do the fun exercises together such as:
  a. Touching toes
  b. Stretching hands above the head
  c. Stretching hands to left and then to the right
  d. Wriggling fingers
  e. Jogging on the spot

• Always talk to your toddler about ‘sharing’ and whenever needed remind him/her about the talk.
• Plan and find opportunities where your toddler can share toys with peers.
• Value your toddler’s social skills and set a good example by portraying and talking about the joy and happiness about sharing toys with peers.

• Be sensitive to your toddler’s bodily needs. Provide sensitive responses to your toddler’s needs by expressing affection and assist his/her needs immediately.

• Sing songs and word games such as – If you are happy and you know it, I’m a little teapot, Incey, wincey spider with your toddler.
• Emphasize on the words, then demonstrate the action and thereafter motivate your toddler to enact your actions.

• When your toddler is playing with toys, place a toy bag close to your toddler and his toys. Ask your toddler to put the toys in the bag. If the toys are inside the toy bag then ask your toddler to bring them out. Always emphasis on the simple commands ‘in’ and ‘out’.

• Let your play around with push-along toys such as cars, trucks etc. First let your toddler push forward the toy. You shall notice that your toddler is visually tracking the movement of the toy. Once, the toy has come to a standstill mode, ask your toddler to go and get it.

• It’s time your toddler finds pleasure in exploring 3 to4 pieces peg puzzles of fruits, vegetables, transportation. Initially, your toddler shall place the pegs in the incorrect hole. It’s ok! Assist your toddler only if he/she looks frustrated. Surely, your toddler shall master this skill through trial and error, over a period of time.

• Play some peppy music that your toddler likes to listen and may probably like to dance or move around.
• On the music you demonstrate how to walk sideways. Once, your toddler is comfortable in moving sideways, introduce how to walk backwards.
• Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity. Make sure the place you have chosen to do this activity is clutter free and safe for the toddler.

• The gross motor development now enables your toddler to walk confidently.
• Define a path on the floor by sticking masking tape. Demonstrate how to walk on this defined path along with a pull along toy.
• Encourage your toddler to walk on the defined path slowly along with a pull-along toy or by holding a small toy in hand.

• Toddler is emotionally attached to parents and caregivers who portray love, care and security.
• When your toddler is playing or just relaxing, let a familiar person move out of the room or your toddler’s sight. Talk to your toddler and inquire about the caretaker by talking as well as through body gestures. Look out for different clues in which your toddler explains the whereabouts of the caretaker.

• Your toddler is now experiencing different emotions / feelings. It’s time to name these emotions/feelings. This shall assist your toddler to begin differentiating between two emotions/feelings. Encourage your toddler to link the emotion/feeling to a situation or a thing. For instance, “You are feeling frustrated because he took away your toy?”, “You do not wish to share your toys with him?”
• The above shall definitely motivate your toddler to resolve situations more efficiently.

• Make use of language especially simple words for day-to-day activities and actions with your toddler. For instance when your toddler is running say ‘run’. Similarly use words such as – down, walk, jump, play etc. This will assist your toddler to communicate his/her needs using words and language.

• It’s time to play peek-a-boo with the different parts of the body and your toddler. Firstly, point at the different parts of your body such as head, hands, legs, fingers and motivate your toddler to identify the same.
• Next, cover your head with a napkin/towel and say to your toddler – Where is mummy’s head? Likewise, cover your fingers, hands and legs with the towel and encourage your toddler to point and identify the different body parts.
• Show your toddler different pieces of clothing such as cap, pants, t-shirt, socks and ask him /her to identify where they are worn.

• Roll a ball and motivate your toddler to try and catch it. This will exercise your toddler visual tracking skills. You may even extend this activity by using different push along toys.

• Your toddler is now beginning to be independent and beginning to learn self-help skills. The developing fine motor skills assist your toddler to learn self-help skills.
• Let your toddler drink water from a cup and gradually you shall see your toddler will want to drink milk all by himself!

• Collect colourful buggy or pull along toys and let your toddler have some fun with them. Your toddler’s developing gross motor skills assists him/her to move along with it in the surroundings.

• Encourage your toddler to walk around by holding onto child friendly furniture and reach a destination. You may also support your toddler when he/she is trying to walk around.

• Toddler now enjoys the company of his/her peers. He/she shall easily take an initiative to communicate and initiate play with peers with or without the presence of parents/caregivers.
• Visit a park/garden or child care centres or you may invite toddlers of the same age, where there are opportunities for your toddler to observe, initiate play and interaction.

• Your toddler will begin crying as soon as you are out of their sight.
• Plan activities where you toddler has opportunities of communication with other toddlers and their caretakers. Such experiences at regular intervals will make your toddler comfortable around strangers and will easily and confidently explore the environment around.
• Always prepare your toddler when you want to leave him/her with a caregiver by talking to your toddler, taking and visiting the caregiver for few days before you actually plan to leave him/her with the caretaker. This will make your toddler familiar to the caretaker as well as to the new environment.

• Toddlers learn words when they hear them repeatedly over and over.
• Always address your toddler with his/her name.

• Let your toddler sit comfortably on your lap facing you. Once in this position, talk to your toddler. Say – one, two, and three and thereafter softly and gently bump your head against your toddler’s. Repeat this for few times, until your toddler anticipates the action after the word three. Similarly you can bump your cheeks, chin, nose and hands together!

• During play time, you and your toddler sit close to each other in front of the mirror. If you have no provision for the same then you may use a hand mirror big enough so as the toddler can see you as well as his/her face in it.
• Look together in the mirror and point at yourself and then to your toddler.
• Encourage your toddler to recognize you as well as him/ her by pointing at the mirror and asking – Who’s this?

