Nate: 19 months

Nate is now 19 months old.

We see that Nate can do more advanced things with his fingers than he could when he was 12 months or 15 months. He now likes toys that are still more challenging for his fine motor skills than before.

Putting toys, i.e. toys where different shapes of blocks are put into a hole that exactly fits its shape, are especially exciting for children of this age.

Notice how Nate communicates with his mother all the time as he plays, and he is very pleased when she praises him when he manages something correctly. It is very important to praise the child as he plays. Praise gives the child self-confidence and encourages him to develop new skills as he plays.

Here we see Nate playing with toy animals. At this age he will be able to say what kind of animal it is, what kind of noise it makes, for example bow-wow or baa. A child between 18 and 24 months will be able to say between 10 and 100 words, but will understand up to 400 words.

Nate still likes throwing things, we remember that he was also fond of this when he was 15 months.

We can also see that Nate is becoming more and more skilful at using his fingers. He can hold a hammer and hit the peg board with it. Mum shows Nate how to use the hammer. Showing how something is used by giving an example is a good way of teaching the child to use new toys, thus encouraging him to practice new skills.

However, sometimes it is most fun to charm Mum by not doing what she wants. Children now like to be in slight opposition to adults. Nate also show that he has a sense of humor, something that typically starts at this age.

Why hit the peg board when I can make more noise by hammering? This is what Nate is probably thinking.

We see that Nate is playing with blocks that can be attached to each other. These are particularly suitable toys for children in this age group. He will also be able to use his creative abilities in the future, and the buildings will become more advanced.

Nate loves looking at books, and it is now easier for him to turn pages, one at a time. At this age children like books with large colorful drawings of animals and other well known everyday objects. Theodor points at what he sees in the book and says what it is called.