Your baby, 18 months 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 and older

Your child loves to help you around the house. He sees you sweeping, mopping, vacuuming and folding laundry and wants to do the same. Although his `help` may not always actually be helpful, try to find ways that he can help. This will teach him how to be an active member of the family and also give him a sense of accomplishment. When you are washing dishes, give your child a dampened washcloth (no cleaner) and allow him to wipe down the table or the cabinets. Buy your child a set of child-sized household tools-a broom, mop and a vacuum. He will learn how to do these things correctly by watching you. Don't scold him if he makes mistakes or does not do things that same way you do. Praise him for a job well done and continue to show him how to do things properly.

Your child is interested in playing games with you right now. Play should always be a fun form of learning. When she gets tired of playing, stop. If you turn games into work or contests that she never wins, she will become discouraged and will not want to play anymore. Do not be surprised if your child gets very upset when things do not go the way she wanted them to.

Even though it should not be expected yet, begin to lay the foundation for sharing. Children have a very hard time understanding the concept of sharing and are very good with saying, `Mine, mine!` It is perfectly okay to tell your child what is his, yours, daddy's, doggy's and so forth. However, whenever you can teach about sharing, do so. For example, when you cut a slice of cheese, tell your child that this was your cheese but that you would like to share with her. Then, hand her a piece of your cheese. If you have other children in the house or if your child is frequently exposed to other children, sharing may be an easier to task to learn. Because your child's appetites vary from day to day, it is unfair to expect your child to eat everything on their plate all of the time. Your child knows how hungry he is, let him stop when he is full. It is not wise to bribe your child with food or sweets to get good behavior. Parents and caregivers should never punish their child for eating too little or too much. Doing so may cause him to feel ashamed of his appetite and he may begin to feel guilty about eating all together. If you notice that there is always food left on his plate, you are probably giving him too much. If your child asks for more of a certain food, give it to him. If none is left, simply tell him that it is gone and offer him what is left.

As always, remember to show your growing toddler that she is important to you. Dailly hugs, kisses and words of praise will let her know that she is special. Make your child feel proud when he accomplishes a new skill. You have the power to develop who your child becomes. Many families think that their toddler knows how much they love her. This should not be the case. Always take the time to express and vocalize your love for your child.

Developmental Milestones - 18 Months Old

Physical

• Runs
• Climbs stairs
• May jump
• Creeps backwards downstairs
• Uses one hand more than the other
• Grabs anything he can reach

Intellectual

• Can say about ten words
• Can name some common objects
• Tries to sing and likes to be sung to
• Remembers where things belong
• Can turn pages in a book
• Can build a tower of 3-4 blocks
• May be able to string large colored beads

Emotional

• Likes to show off for attention
• Is afraid of thunder, lightning, animals, etc..
• Has temper tantrums
• Likes to cuddle when tired

Age Appropriate Toys

• Large beads for stringing
• Push toys
• Ride on toys
• Climbing structures
• Balls
• Books
• Musical instruments
• Dolls
• Pretend play items
• Trucks and cars
• Building items
• Bubbles

Comments:

Comments 76-100 of about 2277 for month 18
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mommy-k - Thursday, 22 Oct
Hi Ladies, I have a favor. I'm doing a big project for school on the difficulties of women balancing work, marriage and children. Since you ladies always have such valuable info, it would be so helpful to me if you could message some of your thoughts about this to my page. Some of the things I'm looking for are: What kinds of things do you sacrifice of yourself? What do you think your family sacrifices? What is the most difficult part? What types of resources would be helpful to you to make life easier? Or anything else you think would be good for me to know and research more. I won't have internet again til Monday, so please message my page so I dont' miss it. Thank you in advance for your help!

lili-d - Thursday, 22 Oct
ladies i need help! My daughter is driving me crazy! She climbs out of her crib now and i dont know what to do! I used to be able to lay her down, turn off the light and walk out, but now she screams her head off and climbs out looking for me. I now have to stay in the room with her for up to 3 hours till she falls asleep! Im exhausted!!! Im thinking of buying the crib tent (anyone using one?) but they are so pricey! She just started doing this when hubby came home on leave for 4 days. Once he left again she thinks im going to leave too. :( help!

coliflower - Thursday, 22 Oct
Hope everything goes well March! We didn't get chicken pox vaccine and may or may not later on... Love the clippies too karina very creative! Also thinking of nursing with Ediwn around it will be interesting for sure. I am going to have my Mom and MIL there for the first two weeks but after that I am on my own. Hopefully we can get something worked out schedule wise in two weeks...Is that even possible? GOD.

