Your baby, 21 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

Even though you might be interested in getting your child involved with other children her own age, she is most interested in you and her own things. She enjoys playing and interacting with you and other close caregivers the most. If there is another child that your child is exposed to often, she will develop a friendship. You will even notice that your child fusses and fights less with the familiar child than she does when exposed to strangers. Play is the main way that children learn and develop new skills. You can encourage your child to play with other children, but never force her to do so if she is not interested. During playtime with other children, have 2-3 duplicate items on hand to decrease the chances of fighting. At this age, children do push and poke each other to say hello. Show her how to be gentle, caring and sensitive to the feelings of other children.

Most parents of toddlers this age notice that children tend to `act up` and be on their worst behavior when they really want them to be on their best behavior. Learning how to deal with your child's behavior, and even prevent naughty behavior is important. You should be reasonable in your expectations. Everyone knows that children this age do not have long attention spans, do not like to share and often have a hard time sitting still. Therefore, a trip to the library for storytime should be kept short. Playtime with friends needs to be carefully monitored and again, should be kept to a shorter time frame. Prepare your child before you go out by telling them where you are going and how you want them to behave. If he needs to be quiet in the library, tell him so. If you are going somewhere that he might get bored, tired or hungry-prepare for that. Take a snack or a few toys with you. Praise your child for positive behavior and if you see that he is not behaving properly, pull him aside and remind him quietly of how he supposed to act and what the consequences are.

Your child's language skills are really taking off! At this point she can say approximately 20 words. She still enjoys reading books, singing songs and saying nursery rhymes. Even though your child tries to follow directions, remember to keep any directions simple and clear. If you want her to pick up her toys, take them to her room, get her teddy bear and get ready for bed, tell her one command at a time. If you give too may instructions at one time, she will get confused and frustrated. Although she really does want to please you and other caregivers, sometimes she will refuse to do what you have asked her to do.

Your child is becoming more and more independent. As long as you have showed your toddler the proper way of doing so, he can wash and dry his hands after using the restroom, playing outside or before a meal. Children need to be shown how to properly wash their hands so that germs are limited. Your toddler can hold a cup and drink from it. If the cup does not have a lid on it, be prepared for some spills. Children this age still need to learn how far they must tip the cup to drink from it. You may also notice that he can put his own shoes on his feet. He may occasionally put his shoes on the wrong feet and he can not tie the shoelaces yet.

Developmental Milestones - 21 Months Old

Physical

• Can walk upstairs with both feet on step
• Likes to run
• Still likes to climb
• Enjoys dancing
• Tries to jump

Intellectual

• Can say about 20 words
• Tries to follow directions
• Enjoys reading, but may tear the pages
• Likes tiny objects
• Can recognize and name people from photographs
• Can put together a simple 3-4 piece puzzle
• Can wash and dry hands

Emotional

• Becoming less self centered
• Beginning to enjoy other children
• Parents are still favourites
• Stingy and selfish sometimes
• Knows what is his and what is not

Age Appropriate Toys

• Puzzles
• Books
• Climbing toys
• Stringing beads
• Shape sorters
• Art supplies
• Outside toys
• Musical toys
• Interactive educational toys
• Pretend pla

Comments:

Comments 1-25 of about 7207 for month 21
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lillhill79 - Wednesday, 30 Nov
DOn't forget to jump to 22 months tomorrow.

Luv2bamama - Tuesday, 29 Nov
Turkey day was great around our house; we had 12 adults and three kids under the age 2 running around our 1200 sq foot little home. More food than 50 people could have consumed, but yeah leftovers! Granted, I am sure I gained 10 lbs which won’t look good at my 12 week ob appt next week, but yummy! Somehow my husband and I got separated from our daughter during the actual dinner, but everyone around her kept piling food on her plate. Apparently the activity (and maybe triptaphane) did her in…Friday she took a 4 ½ hour nap, followed by a 3 ½ hour nap on Saturday, and two 1.5 hour naps on Sunday!

lillhill79 - Tuesday, 29 Nov
I want to get everyone's thoughts on something. DH's Christmas party is less than 2 weeks away and Sunday night our normal babysitter called and said she's not available after all. So luckily I found another girl who a friend has used before and is a full time nanny during the day. Great, no problems there. So she tells me her rate is $10 per hour, not thrilled, but beggers can't be choosers. So here's my question. During the time she's at our house, the girls will only be awake for 2 hours. Is it fair for me to pay her $10/hour for the other 4 hours to sit and watch my tv? How do you normally handle this? I realize that my children are in her care, but they're great sleepers and once they're in bed, they're done for. Not trying to sound cheap here, just wanting your thoughts.