• Place your toddler’s pants or jeans with zippers and demonstrate to your toddler how to zip and unzip zips. As your toddler slowly and gradually masters this skill, you may give your toddler bigger clothing materials with zips.
• Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity.

• Whenever possible, do climb stairs with your toddler. The growing gross motor or large muscles movement and development allow some toddlers shall look forward for assistance by trying to hold your hand. While, a few others may take an initiative to climb the stairs.
• Always be along with your toddler. Do not leave your toddler unattended.

• Take your toddler to garden/park where there is open space to run around safely. Here, you can play many outdoor games based on running such as catch and the cook, simple short distance running races or may just run together to reach a targeted spot!

• Take your toddler in the playground, garden or a park. You will observe that your toddler will be on a constant move from one place to the other. Your little one shall try and explore and look at different things in the environment.

• Toddlers can now comprehend and anticipate whether something is hot or cold. Give opportunities to your toddler to experience through touch something that is hot – for instance, by allowing them to touch their sipper or glass of milk when it’s lukewarm. As well as something that is cold, for instance-you have removed a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

• Your toddler now has his/her priorities of toys to play with and books to look at. Always name the toys your toddler plays with everyday. Point and name pictures in the books which your toddler enjoys looking at repeatedly.

• Your toddler now has his/her priorities of toys to play with and books to look at. Always name the toys your toddler plays with everyday. Point and name pictures in the books which your toddler enjoys looking at repeatedly.

• Toddlers now want to try and do things all by themselves. Motivate and encourage these independence and self-help skills of your toddler.
• Be a mentor and allow your toddler to drink water, milk, eat meals, brush their teeth, wash and dry their hands all by themselves.

• Your toddler will now lift his/her leg backwards and kick an object forward. Place different sized balls at a distance from each other. Motivate your toddler to go and kick each ball.

• It’s time you play catch-and-cook or just have a short running or trotting race in the outdoors with your toddler.

• Your toddler shall now begin to show emotions when someone is sad or even happy. Either your toddler will hug or even ask them to sit/sleep close to them. Encourage your toddler to do the same and talk to your toddler about how the other toddler likes when this is done.

• Positive emotions enhance your toddler’s brain development. Your toddler will look for comfort and love from you and his/her caretakers.
• Always attend to your toddler’s needs immediately such as crying, wanting to share a toy or book or attempts to begin a conversation with you.
• Among strangers also you should always be close to or around your toddler to let them have the feel of comfort and security.

• Make it a ritual to name all the toys that your toddler plays with everyday.
• Introduce and at regular intervals browse books with a picture and its name below it. For instance – picture of a cat and below its written ‘cat’.
• To add novelty, you may point at toys or pictures and motivate your toddler to recognize the same. Likewise, soon your toddler too shall ask you – What’s that?

• Collect pictures/photographs of people with whom your toddler is familiar to. Show each photograph to your toddler. Talk to your toddler if he/she knows or can recognise who’s that in the photograph.
• Encourage and talk to your toddler and motivate to recall the person in the photograph.
• Your toddler may or may not recognize but do not forget to appreciate their efforts.

• When at the park or the garden, encourage your toddler to hang by the bars. Here, if your toddler isn’t comfortable or is scared, then hold your toddler in your arms. Let your toddler hold the bars one after the other and gently loosen your hold and let your toddler hand by him/herself.
• Note not to leave your toddler unattended in this game.

• It’s time to take your toddler to a garden or playground which has play equipment such as ladders with steps, slides, swing and slides to climb on. Provide as many opportunities for your toddler to climb on these equipments in the outdoors. When, indoors motivate your toddler to climb onto chairs and sit comfortably on it.
• When doing the above, do not leave your toddler alone and always stand close to your toddler.

• Choose an open area / clutter free, to play this game with your toddler. Using a masking tape, make a big circle and a square on the floor. Now, motivate your toddler to first run on the circle and then over the square.
• Once your toddler is comfortable in doing the above, you now need to talk and explain to your toddler that when mummy claps her hands he/she has to stop running and stand. You will observe initially that your toddler finds it difficult to stop while running but with practice will master this skill!
• To add novelty to this game, instead of standing (after you have clapped your hands) you can guide your toddler jump with both feet!

• Toddlers now look forward to familiar adults, caretakers and parents to meet their needs, comfort them and even play with them.
• Always attend to your toddler’s needs and even talks or conversations without much delay as they have built a trust bonding with you. This trust builds lifelong positive socio-emotional relationships of your toddler.

• Toddlers are comfortable and relaxed in an environment where they feel secured and close to parents, caretakers or even familiar adults.
• During play time, sit near to your toddler and allow him/her to play with toys such as train sets, puzzles, blocks or stacking toys. You shall observe that your toddler enjoys playing and exploring the toys with ease and comfort.

• Sing simple songs and rhymes to your toddler. Such as –Jonny, Jonny yes papa, Twinkle, twinkle little star. As you sing simple songs at regular intervals to your toddler will soon attempt to hum or sing parts of the songs.

• Choose toys with a single basic colour such as yellow, green, blue, red, black and white. Place all these toys in front of your toddler. Say aloud each colour name and motivate your toddler to point to the same coloured toy.
• If your toddler has pointed at the wrong one, then you point at the correct one and once again say the colour name.
• Do not forget to clap and praise at your little one’s achievements.

• You can observe your toddler’s hand preference by asking him/her to hold a crayon, throw a ball, and pick up a book. Your toddler shall do the above by using his/her left or the right hand.
• The skills and development of every toddler is different from the other. So, if your toddler shows a hand preference then there may be toddlers who do not show a hand preference. It’s ok! That’s perfectly normal!