March - Thursday, 22 Oct
I just set my induction day! November 10, so two days before my due date. Now that it's actually set and it's less than 3 weeks away, that sounds really close - I hope we're ready!

MamaLuvnJah - Thursday, 22 Oct
collsbaby - I too am skeptical about the H1N1 vaccine. My son's Pediatrician said all the flu cases that have come in the office have mild symptoms. Non have been hospitalized. They only do a test for influenza type A and if it's positive they treat it as swine flu. My son's 4yr old friend had a fever of 102.6 and they said he had H1N1. His doctor won't do a H1N1 test because it's only 60% accurate and it's painful swab they stick in the nostril. His 2 cousins had it age 5 and 7 and they recovered just fine. More people die of the reg. flu every year. Now they broadcast the H1N1 deaths on TV. But they don't really know which cases were actually just reg. flu. Cause they aren't testing for the swine flu. Just influenza type A. Sounds like they want to scare us into getting vaccinated for some experimental super flu vaccine they want to test out.

Jo-Mama - Thursday, 22 Oct
Avo - I nursed Violet on demand and Malone was only 12 months old. I managed. I had my husband home for 2 months though - I don't know how I would have gotten through if he'd gone back earlier. Even now, Malone knows that when Violet is eating it's no-play time with Mommy. She sits right near us and plays with her babies or balls or something else. It only takes so long for them to realize that you won't be putting that baby down just to play.
The liability of H1N1 bugs me: in some states and provinces, the drug company isn't liable if anything goes wrong. The government will be the one making pay outs if someone suffers as a result of the vaccine. That just doesn't sit right with me.
The reason my nephew got shingles at all is because he had the chicken pox vaccine. You can't get shingles unless you've had chicken pox, and he's had the vaccine, but not the actual illness. I have been doing some research and apparently there has been a shingles epidemic ever since the chicken pox vaccine came out.

Avocat29 - Thursday, 22 Oct
Ladies, not too much time but wanted to ask Blue how everything is going w/ baby Simone...are you nursing? I am still freaked at the prospect of nursing on demand and interacting with Noelle. ------------------ On the H1N1, we're not getting it. I know it's just another flu vaccine and that it's not a live vaccine but it has not been around long enough and some of the moms on my 30 weeks page have reported that their own OBGYNs would not get it themselves if THEY were pregnant. Also, and I don't know if I'm being a paranoid lawyer here, but I don't know how much of what docs say is led by liability and by what they are required to say...so the mass docs saying that you should get it, well, how many of them would get it? And I know I'm at higher risk b/c I'm pregnant but I still don't want to get it. I have never gotten the flu vaccine either. I also think part of this is media media media...remember SARS? Remember bird flu? Why are they not talking about the fact that the flu kills waaay more people a year than the H1N1...why are those deaths not featured on TV? I know that this strain is esp. worrysome b/c perfectly healthy people are getting sick but I still think that with really good prevention we'll be ok. Noelle is not getting it and neither is DH.

ladobruk - Thursday, 22 Oct
Wow, Jo-MAMA, I also thought Shingles was an adult disease from exposure to the chicken pox. :( that is one of the reasons I got it for Shayla. We have a friend who had Shingles and it is awful for him, it lasted so long and he has scars from it. I can only imagine how awful it must be for a lil 6 yr old. Sigh; guess we can’t safeguard them 100%. I feel bad for your nephew.

Beautiful work KARINA!

DSDAY, maybe politely point that out to hubby – if he would just get on board with a routine and regular nap time, he could get in a nap himself! Hopefully he will get on board soon. Yes, you are right most men are big babies.

Update: I hid all Shayla’s Sesame Street/Elmo DVD’s and after about 3 days she gave up on them. Thank God! She doesn’t whine constantly for the TV which is great. I still let her watch them but 1 or 2 a day and she seems to have adjusted.