lillhill79 - Tuesday, 29 Nov
I highly recommend a travel DVD player for the airplane. Our DD's have both flown at all different ages and let me tell you, it's a life saver. Also make sure you check with the airline, some did away with the 'fly free under 2' thing last June. I feel you on the travel schedule. Amazingly my girls did better this time at Grandma's than they've ever done before (only up a couple of times per night which for traveling is a big improvement for us) We're all coughy, snotty messes and it seems like once one of us gets over it we re-catch it from anothe member of the family. Happy Belated Thanksgiving.

gretch - Monday, 28 Nov
We stayed put for Thanksgivig. I caught every bug daycare offered- pink eye, bronchitis then an ear infection. So basically quarantined myself with the family and rested. We enjoyed the rest and did house stuff that had nagged at us. No guilt about canceling plans. And pink eye as an adult is a pain. I was put on steroids and antibiotics. Codiene cough meds. Made me feel for our little guys who have to tough things out for the most part. Hope E settles back. Rory has been waking yelling. Often still asleep. We hover until soothed. Dread a long plane trip. We head to CA in July so will take the advice, too.

Luv2bamama - Sunday, 20 Nov
My husband is always worried that our daughter doesn't eat enough, but I always remind him that her tummy is only the size of her fist. If she eats 1/4 of a pear and 1/2 a slice of wheat bread with pnut butter or cheese; she is likely full. I agree; give kids healthy food and if they are hungry, they will eat it, if not, you can try again at snack time! Currently veggies are the big battle at my house; she will eat frozen peas, but other than that she isn't going for anything green. Every so often, I'll make a fruit smoothie with frozen fruit we picked this summer and blend in broccoli, spinach, asparagus or something else veggie like just so she gets something in her!

lillhill79 - Thursday, 17 Nov
Karen - you're exactly right. You can't make a kid eat. And as they get older and they're trying to find their own say in things, they're not going to get any less picky. Bottom line is if they're hungry they'll eat, end of story. Our job as moms is to only offer them good wholesome foods to chose from when they do decide to eat. I get so frustrated at my SIL when she gives her daughter ice cream anytime she wants it 'because she just doesn't eat enough calories' Well, duh, she's not going to eat the healthy stuff at meal time is she knows you're going to give her ice cream to 'up her calories' Drives me crazy.

jwalden - Tuesday, 15 Nov
Mommy2Mason- I giggled at the 'poot' How embarrassing and yucky but funny. As far as the food, we give Jack what we are having but there is definitely things he'll eat and things he won't. We keep trying and if there is something he likes I try to give him extra just to fill his belly but I do not give him anything different than what we are having. If he is hungry I figure he'll eat- if he isn't then I don't want to force him. We also are in the tantrum phase which can be exhausting but for the most part he is a pretty good boy. They just love to test our patience.

lillhill79 - Tuesday, 15 Nov
Mommy - personally I don't think it's too early to start having them eat what we eat. I've had that policy from the time my girls started table food. As a result they're both great eaters. Yes, there are definitely times where they choose not to eat (very rare) but they're not going to starve to death and I'm not going to be like my SIL and make a special dinner for each member of the family.

mommy2mason - Tuesday, 15 Nov
Karen - little E and Mason sound like two peas in a pod. Story: I went to a baby shower on Sunday at a local community hall. There were about six other children there around Masons age and TONS of toys, books, crayons, etc. All of the other children behaved very well and sat and played. Mason however would not sit still for two seconds. He would take off down the hall and try to get outside. He could try to climb onto of the tables. He was crawling under tables and pulling food off the buffet. The worst was that he kept running into the Men’s restroom!! Seeing as how I was at a baby shower, there was not a single man in our group that could run in there and grab him. The hall had a bar inside of it so there were people there and the restroom was usually occupied. I didn’t want my child in a nasty mens room alone with a strange man so I ran in there after him each and every time – how freakin’ embarrassing (for me and the man using the restroom). And of coarse he would throw a huge fit every time I carried him out of there. Ugh…. After the sixth time we just up and left. I couldn’t let that continue. Ohhhh and about three weeks ago we were at church for my nieces dedication when Mason decided to announce to the whole church “ MAMA!! I poooot!” – which of coarse means “Mama, I pooped.” And then he stuck his hands down the back of his pants to prove to me that he had. Really, Mason??!

mommy2mason - Tuesday, 15 Nov
Good morning ladies - I havent been on here in a while. Mason, work and school keep this mommy BUSY!! My big boy is talking up a storm lately - I am amazed at home many new words he learns each day. This is such a fun age. I could do without the tantrums, however. Mason likes to throw himself on the floor and kick and hit anything near him while screaming at the top of his lungs. For the most part he is a very wellbehaved boy. My only concern right now would be his eating habbits. He will not eat any kind of veggie, potato, pasta, rice or anything with sauce. I dont know what to do. Is it appropriate to start the whole 'if your not going to eat what I made, then you're not eating at all' bit this young? He wont even try the above items, he'll just throw a fit. It makes meal planning rather difficult...