• Make a zigzag walking path on the floor (indoors) or the ground (outdoors) using a masking tape. At equal; distance on the zigzag path, place small toys of your toddler such as ball, blocks, squeaky to etc. Explain or if needed demonstrate how he/she has to walk on the masking tape. You walk along with your toddler holding a small toy basket. Let your toddler pickup the toys on the way and put them in the basket.
• Always keep taking to your toddler so as to keep your toddler’s focus and concentration in the game.

• Let your toddler stand facing you. Place a ball in front of him. Now, encourage your toddler to slowly kick the ball towards you. Guide your toddler to walk towards the direction of the rolled ball. Once, again kick the ball gently. So, alternate with kicking and then walking towards the ball.
• You can add novelty to this game by playing it in the outdoors or even in the garden!

• Let your toddler play with toys in company of other toddlers. You shall notice that your toddler initially observes and plays with toys. When your toddler is doing this, you may sit close to your toddler and initiate him/her to say ‘hi’ to the other toddler. Slowly, your toddler shall learn to initiate and communicate with his/her peers. This skill is essential for future social development.

• Your toddler now begins to enjoy the company of his/her peers.
• Visit places where your toddler has opportunities to communicate with other toddlers. Such as garden, toy libraries or you may even invite toddlers for a fun time at home.

• Always talk to your child using simple words such as happy, sad, play, hungry etc and give a listening ear when your toddler talks to you.
• This positive attention will motivate your toddler to express his/her thoughts, feeling and needs using the words he/she has been repeatedly hearing in day-to-day conversations.

• It’s time you introduce your toddler to listen to short stories. It need not be in English only but also in the language (any regional) your toddler is comfortable with. You need to narrate the story at a very slow pace along with voice modulation. This shall keep your toddler interested in this activity of listening to stories.

• The visual-spatial skills of your toddler help him/her recognise if objects are placed upside down. Place your toddler’s favourite books toys upside down in front of your toddler on a low table or on the floor. Ask your toddler if they are placed properly. Motivate your toddler to place it correctly. Appreciate and clap hands once your toddler has done the above.

• The developing fine motor skills of the small muscles now enables your toddler hold a page of a book with ease and flip over the page comfortably.
• First let your toddler turn pages of a hard cover story book as they shall not tear off easily. Once, your toddle has mastered this skill then let your toddler flip pages of a story book with thin pages. Even magazines are a good option!

• Prepare an obstacle using pillows, toddler’s blankets and place it around an open area or a clutter free floor. Let your toddler walk around the room with you and with or without your assistance walk on the uneven surfaces or obstacles.

• Toddlers love to copy and imitate actions of adults and they learn best through imitation.
• Motivate you toddler to copy and imitate all the actions done by you.
• Start with walking around, then running around. You may then take a rest and sit down on the floor. Once, relaxed can get up and once again do the activity.
• Make this activity a fun-filled experience by talking and having an eye contact with your toddler.

• Positive attention reinforces warmth, love and self-satisfaction and above all a feeling of being valued.
• Always smile at your toddler, make an eye contact, and express positive and caring facial expressions to convey that you are happy, sad or concerned about your toddler.
• Above all, always show interest in your toddler’s needs, demands, activities as well as achievements.

• Your toddler’s limited vocabulary at this age makes him/her use their facial expressions to communicate feelings such as hunger, sleepiness or anger.
• Always observe your toddler’s facial expression to have a better understanding of their feelings.

• Responding, talking and engaging your toddler everyday in a two way conversation is important for his/her language development as well as for building a secured relationship of trust and love.
• Your toddler is now comfortable enough to speak with his/her verbal capabilities to experiment by combining words to form short simple sentences. Your toddler is bound to make mistakes.
• Do not pressurize your toddler to speak correctly but it’s a better option to echo back correctly what he/she says incorrectly.

• Your toddler and be attentive in an activity for a few minutes without any distraction.
• To enhance your toddler’s attention span, you can sing and do along action rhymes with your toddler. Wherein, he/she has to listen to short and simple instructions, followed by the related actions.
• Action rhymes such as – Clap your hands or even Teddy bear, teddy bear!

• Your toddler now enjoys aiming and throwing objects around because of his/her developing eye-hand coordination skills as well as motor development.
• Toddler’s mini basket ball set, throwing medium sized balls into an empty toy bag placed at a distance from your toddler, the toy bag may be replaced with an empty carton box, are games that shall further enhance your toddler’s eye-hand coordination skills for future reading and writing skills.

• Toddlers learn best through imitation. When you do something along with your toddler, it keeps your toddler involved and attentive.
• It’s time to draw together. Take a drawing sheet and crayons. Demonstrate how to draw circle, triangle or even simple doodling. Your toddler will observe you doing it and shall try to imitate your actions.
• This activity enhances your toddler’s eye-hand coordination skills, visual-spatial skills as well as the fine motor skills.

• Now your toddler runs around and at times may need your help to avoid preventing falls while running.
• Choose an area anywhere where your toddler can run safely and can practice enhancing his /her gross motor skills.
• You and your toddler together can race around the chosen area. First begin with walking together and then running together.
• Your toddler shall soon begin to differentiate between ‘walking’ and ‘running’.

• The developing gross motor skills and eye-hand coordination skills of your toddler assists him/her to easily climb on low height chairs, table stand car seats.
• To begin with you can encourage your toddler to climb onto baby chair, sofas and when at the garden, he/she may climb onto the swing on even on a bench.
• Remember your toddler is yet learning this skill and do not have much confidence to do it. Do not leave your toddler alone or unattended while doing this activity.

• Sing as many as action songs and rhymes with your toddler.
• Play pretend play games with your toddler.
• Let your toddler sit comfortably on your lap facing you. Once in this position, talk to your toddler. Say – one, two, and three and thereafter softly and gently bump your head against your toddler’s. Repeat this for few times, until your toddler anticipates the action after the word three. Similarly you can bump your cheeks, chin, nose and hands together!

