By now your toddler is as physically active as he is mentally active.  His imagination is fueled not only by what he has recently accomplished, but also by what his imagination leads him to believe he can accomplish.  Although seeming to test the patience of caretakers, he is healthy in exploring the limits of his boundaries.  Playtime continues to prove the most likely time when his development soars, as he is now able to use his imagination to transfer lessons learned from playtime to non-playtime.

At 19 months, he may start attempting to use a spoon or fork, but may quickly abandon these utensils in favor of his pincer grasp, a hand-eye coordination that is more familiar to him.  He is continuing not only to transfer items from one hand to the other, but is now able to move items from one place to another.  As far as dumping and refilling those sturdy, wood blocks in to and out of their container, he can now hold the container, if the size or weight is manageable, in one hand while placing the blocks in with the other hand.  This is a particularly big leap because he now understands that he can accomplish more than one task at a time.  Now, however, when the container is empty, instead of simply refilling it, he may start banging it for the wonderfully amusing racket it will cause.  With the finer tuning of his motor skills, he may also start scribbling.  If he has not already been introduced to counting, now might be a good time to start.

Those open-ended, durable, well-made, wood blocks allow him to imagine endless possibilities still.  Because their details are not too specific, he can use them simply as filler for his container, which is sometimes now a drum, or he can continue sorting by color, shape, or size.  By now, counting items with your guidance is another use not only for his sturdy blocks, but also for any of his other toys.  You can count balls, puzzles, the moving wheels on his toy car, or the number of stuffed animals with which he sleeps.  Try adding blocks with numbers already inscribed on them.  They may seem like just another picture at first, but soon he will make the association.  Because he is walking more and enjoying noise making toys more, consider a pull or push toy that makes sounds. 

At 20 months, he may start drawing horizontal or vertical lines on paper or creating lines with his toys.  This is significant because not only are his finer motor skills related to scribbling – and eventually writing – developing, so too is his understanding of spatial relationships.  Puzzles and other objects that fit, or don’t fit, together, intrigue him.  He is learning to manipulate his environment.  At mealtime, he may even begin sorting his food by shapes, colors, and textures.

If the shape sorter toy (container with shapes that can be passed through corresponding holes on container) was put away, now might be the time to bring it out again.  Also intriguing are Jack-in-the-box toys; now they have a new meaning.  Before, it was object permanence that captivated him; now it is the toy’s puzzling structure, with the figure that can hide away, that interests him.  Nesting toys and texture-rich toys are also still favorite varieties at playtime.

In the 21st month, he may be playing more and more on his own without much need for your presence.  This is most likely because he is fascinated and surprised by his own accomplishments, testing them over and over again.  An added self-imposed trial at this time may be testing his strength.  Where he once stopped trying when objects were to heavy to move, he may now continue trying to shift things that were once seemingly immovable.

Around 22 months, the fine motor skills of his hands are ever nimbler, being able to take on a challenging finger activity like weaving a shoelace through beads or holes cut into felt or cardboard.  He may also start running and kicking.  Slow at first, he will continue testing his limits, until these motor skills, too, become smoother. 

At almost 2 years old, he may start dressing himself (he probably has been able to undress himself already).  He may also start showing signs of playing dress-up in his favorite superhero costume or donning regular clothing as a disguise or costume for another character.  For costumes, consider easy to put on items with Velcro or few snaps or buttons.  While having fun with dress-up, he will also be learning how to dress himself.  Consider accessorizing with neckpieces he has made from shoelaces and beads or cardboard or wood cutouts representing amulets or devices with special powers.  If puzzles have not been introduced before, now may be a good time to challenge his ability to complete pictures.  Puzzles with 3-6 pieces are challenging enough for this time of his development.

In just 24 months, he has gone from being brand new to this world to being very mobile, exploring his environment, and understanding daily routines.  By age 2, he has just hit, or may very soon hit, several more milestones.  Not only is he walking, but he is walking with confidence, able to jump or hop on one foot, can stand on tiptoes, and may even be able to kick a ball; in addition, he may be walking sideways or backwards and climbing.  He has gone from simple coordination of hand-eye movements, grabbing objects dangled before him, to being able to toss a ball – and may even be able to toss a ball into a container or through a hole.  He is learning more names of everyday objects and may be building more complicated or higher towers with his blocks.  He may also begin role-playing with his favorite stuffed animals or dolls. 

Many activities up to this point have helped him develop a sense of independence, trust, and control.  His increasing mobility gives him the independence to explore his environment, while your encouragement and guidance assure him of safety and support.  His newfound sense of control appeals to his sense of accomplishment, which in turn gives him the courage to test boundaries with a healthy dose of adventure.

To keep him learning through playtime, consider a “Simon Says” game not only to reinforce the names of body parts, but also to exercise specific movements such as waving, shaking, pointing, lifting, and tapping, just to name a few.  Also think about hopscotch to practice his jumping or hopping skills.  For toys, consider new variations on some of his old favorites; for instance, durable wood blocks with numbers or letters, painted on with non-toxic, water-based paint, will still fit the bill for tower building, but the symbols will ready him, with your guidance for when he begins to learn letters or numbers.