As your toddler enters the 22nd month, you will see her being able to overcome many physical obstacles with greater ease. Here are some of the 22 month old baby development milestones you should expect in your toddler.
In this article:
- Physical Development Milestones
- Cognitive Development Milestones
- Social & Emotional Development Milestones
- Language & Communication Milestones
- What You Can Do As Parents?
- 22 Month Old Toddler Behaviour
- Baby Care for Your 22 Month Old
Physical Development Milestones
- Will have great urge to run and runs well on flat surfaces without bumping into something, tripping or falling.
- Can eat from a spoon or baby fork and drink liquids from a cup with little or no spill.
- Can kick a large ball by walking into it or even standing.
- Can walk down the stairs if she is held by her hand. She may also support herself holding on to the rails.
- Will be able to walk at least 2 or 3 steps up or down the stairs on her own.
- Displays lots of enthusiasm trying to jump. At this stage however, she won’t be able to lift both her feet off the ground. But that won’t discourage her from trying.
- Can use her fingers and wrists effectively to turn door knobs, wind keys of wind-up toys or to close or open lids of jars and caps of bottles.
- Can turn pages of even large books by herself (more than one page sometimes).
Cognitive Development Milestones
- Without being shown how, she will be able to scribble with a crayon or a pen.
- If shown how, she can line up 2 or 3 toys side by side.
- If she wants to solve something, you will find her engrossed in it so much, that she seldom gets diverted.
- Can stack 3 to 5 blocks on top of one another.
- Is getting better at her observational skills.
- Even if given a pen or crayon upside down, she will turn the right side up to use them.
- May pretend-play using regular items like up a cup by holding it on to her ear like a telephone or a remote control device like a mobile phone.
- Will copy and try drawing a line or circle the way you do.
Social & Emotional Development Milestones
- Your child will develop specific personality traits and expresses her emotions in her own way.
- Copies your activities like combing hair, wearing a shoe, wiping spills, wearing a hat, clearing and cleaning the dining table, drying clothes, etc.
- Often joins you to carry out household chores specifically with the intention to help you, like putting away meal dishes, sweeping or mopping the floor, gardening, etc.
- Will be fine being engaged in some activity in the presence of a caregiver, even when you are not there for 30 or 45 minutes. This is another sign that she growing to become more independent and is therefore experiencing (relatively) reduced separation anxiety.
Language & Communication Milestones
- Can say 10 to 15 words other than “mama” and “dada”, and can understand 6 to 8 times more words than she can speak.
- Will speak simple words and short, broken sentences. She can also understand small requests or instructions made by you like “bring me the ball”, “get your book” or “hold my hand”, etc.
- When asked, will be able to name of many objects and animals in a book.
- Can point out at least 5 to 8 names of parts on the body correctly.
- Will say 2 or 3 words together to communicate her ideas or thoughts, like “my cup”, “there dog”, “I go out”, “cat gone”, etc.
What You Can Do As Parents?
- Every time your child points at some object or holds something, tell her what it is by referring to its name. This is an effective way to enable her recognise things better and recall their names faster.
- Once in a while, set up objects and furniture in the room in such a way that she has to navigate around to reach where she wants to.
- Facilitate your little one to articulate her needs and wants in words. Even if you understand what she’s trying to convey, once in a while, act like you couldn’t understand her. This way, she’ll be encouraged to take efforts to choose her words carefully, talk clearly and express herself fully.
- An effective way to encourage her to never hesitate expressing herself, is by just acknowledging what she is saying, even if you can’t grant her request. For instance, you could say, “I know you want to go out, but we can’t go out now, because it is nap time. But we will surely go later after the nap. Okay?” This way, you make her know that you not only understood what she wants, you also want to give her a clear reply that she deserves.
- Make her hold things upside down often and check if she is holding it the right side up. This is a small but a subtle way to enhance her observation skills and build her patience and perseverance.
- Since she will be going to pre-school sometime soon, introduce her to caregivers, starting with someone in the close family. Make her get used to being with them for 30 to 45 minutes and gradually increase the duration over time.
- It is time you introduce her to potty training.
22 Month Old Toddler Behaviour
Now-and-then, your child’s tantrums may emerging right from nowhere. Temper tantrums are normal for toddlers her age and you are therefore expected not to get too anxious about it. No matter how she acts, you should always take conscious efforts to keep your calm and demonstrate patience.
Losing patience and getting angry will only result in you getting aggressive with her, which will further aggravate the situation. Instead, try communicating with her assertively. Over time, in most if not all situations, your assertive behaviour will encourage her respond positively instead of reacting impulsively.
Try looking at discipline not from the point of making her do what you want her to do, but rather from the point of teaching and making her understand and learn what acceptable behaviour is.
For instance, if it’s time for her to go to bed but she wants to go out and play, instead of saying “No you cannot. This is not the time to play“, you may choose to say “Come let us first read a nice book together and go to bed. I will take you out tomorrow and play together. Okay?“
If you take a moment and observe closely, in both cases, what you want to communicate is the same (that she can’t go out as it is bed time). But the difference lies in the choice of words and the manner in which it is communicated. How you say, therefore, is more important than what you say.
Baby Care for Your 22 Month Old
- Put your child to bed on time and wake her up at the same time. When done consistently, this seemingly simple routine has the potential to make her adopt a key habit and discipline – for life.
- Keep her away from junk food of any kind, as this may not only lead to health issues in the short run but also become a highly harmful habit in the long run.
- Converse with your little one regularly while playing and having fun with her. This will help her bond with you grow deeper.
- Take your toddler to the park, beach or any nearby garden. Children love open spaces for many reasons, one of which is that they can run freely and indulge in some good physical activity. In fact, nothing opens a child’s mind than the expanse of lush green spaces that are open to sky.
- It is expected that by now you must’ve child-proofed your home thoroughly by padding sharp corners of furniture, shelves, cabinets, etc. and shielding all the power points.
Since her observational skills are getting better, if there is one thing all parents should know and remember at this stage of their toddler’s life, it is this: Children learn what they see. When parents demonstrate good behaviour, it becomes easy for children to observe them, learn from them and grow into a well behaved adult.
Note: Each baby is different and therefore tends to grow at a different pace. Chances are that your little one may have crossed certain milestones already, or is probably a little behind on a few others, which is normal. If you still feel there is something of concern, do speak to your paediatrician/registered professional child healthcare provider.