• Though toddlers may frequently be aggressive but their behaviour is not usually intentional.
• Try and figure out the reasonor what motivated your toddler’s destructive behaviour.
• Calm down your toddler by taking him in your arms or close to you and explaining him/her that such a behaviour is not acceptable.
• Never punish or scold your toddler.

• Choose pictorial books where there is a picture and its related word below or besides it. Browse the book along with your little one. Point at the picture and say aloud it related word. If your toddler has browsed the book in the past with you, then you may point at the picture and encourage your toddler to name the picture.
• Your toddler shall master this skill through repetition at regular intervals.

• Play music of different tempos. Join in with your toddler and do simple steps. When at it, make your toddler aware of the beats if possible. You may say ‘slow’and dance slowly, ‘fast’ and dance at a faster pace.

• Toddlers learn best through imitation. Their visual-spatial skills assist them to look at a particular action and then try to inact the same.
• Actions songs are the best way to motivate your toddler to look at your actions and mimic the same.

• It’s time to give the bowl and the spoon to your toddler to experience the pleasure and satisfaction of eating all by itself.
• Toddlers shall master this skill by spilling the food and dirtying themselves.
• So, with a little patient and your little one will soon learn to feed himself.

• It’s time to do some fun exercises with your little one. You and your toddler stand facing each other. Hold your toddler’s hand in yours and ask him to kick out his foot sideways and then front ways.
• Always hold your toddler’s hand firmly for support.

• Let your toddler climb up and down the stairs in your presence. Your toddler may even do the same by crawling on the stairs.
• Do leave your toddler alone in this activity.
• To add novelty, you may even place pillows on the floor and encourage your toddler to climb on it. Place it in this pattern – 1 pillow, 2 pillows, 1 pillow, 2 pillows and so on.

• Your toddler now enjoys the presence of peers around him/her. So, try and involve your toddler in an environment where there are toddlers. This way your toddler will first learn to play besides them and soon will learn to share toys with them.

• Your toddler has now begun to express his/her likes and dislikes. It’s absolutely normal! Give choices of clothing only a few occasions and respect your toddler’s choice. This will help in building self-esteem and independence skills of your toddler.

• Your toddler now begins to comprehend the meaning of the word ‘no’ and ‘yes’. You can nurture this by using the word ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in simple conversations with your toddler. For example – Yes, I know you want to drink water OR No; it’s time to put your toys away.
• Soon, your toddler shall use these simple words to communicate his/her likes or dislikes.

• Sing simple nursery rhymes to your toddler. Repeat the nursery rhymes at regular intervals. Soon you shall observe that your toddler hums the rhyme and may even communicate to you to sing the same, by singing a part of the rhyme. This is nurturing the language skills and intrapersonal intelligence of your toddler.

• Choose two colours of medium sized beads. Place them together in a bowl. Place two empty bowls in front of your toddler. Now, you pick up a bead. Say the colour of the bead and place it in an empty bowl. Motivate your toddler to pick the same coloured bead and put in the bowl.
• Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity as there are chances your toddler may put the beads in his/her mouth.

• Toddlers are now learning to be independent. But this independency may lead to frustration if adults do not intervene at the right moment.
• When dressing time, allow your toddler to dress by it self. At this moment choose clothing items that can be easily pull down by the toddler. This shall leave less room for frustration for your toddler and shall definitely foster positive self-help skills in your toddler.

• It’s time to exercise your toddler’s leg muscles for pedalling a tricycle. Let your toddler lie down on the floor. Sit close to your toddler. Hold your toddler’s ankles gently in your hands. Now, begin to cycle your toddler’s feet one after the other.
• You may even sing a song or hum a tune when doing this to keep your toddler interested and attentive. For example – This is the way we cycle our feet, cycle our feet, cycle our feet. This is the way we cycle our feet, to make them strong!

• Scatter colourful balls on the floor or in the outdoors. Ask your toddler to pick each ball and put it into the toy bag. To add novelty to this activity, you can hold the toy bag and move around with your toddler.

• Positive emotions enhance your toddler’s brain development. Your toddler will imitate you and would occasionally comfort and love you the way you do to him/her.
• Go close towards your toddler and you shall observe that he/she will lean towards you as if wants to be held in your arms.

• Always hold your toddler close to you when in a darken place or entering a darken room. Keep talking and assuring your toddler that you are very safe and close to mummy.

• Always communicate to your toddler by asking simple questions and encourage them to answer the same. Do not correct your toddler while he/she is answering, but after they have finished answering. For instance – Do you want this toy? Do want to drink water? Are you hungry?
• Your toddler may initially answer in a ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

• Make singing a part of your toddler’s routine. Sing simple nursery rhymes such as ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little stars’ and similar ones with your toddler. Repetition assists your toddler to listen to the words and tune of the rhymes. This develops your toddler’s listening and attention skills. After listening to the rhymes repeatedly, your toddler will soon hum or even repeat a few words of the rhyme.

• Your toddler now shows interest in manipulating objects using eye-hand coordination skills as well as their visual-spatial intelligence. Provide toys such as shapes sorter, stacking rings and medium sized colourful building blocks to your toddler to strengthen these skills. You may even name the shapes.

• The fine motor development of your toddler is at its peak. Your toddler enjoys exploring and engaging in activities using his/her hands.
• Your toddler now requires to be engaged in writing readiness activities such as unzipping the zipper, tearing thin paper as well as exploring child-friendly clay. When doing this activity, your toddler uses the pincer grip (uses the thumb and forefinger). This will prepare your toddler to hold crayons and then pencils.