COLLSBABY, we are not getting H1N1.

luvmyaiden - Thursday, 22 Oct
collsbaby- I'm not getting the H1N1 vaccine for myself or my son. It hasn't been tested enough, espeially in Ontario where we are slow to start and quick to finish the vaccine. I don't know how they possibly have had any time to test the side effects. I never get the flu shot though so that's just my opinion.

heather07 - Thursday, 22 Oct
Hello everyone! Brian slept through the night---sort of. He woke up twice, but only for about 1 min each, I didn't even have to get out of bed. I am so happy because we all needed a good night's sleep. Those clippies are so cute! I wish I had a girl to buy them for! Not that I wish my son was a girl, I love having a boy, but I would LOVE one of each. Maybe in another year or so. Can't afford to have two in daycare, but maybe after Brian is headed to school. :-)

Jo-Mama - Thursday, 22 Oct
Karina - I love the clippies! They are so cute and you are so creative. I'm really impressed. Blue - my nephew is in town (he's 6) and he's had all of his shots (including the chicken pox one) and the poor kid got shingles! Isn't that crazy? The doctors he saw have never seen a boy so young with shingles. I thought the chicken pox vaccine was supposed to prevent shingles. My doctor said that when I was thinking of not getting it. Anyway, Malone did get the shot. But now I question its strength. My nephew is in so much pain. And he is really sad that he has to keep his distance from Violet, who is too young for that vaccine. He keeps saying, 'Is this too close? Can I just touch her foot? Am I allowed to talk to her?'. It's heartbreaking.

leahsmom - Thursday, 22 Oct
Karina! Those clips are BY FAR the cutest I have seen- and I have shopped around! Your prices are very fair, too. Good Luck with your business and I'd love to know when the website is up.

dsday19 - Thursday, 22 Oct
I stayed home yesterday from work so Riley got a decent normal nap. He slept for 2 1/2 hours in his crib, and guess who sleep through the night. He did. It was awesome. He even has a cold right now and cant breath through his nose but he still sleep through the night. I would love for my DH to get up with him, but this has been a problem since Riley's birth. We each have a sleep in day on the weekend so I get atleast one day of rest, lol. If my DH gets up with him he will complain the whole next day about being tired. I can't speak for all men, but most I know are harder to care for then toddlers when they are sick and/or tired. Sorry sound so negative, tough week.

TraciW - Thursday, 22 Oct
blue, such a cute story about your girls. I'm really impressed with what Claire says. Matthew is still not talking that good yet. He picks up lots of new words but doesn't put them together yet.

Karina - Thursday, 22 Oct
I'm going to post the slideshow because for some reason is taking forever to post the link, Laura: I'm NOT TRYING TO SELL anything, lol, I just wanted to share my work with you girls and this is the slideshow I send to my contacts while my webpage is beeing built, I hope you like them!

Sorry if the pics are so small I had to compress them because they were like 4MB ea.

collsbaby - Wednesday, 21 Oct
Hey Ladies, quick question. What are your thoughts on the H1N1? My brother works in an ER and he said that a lot of the docs are really skeptical about it since it's so new and came out so fast. But he is required to get it to work there. He's not thrilled about having to have it. My hosp is out of it, but I don't think I'm going to give it after all. Maybe just the regular flu shot. She's not in daycare and we're not around a lot of kids everyday. What are you guys going to do?

thirdbaby - Wednesday, 21 Oct
Has anyone ever heard of buried or concealed penis?

piesmum - Wednesday, 21 Oct
bluebeanz -that is sooo cute about your lo's! Pie is like that to her baby sister, she gives her kisses which are face presses and brings her stuff. They sit next to each other in the car and Pie likes to steal the blanket off her or grab her hat. I can't get number two to sleep well at all at night yet so needless to say I'm pretty tired. Thankfully the girls are both having afternoon naps around the same time so I get some shut eye then. Pie goes in on Monday for her check up and shots. She loves going out to the shops and whenever she sees other kids she points at them and she smiles and says hi all these strangers. Funny girl.

*-*lynnepie*-* - Wednesday, 21 Oct
So tonight we were over at our friend's house and Brinn just hopped onto their daughter's Power Wheels Barbie quad and just started to ride off. She was laughing and having such a good time. I was in shock that she knew how to operate and ride on one of those. It was so funny and a little scary to watch her. Guess we know what Santa is bringing her for Christmas this year.