jwalden - Monday, 14 Nov
Lill- congratulations. That is amazing. I haven't even attempted potty training yet.

lillhill79 - Monday, 14 Nov
I sent Cortlyn to pre-school in big girl panties for the first time today - yikes, hope her teachers aren't ready to kill me by the end of the day. She was getting to the point at home that if I put her in a pull up she'd pee in it every time but wouldn't in panties. So this weekend we went cold turkey straight to panties. Saturday she had 3 accidents, yesterday only one. It usually takes her 3 days to completely get the hang of something so I'm hoping today isn't too rough for them. I did include 5 changes of pants in her backpack this morning, hope that's enough :)

RickettsRules (blue) - Sunday, 13 Nov
Karen, I can't help you but I really understand what you mean with Emmett wanting you all the time. Jenny is the same and it's very frustrating. She wants me to carry her ALL the time, except if we're at the shops or something, where I try to pick her up to stop her from running away and she's twisting and pushing me away etc. I'm 30 weeks preggas and it's becoming difficult to pick her up, let alone hold her while she tries to get down. She had a bawling/crying/screaming episode this morning because I said I didn't want to pick her up and asked if we could hold hands insted. It went on for over 30 mins and I just could not subdue her, but then it subsided and she sait on my lap and cuddled into me, then got down and was playing and all was fine! It's mornings like these that I wonder why the hell I'm doing this again!!!

gretch - Friday, 11 Nov
i am off to Austin TX to visit my stepson and will really miss my little Beastie Boy. When not having a tantrum, he is very fun to be around right now. He is obsessed by buses and check the window for a drive by. School bus time in the morning is a time of great excitment and anticipation. He loves books and drags them all around. They are all very nearly trashed. A sign of great love. Hope it lasts! Would love to be a fly on the wall and watch Dad and Rory batchelor it this weekend.

lillhill79 - Friday, 11 Nov
Today I'm thankful that our board has been quiet this week - I do miss talking to you all, but that usually means that no one is having any major issues right now which is fantastic - either that or we're so overwhelmed we can't even sit down to ask a question :) Have a great weekend!

gretch - Monday, 7 Nov
The closest I get to being able to do stuff when Rory is near is to give him a pile of books and some toys and he will entertain himslf nearby. I will have to show an interest every five mins or so for a quick sec but that usually works for about a 30 minute spell. If I need to get stuff done, I pay my friends 13 year old to be a mommys helper and entertain him while I am running around. She is not quite ready to babysit alone (many 13 year olds are) so this is her training.

lillhill79 - Thursday, 3 Nov
Gretch - we're doing grapes in the car on the drive in. I just put them in a ziplock bag and the girls gobble them up in like 5 minutes and then eat breakfast at preschool.

gretch - Thursday, 3 Nov
A few things for this wonderful group of moms: I need ideas for healthy car snacks. Ones that are car friendly. I have been giving smoothie/applesauce packets and cheerios but that has led to no interest in dinner. We have an hour drive home and I normally pick Rory up at 5:15 pm. Also, Rory hates sunglasses and pulls the sun shade off the car window. But he hates the sun in his eyes even more. Now that it dark in the mornings we are fine then but the ride home is bad. Any ideas?

Luv2Bamama - Wednesday, 2 Nov
To celebrate November, Princess got her first shiner. She was helping feed the dogs and she managed to fall off the step from the house to the garage and hit her cheekbone right below her eye on one of the dog’s dishes. I know these things happen, but now I don’t want to go out in public with her for fear folks will think one of us backhanded her!

lillhill79 - Wednesday, 2 Nov
Karen, thanks for the reminder to jump. I totally forgot that Cort turned 21 months on the 1st.

ana23pink - Friday, 21 Oct
so i have a question for you ladies, what is the shoe size of your child? I thought my little girl has small feet, because I see how her cousin or other children have bigger shoe size at her age or when they were at her age...my daughter wears a size 5-6, today this woman was like wow she has big feet, i was shocked and told her she is 21 months, and she was like 'yeah she has big feet' i was thinking what the hell....

lilmum2002 - Sunday, 9 Oct
And Happy Birthday RLS~

SuperMomTo3 - Friday, 7 Oct
well, ladies Hunter moved up to 22 months old. Time to move up come one come all.

addydooandbabytoo - Friday, 7 Oct
my little Jocelynne is 21 months .. and im due with my 3rd baby in feb. im not really having any obstacles with her, shes not as difficult as my first :) every baby is different cant wait to see how my third will be...

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