• The gross motor development of your toddler enables him/her to now begin standing on tip toes and move around the place.
• Stand facing your toddler. Show your toddler his/her favourite toy. Ask him/ her if they want to play with the toy. Now, hold the toy just a little (toddler’s upward arm distance) above your toddler’s reach. Motivate your toddler to grasp it. To retrieve the toy your toddler will stretch his/her arms and stand on tip toe
• Applaud once your toddler retrieves the toy from you.

• Encourage your toddler to climb the stairs independently with the support of the railings. Make sure that you are stand just behind and close to your toddler. Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity.
• You can follow the same while climbing down the stairs, but make sure you are standing in front of your toddler (at least two steps below).
• When in a garden/park, you can motivate your toddler to climb the stairs of the slide with the support of the railings.

• Value your toddler’s social skills and set a good example by portraying and talking about the joy and happiness about sharing toys with peers.
• Always talk to your toddler about ‘sharing’ and whenever needed remind him/her about the talk.
• Plan and find opportunities where your toddler can share toys with peers.

• Your toddler expresses happiness, sleepiness and uneasiness through facial expressions or by communicating through consonant vowel sounds.
• Look out for different ways your toddler tries to communicate his/her needs using specific facial expressions or body gestures.
• Your keen observation shall avoid your toddler to use tantrums as a way of communication.

• Use of language especially simple words for day-to-day activities and actions with your toddler. For instance when your toddler is running say ‘Aman is running’. Similarly use words such as – walking, jumping, playing, eating etc. Soon, your toddler will make a sentence using a noun and a verb such as ‘Aman eating’.

• Your toddler can express his/her thoughts and emotions and answer simple questions, using simple words such as ‘yes or no’. Repeatedly use these words in day-to-day activities. Your toddler will very well comprehend the meaning of the words and will begin using it to express his/her likes or dislikes.

• You toddler’s developing visual-spatial skills enables your toddler to pick up objects and stack them together. Stacking rings, stacking cups, building blocks and bricks are some toys through which your toddler can master this skill.

• The fine motor development of your toddler enables him/her to open and close things easily. Toddlers now want to try and do things all by themselves. Motivate and encourage these independence and self-help skills of your toddler.
• Toddlers love to open and shut the doors. Allow them to do so. While they do this, caretakers and adults need to demonstrate and act as if their finger is stuck in the door, and it’s paining.

• It’s time you play catch-and-cook or just have a short running or trotting race in the outdoors with your toddler.

• A rocking horse or chair will enhance your toddler’s ability to propel itself backward and forward for a rocking motion.
• Make sure to be close to your toddler in this activity. Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity.

• Your toddler learns best through imitation. Always be a part of your toddler’s activities for initiating and demonstrating the correct method of doing any task.
• You pick up a tooth brush along with your toddler, when it’s time for your toddler to brush his/her teeth. When it’s bathing time, show your toddler how to scrub the body parts using a soft scrubber. When it’s dressing time, assist your toddler to wear pull on pants and t-shirts by themselves.

• Your toddler is now building the ability to imagine and pretend to be someone. Provide your toddler with a doctor set – you become the patient and let your toddler become the doctor, kitchen set – ask your toddler to prepare tea or hot milk for you, tool set – ask your toddler to mend a broken toy.

• Make it a ritual to name all the toys that your toddler plays with everyday.
• Introduce and at regular intervals browse books with a picture and its name below it. For instance – picture of a cat and below its written ‘cat’.
• To add novelty, you may point at your toddler’s favourite toys and motivate your toddler to recognize the same. Likewise, soon your toddler shall ask you for something by naming the toy or the object!

• Use words such as ‘hello’, ‘good bye’, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ with your toddler whenever required.
• When someone has entered a room, ask simple questions such as – What do we say to aunty? We say hello and then ask your toddler to say hello. Similarly, when someone leaves the room say good-bye. Your toddler may even wave his/her hand as a good-bye gesture.

• Your toddler is now initiating to be independent. The developing fine motor skills assist your toddler to learn self-help skills. Let your toddler put on simple clothes such as t-shirt and gradually you shall see your toddler will want to do it by himself!
• Always encourage and assist only if your toddler shows signs of help.

• Toddlers now want to try and do things all by themselves. Motivate and encourage these independence and self-help skills of your toddler.
• The fine motor development of your toddler enables him/her to hold and pull out things easily. Motivate and encourage your toddler to undress him/herself – it may be socks, shoes, sandals or pants.

• Involve your toddler in activities such as running, climbing, jumping and chasing which are now enjoyable for your toddler.

• Your toddler is now learning to balance, sit, walk as well as climb stairs. Encourage your toddler to explore the playground equipment with or without your support.
• Stand close to your toddler and do not leave your toddler unattended in this game.

• It’s difficult for your toddler to share his/her toys. When someone asks your toddler to give or share his/her toys, your toddler will definitely refuse to share due to attachment to it and may even hide the same. You need to talk to your toddler that it’s not that your toy will be taken. He /she shall share and play with you and give it back to you. Here, you need to demonstrate how to share a toy and how the toy will be returned after play time. Always make use to the words ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
• Your toddler will learn this is at its own pace. So, do not pressurize your toddler to share toys.

• Positive emotions enhance your toddler’s brain development. Your toddler will look for comfort and love from you and his/her caretakers.
• Always prepare your toddler when you want to leave him/her with a caregiver by talking to your toddler, taking and visiting the caregiver for few days before you actually plan to leave him/her with the caretaker. This will make your toddler familiar to the caretaker as well as to the new environment.

• Toddlers learn words when they hear them repeatedly over and over.
• Toddlers know that they have been given a specific name by which everyone around addresses him/her. You can ask your toddler – What’s your name?
• You can even show your toddler’s photograph and ask your toddler – Who’s this in here?