bluebeanz - Wednesday, 21 Oct
I took Claire & Simone to the dr's today. Claire was supposed to get her 15 mth needles because we missed them. She was supposed to get the chickenpox one and the 4th needle of the diptheria, etc. I learned that the 4th needle is optional and our province only does it for kids who are sick and at greater risk. So we opted out of the 4th one. I also opted out of getting her the chickenpox vaccine. There is another window to get it when she is 4-6 yrs. old so if she hasn't gotten them naturally by then, I might consider getting it for her then. So she did end up getting her 18 mth needles so she is back on track. She freaked when the nurse gave them to her. I had to hold her so tight. Poor babes. It took her about 5-10 min. to calm down. Let me just say taking them both to the dr's was a lot of work! lol. I had a friend to help me but Claire is at the age where she only wants me. She cries if strangers look at her and wails if they talk to her. Poor unsuspecting man in the elevator! lol. She seemed ok. after we got home. She got a bit crabbier in the evening but I think she was just tired as I had to put her for an earlier nap due to the appointment. I hope she doesn't get a fever and she sleeps tonight. She's finally started sleeping through again with the adjustment to the hip braces. And she isn't crying every time we put them on. Thank goodness kids are adaptable!

On a different note, I just have to tell you how cute she is with Simone now. She always wants to kiss her and says 'kiss, kiss' all day long. lol. She put teeth marks in her one day because she still goes in with the open mouth kisses. I felt so bad for Simone. She started wailing! I felt bad for Claire too, she didn't realize that she was doing it. She just wanted to give her some love. She adores Simone and always wants to bring her blankets, her soother etc. When Simone lets out a squawk or a cry, Claire will copy her. It's too funny. The other day I heard her saying to Simone when she was crying, 'I know, I know. It's okay. It's okay.' I realized that I say that all of the time! lol. Now she says it every time. It's so sweet. This morning she was rocking her baby cradle with her baby in it and she said, 'Waaaaaah, baby sad. Baby crying.' It was so stinking cute! And I love that she calls her little sister 'Amone' or 'Mamone'. She is 1 mth old and she already has a nickname!:D

Jo-Mama - Wednesday, 21 Oct
Hey all - it's been crazy around my place: my in-laws are in town and my SIL is getting married on Saturday. So it's been tough to get any surfing time at all. But I managed to read through everything today (it took me about 6 visits to the computer) and I feel all caught up now.
Malone is super attached to her soother now. She asks to go to her room all the time now because her soother is up there. But she seems good at leaving it in there, so she's not totally addicted. She just loves it though.
H1N1 isn't available in Ontario until November.
Malone's favourite toys aren't really toys. She likes to put stuff in bags, empty the bags, then put the stuff back in. I watched her do it today 15 times in a row! She likes her toy train and her babies and her plates and cups, but mostly she just wants to do what I do. She loves the sink, loves the Swiffer, loves the washing machine. Her play kitchen is almost ready (that's one good thing about having the in-laws in town - Grandpa is assembling it now).
We moved her into a big girl bed and it's been great. When she wakes up at 5 I just crawl in with her and she sometimes just falls right back to sleep. She doesn't get out of bed until I come in and tell her it's OK. It's been awesome. She even goes to sleep on her own now after I read stories and say goodnight.

MamaLuvnJah - Wednesday, 21 Oct
ladobruk- I almost forgot to tell you that Montana would cry and hated it at 1st when I put him on the potty. So I gave him 5 hard page books to read. I put them behind his back on the back of toilet. It's easy for him to reach and he started enjoying the reading and forgot about crying, and then he just started to go #1 and #2. Then he started to enjoy the praise and m&m reward. If Shayla doesn't like books then you could give her some potty toys to play w/. Anything to keep their minds busy.

collsbaby - Wednesday, 21 Oct
Karina, your link doesn't work, can you try it again? I'd like to see your clippies!! ;-)

Karina - Wednesday, 21 Oct
hi! all, I've been super busy making clippies and I haven't had time to read all your post, I'm sooo out of the loop, I hope everyone is great, congrats to all my mommies who have had birth or are preggers again! I hope no baby/mommy is sick or at least they are feeling better.

Emma is great! she's such an independent kid, now she's participating more at class (at the learning center) and she's even following the teacher/kids around the building while playing an instrument or seeking for animals in the dark holding her lamp, is like she's all grown up, a bitter-sweet moment for me.

I think someone asked for photos of my clippies, so here is a link: http://s457.photobucket.com/albums/qq299/Emmasmum_2008/?action=view¤t=9df2d8d1.pbw I didn't post it here because it has prices on them and I don't want to get in trouble, lol. Hugs and Kisses to all!

MamaLuvnJah - Wednesday, 21 Oct
kbpc- I hope little Cole ear feels better soon.----------------- Heather- Hang in there mama. You be surprised how much energy we mama have in reserve's. Hope you find some rest soon.

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