• Always remember to choose a set of jingles, rhymes or songs for your little one and sing to them repeatedly.
• When you are singing the above, you may pause in between and may ask your toddler to continue singing.
• With repeated practice your toddler will soon anticipate the next word or tune of the song or the jingle.

• Choose a book with simple pictures. Explore the book by pointing at each picture and naming the same. Once, your toddler has explored this book twice or thrice with you, it’s time you say aloud the name and motivate your toddler to identify the picture.

• The developing fine motor muscles now assist your toddler to hold objects firmly and can easily get engaged in drawing activities.
• Provide your toddler with a sturdy sized child-friendly crayons and a paper. Toddlers learn best through imitation. So, you too hold a crayon and demonstrate how to draw a vertical line (up to down). Wait for your toddler to imitate the same.

• The large muscles or the gross motor skills of your toddler assist him/her in doing actions as adults. Such as climbing out of bed, climb down a chair etc. Always encourage and motivate your toddler to do the above activities.
• Always be close to your toddler and do not leave your toddler all alone while doing the above.

• Its sometimes fun to climb a few stairs with your toddler. While your toddler is at it, demonstrate how to climb a step with both feet on a step.
• You and your toddler can climb up and down the stairs with 2 feet to a step!

• Toddlers can assist you as well as his/her peers with some everyday tasks, such as setting the table for dinner, folding clothes from the laundry basket, or putting away toys is also a task toddlers are capable of at this stage of development, sometimes with assistance from peers or adults. Always encourage your toddler to be a part of the above activities.

• Toddlers now begin to correctly use words such as scared, fun, funny, and feel bad (among others) to describe their feelings. They can also recollect their feelings from the previous experiences.
• Always talk about your feelings to your toddler – happy, sad, in pain, feeling hot or cold, and using simple and expressive language. Soon, your toddler will find pleasure in sharing and talking to you about his/her feelings.

• Your toddler now finds pleasure in communication with peers or with adults. Always give a listening hear to what your toddler is communicating to you, even if you fail to understand what he/she is talking. Question and talk only when your toddler pauses for a response/ a reply from you.

• It’s time you give simple instructions to your toddler. Remember only two at a time! For example – Come here and sit here. Stand up and run. Pick up the toys and put them into the toy bag.

• You and your toddler stand facing a mirror. Point at yourself and ask yourself – Who is this? Next, point at your toddler and ask him/her – Who is this? Motivate your toddler to name him/herself.
• Now, choose a few photographs with and without your toddler. Show each photograph to your toddler and motivate him/her to recognize him / herself in the photographs. Ask questions and motivate your toddler in this activity.

• The developing fine motor muscles now assist your toddler to hold objects firmly and can easily get engaged in drawing activities.
• It’s time to have some circle fun time with your toddler. Provide your toddler with a sturdy sized child-friendly crayons and a paper. Toddlers learn best through imitation. So, you too hold a crayon and demonstrate how to draw a circle. Wait for your toddler to imitate the same. Keep motivating your toddler to draw circles using different coloured crayon.
• Note, the circles drawn by your toddler may or may not depict a circle as drawn by you. But with practice your toddler shall soon master this skill.

• Your toddler loves jumping around and may even enjoy hopping around.
• Sing the rhyme – Five little monkeys jumping on the bed. Choose a bed where your toddler can jump easily. When it says….One fell down and broke his head….motivate your toddler to jump off the bed with or without your assistance. Do not leave your toddler alone in this activity.
• Now, take your toddler to a staircase area. Ask him/her to climb a stair. Let your toddler face you. If required, hold your toddler’s hands and motivate him/her to jump off a step.

• Your toddler is now mastering the skills of running, climbing and jumping.
• Choose a clutter free area for your toddler to jump and run about confidently. Using a masking tape, draw a zigzag path. Demonstrate how to jump and run on the zigzag path. Encourage your toddler to do the same.
• Motivate your toddler to climb the stairs and low chairs independently. Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity.

• Toddlers now enjoy being engaged in one-to-one play with parents, familiar adults or caretakers. Play is an essential part of learning for toddlers. Reading a book, playing peek-a-boo, hide-n-seek or simple action songs are a few play activities where your toddler is involved with you on a one-to-one basis.

• Your toddler is now developing his/her self-help skills. Always encourage your toddler to do simple tasks by themselves, such as – putting on a t-shirt, pull along pants, slip on footwear, toys back into the toy bag etc. Initially they may face failure, but through the trail and error method, your toddler shall soon master the skills.
• Do not forget to praise and encouragement on the smallest efforts and initiation of your toddler in this activity.

• It’s time you, familiar adults and caretakers address your toddler using his/her first and the last name. Toddler shall soon imitate what he/she hears and will attempt to say the same. Occasionally, you may ask your toddler – What is your name? Always motivate your toddler to say his/her first name along with the last name.

• Your toddler is quite aware of different body parts through songs and rhymes sung in the previous months. It’s time you specifically point at each body part (at least 6) regularly and name them. As your toddler repeatedly listens to the same, he/she shall soon be able to identify and name the body parts.

• Your toddler can now easily identify and distinguish a girl or a boy in a picture. Select simple pictures of a girl and a boy. Point at each and say –girl’ or ‘boy’. Once, your toddler is well versed with the above, you can now point at your toddler and ask – (toddler’s name) is a boy/girl.
• Furthermore, when your toddler is with his/her peers, you can continue with this activity, by pointing at each toddler and saying and then asking whether a boy or a girl.

• Stacking cups, stacking rings are toys that will enhance your toddler’s stacking skills. Once, your toddler is comfortable in the stacking activity, you can mix up the stacking cups and rings together. Motivate your toddler to pick up the cups and stack together and then the rings and stack them together.

• Stand facing your toddler and it’s time to do on the spot marching. Encourage your toddler to lift each leg one after the other and march on the spot.
• Make an obstacle in the 2-3-2-3-2 pattern. Encourage your toddler to climb up and down the pillows. Stand close to your toddler and do not leave your toddler unattended. Your toddler will do this activity by climbing up and down the obstacles with alternating feet. Soon, your toddler will climb up the stairs with alternating feet. Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity.

• You and your toddler lay down side-by-side. Lift up your legs and demonstrate how to cycle the feet (as if pedalling a cycle). Motivate your toddler to do the same – one leg after the other. You may even do the same by sitting on a chair. Soon, your toddler will be comfortable in cycling his/her feet. On a tricycle, your toddler shall now find it easy to pedal by often alternating between propelling a trike with his/her feet and using the pedals. Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity.

• Toddler can understand the rules set by you such as washing hands before meal time or putting all toys back into the toy bag after play time. If your toddler doesn’t follow the instructions given before, always motivate to recollect the same from the past experiences. If your toddler fails to do so, it’s time you once again say the instruction and motivate your toddler to do the same.

• Your toddler now begins to learn the art of sharing, but wants something in return. So, if you are asking your toddler to hand you or a peer a toy that he/she has been playing with, then you need to substitute and draw your toddler’s attention and interest to another toy.

• It’s time you introduce, guide and motivate your toddler to the concept of ‘myself’. Ask simple questions and encourage your toddler to answer using simple and short sentences. Such as –
  1. What is your name? – My name is Rahil. Do appreciate if your toddler says just ‘Rahil’. After he has said this, you repeat by saying – Your name is Rahil. This shall encourage your toddler to listen and frame simple sentences.
  2. How old are you? – I’m two or I’m two years old.
  3. Who is he? – Daddy / papa / dada
  4. Who is she? – Mumma / ma / dadi

• The listening and attention skills of your toddler now assist him/her to comprehend simple instructions and follow the same. So, whenever possible ask your toddler to hand you one spoon, one toy, one book. Start with one denomination. After your toddler masters this skill, you may go one step ahead and ask for two toys etc.

• Take your toddler to the outdoors. It’s time to play hide-n-seek with your little one.

• The visual-spatial skills and the developing gross motor skills of your toddler helps him/her to coordinate at looking at something and thereafter walking towards it and picking it up. Scatter colourful balls all around the room. You sit in a corner of the room with the toy bog. Encourage your toddler walk around, pick up each ball and again walk towards you and put the ball into the toy bag.

• The back muscles and the gross motor development of your toddler now enables him/her to sit comfortably without much assistance. Encourage your toddler to sit on a chair in a correct posture. Similarly and gradually let your toddler sit on the toilet seat too.

• Your toddler is almost ready to you and his/her peers with some everyday tasks, such as putting away toys, setting the table for dinner, wearing pull-on clothes is also a task toddlers are capable of at this stage of development, sometimes with assistance from peers or adults.
• Always let toddler be a part of your daily tasks and do not forget to praise yoru toddler’s efforts in helping you in your daily tasks.

• Always have a one-to-one communication when you begin noticing that your toddler is cling to a particular object for security. Sitting or kneeling down next to your toddler is a very powerful channel for communicating positively with him/her. This allows you to tune in to what your toddler might be feeling or thinking. It also helps them focus on what you are saying or asking for.
• Talk about and name the feelings along with your toddler –Are you happy? Are you sad? Are you scared?

• It’s time for your toddler to identify and say simple prepositions such as – on, in, over.
• To begin with, place all the toys in the toy bag. Talk to your toddler and ask –Where are all the toys? Wait for your toddler to respond. Then say – The toys are in the bag. Next, remove all the toys from the toy bag. Ask your toddler – Where are all the toys? Wait for your toddler to respond. Then say – The toys are out of the bag. Likewise, introduce the concept of ‘over’ and ‘under’.

• It’s time you give simple instructions to your toddler, as your toddler’s auditory skills and attention skills are developing at a rapid pace. For example –Pick up the two toys. Put them into the toy bag. Come and sit here.

• Toddlers can now easily distinguish between big and small, tall and short using their visual-spatial intelligence. Choose balls that are big and small in size. First show your toddler a big ball and say ‘big’ ball. Thereafter, show a small ball and say ‘small’ ball. Next, let your toddler point at a big ball and a small ball.
• Build two towers with blocks – one tall and the other short. First show your toddler a tall tower and say ‘tall’ tower. Thereafter, show a short tower and say ‘short’ tower. Next, let your toddler point at a tall tower and a short tower.

• Give your toddler – building blocks, boxes, and bricks as he/she attempts to stack them, until the stack falls.

• Encourage your toddler to ride a tricycle. Peddling is much easier now, and the toddler often alternates between propelling a trike with his feet and using the pedals.
• Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity.

• Place 4 to 5 hula loops in a circle. Motivate and encourage your toddler to hop from one loop to the other.

• Toddlers can now correctly use words such as scared, fun, funny, and feel bad (among others) to describe their feelings. They can also remember and refer back to times when they felt mad or sad. Always respect your toddler’s feelings and comfort your toddler when needed.

• Nightmares are common at this age. Your toddler is likely to experience nightmares when he/she is anxious about something or something that might be worrying him/her. Quiet time, just before bed time helps in overcoming nightmares. No television watching just before sleep time. Include bed time stories that talk about positive dreams and sleeping.
• When your toddler cries in the night, quickly take your toddler close to you and talk about his/her dream. Talk to your toddler that he/she is safe and close to mummy. Stay close to your toddler till he/she is calm and falls asleep peacefully.

• Read short stories to your toddler. Point at the negative elements or words in the story. Make these negative elements a part of your daily conversation with your toddler, whenever possible. The more your toddler listens to different words of speech; he/she will be increasing their vocabulary bank and shall be prompted to use the same.

• Simple picture books repeatedly, enhance your toddler’s listening as well as attention skills. Choose 1 or 2 picture books. Point at the picture and name the same. Then ask your toddler – What is this? Encourage your toddler to name the picture.

• Toddlers can now easily understand – where an object is in the environment using their visual-spatial intelligence. Choose your toddler’s favourite toys. Keep a toy on a table. Say – The jigsaw puzzle is on the table. Ask the toddler – Where is the puzzle? Give a few seconds to your toddler to answer the same. Then say –It is on the table. Now, place the same under the table. Ask the toddler – Where is the puzzle? Give a few seconds to your toddler to answer the same. Then say –It is under the table.
• Likewise, introduce the concept of out of, together, near and away from.

• Take a drawing sheet, markers and crayons. Let your toddler explore these materials all by itself! Yes, he/she may end up messing themselves. But that’s the way of learning!

• Encourage your toddler to walk on his/her toes. If needed then do demonstrate the same. Now, hold your toddler’s favourite toy a little above your toddler’s reach. Motivate your toddler to grasp it from your hands. For this, he/she has to stand on their toes.
• Once, your toddler is comfortable doing the above, you may put on some music and walk around tiptoes in a fun way.

• Encourage your toddler to walk up stairs. When he/she is doing so demonstrate and encourage your toddler to climb up by alternating their feet. If need, support your toddler by holding his/her hand. Do not leave your toddler unattended on the staircase.

• Toddlers look at parents and caretakers as their role models. Toddlers learn best through imitation. While, having a conversation during play time, bath time or even while reading books or just having a one-to-one conversation with your toddler, always use words – please, thank you and sorry. Motivate your toddler to say the same whenever needed.

• Toddlers are now aware of what they should and shouldn’t do. Always make rules that are simple and easily remembered by your toddler. Your toddler looks at you for approval as he/she is emotionally attached to you. Always give your approval using simple sentences. Such as – yes, you can. No, you can’t do it.

• Your toddler has a natural curiosity to know about things that interests him/her. Always answer to the questions your toddler asks you. The question may sound funny to you, but it’s your toddler’s curiosity that needs to be answered positively. This will sharpen your toddler’s observation and language skills.

• The listening and attention skills of your toddler now help your toddler to listen carefully and follow simple 2 to 3 instructions together at a time. Always give 2 to 3 instructions to your toddler. For instance – Pick up the ball. Pick up the bunch of keys. Now, come and give it to mummy. Initially your toddler may find it difficult, but if you make it a routine, then your toddler shall soon master this skill.

• The visual-spatial skills of your toddler help him/her to look at something and attempt to copy the same. Take a drawing sheet and draw a circle. Provide your toddler child-friendly crayons and motivate your toddler to copy the same. You may add novelty in drawing circles by drawing grapes or even a snow man!

• Your toddler can now hold a given object firmly using his/her fingers. This assists your toddler to now learn a few self-help skills. Provide your toddler with child-friendly butter knife. Encourage your toddler to apply butter on bread using the knife. Appreciate your toddler’s efforts.

• Your toddler has strengthened his/her thigh muscles since the last few months. You can do some stretching exercises and include standing a each foot with your support or the support of a child friendly furniture.

• Climb a few stairs with your toddler. While your toddler is at it, demonstrate how to climb a step with both feet on a step. You and your toddler can climb up and down the stairs with 2 feet to a step!

• Choose a bed with a firm mattress or spread out a yoga mat on a clean surface. Demonstrate your toddler how to tumble. Encourage your toddler to do the same. Initially your toddler may resist or feel scared. Assist your toddler gently and slowly to do the same.

• Your toddler is now experiencing different emotions, when he/she wants something or is with peers. It’s time to name these emotions/feelings. Encourage your toddler to link the emotion/feeling to a situation or a thing. For instance, “You are angry because he took away your toy?” or “You do not wish to share your toys with him?”
• The above shall definitely motivate your toddler to resolve situations more efficiently.

• Your toddler is now experiencing different emotions, when he/she wants something or is with peers. It’s time to name these emotions/feelings. Encourage your toddler to link the emotion/feeling to a situation or a thing. For instance, “You are angry because he took away your toy?” or “You do not wish to share your toys with him?”
• The above shall definitely motivate your toddler to resolve situations more efficiently.

• Toddlers like songs that are repetitious, rhyming, and silly. So, sing along with your toddler the nursery rhymes that keeps your toddler interested and actively involved in the activity.
• The more your toddler listens to the nursery rhymes; your toddler will listen and memorize the same unknowingly.

• Toddlers in this age group can distinguish between one and many using their visual-spatial skills. To check this skill, place one crayon on the table. Nearby, place box of crayons. Ask your toddler to point to one crayon. Repeat the question asking your toddler to point to many crayons. Toddlers who respond correctly have learned the difference between one and many. If they answer incorrectly, then with practice they shall master this concept of one and many.

• Most toddlers prefer to use either their right or their left hand by this time. Occasionally they switch hands when colouring or moving an object, but in general, they prefer a particular hand for most tasks.
• So, do not insist that your toddler should use a particular hand only. Give your toddler the freedom to use the hand he/she is comfortable with.

• The gross motor development of your toddler enables him/her to balance and be involved in different developmentally appropriate gross motor activities.
• Involve your toddler in activities such as running, climbing, jumping and chasing which are now enjoyable for your toddler.

• Encourage your toddler to jump from a table/chair independently with the support of the railings. Make sure that you are stand in front of or close to your toddler. Do not leave your toddler unattended in this activity.