Exploring more of his world

18^th month

#One of the funny things Alexander Keith does is to call adult strangers either "mama" or "dada" depending on their gender.

This seems to be a comment on the gender of the stranger rather than a comment on yours or your partner's infidelity!

Q:Alexander Keith is calm when things are going smoothly, but gets very irritable and cries easily when tired or hungry. Sometimes he throws tantrums when pushed beyond his limits.

So I tried to be sensitive to Alexander’s moods. When he seems overstimulated, I tone things down, and when he’s happy, I liven things up. I choose to do this because I am the one who needs to adjust to his level instead of him since he’s still young and knows so little about things.

#Alexander Keith is very interested in music, and often dances in rhythm to your favorite music, and tries to clap or sing along with songs that you sing or that are played on TV.

You teach him some short little preschool songs and enjoy dancing or moving around together to music.

Q: Sometimes you leave Alexander Keith with a sitter for short periods during the day while you do work around the house or run errands. Alexander Keith greets the sitter enthusiastically, but gets upset when you leave. The sitter says that Alexander Keith calms down after you leave. What should you do?

I always reassure Alexander that my work won’t be too long and that I will be back as soon as possible. I tell him the reason why it is important for mommy to leave and I also do tell him where I go even though sometimes he doesn’t understands it fully.

#Alexander Keith has shown some interesting new behavior. He acts shy when looking in the mirror, uses the word "me" a lot, and wants to do things himself.

You think the new behavior is a sign of self awareness, and you have to decide what the balance will be between allowing Alexander Keith to be independent and teaching him to follow your rules.

Q: Alexander Keith sometimes likes to explore the different ways that toys and blocks can be stacked or manipulated, and sometimes just stacks them the same way over and over again.

 I always watch him with interest with his activities and as soon as he gets bored with it, I am there ready to give him new toys or building materials to start on with. As usual, I demonstrate it first to him before he does it. By doing this, he will learn to develop his skills in manipulating things and following instructions. That’s why it is important for me to demonstrate things first to him before he plays with it so that he will know what is the right thing to do.

#Alexander Keith has a tremendous drive to use his motor skills.

You have to keep an eye on Alexander Keith because he will quickly toddle off into the crowd at public places or even into the street!

Q:Alexander Keith's language skills are developing rapidly, and he wants to talk to you almost all of the time. Alexander Keith seems to know an unusual number of names for things. Sometimes I hear him talking to himself as he plays alone in his room.

So what I do in order to improve his communication skills is that I often have lots of mini conversations with him when we hang out or even when we accomplish things like feeding, clothing, and diapering. For me having little conversations will increase a child’s skill in learning language and social abilities.

#You are showing Alexander Keith how to take care of the growing number of plants you have on the sunny balcony of your apartment.

Fortunately the balcony is child-safe, and there is no danger of Alexander Keith falling.

Q: You know that by age three Alexander Keith needs to be toilet trained for daycare/preschool. You buy a potty chair, training pants, and a little storybook about a child learning to use the potty.

Potty training for me is important so bought one, and what I do is that I put him on the potty about every half hour while at home, and praise him lavishly if he happens by chance to urinate or defecate. By doing this, he will learn to do it more often when needed because he knows that it is the right thing to do since he is being praised for every correct thing he does.

Q: Alexander Keith has recently become resistant sometimes to your requests for cooperation. For example, he says "no," or refuses things that he accepted before such as food or bath time.

I recognize he needs to have firm limits, so I explain to him that he needs my help and let him decide instead on two choices which honestly are also the things I want him to do. By doing this, he will learn to choose what we wants and will cooperate obediently without me having trouble to push him to follow.

Q: Alexander Keith likes to play make believe with cups, dolls, and toy telephones. He sometimes talks to himself or makes the dolls and toy figurines talk to each other.

I let Alexander play by himself, unless he wants to share it with me as I don’t want to interfere with the development of his imagination. I do this since I know a child’s imagination is much greater and unique than the adults. So I choose to let him imagine things and create a world of his own to widen his thoughts and to let him learn and explore new things of his own.

Q: Alexander Keith sometimes takes on problems that are too difficult for his age level. He sometimes gets frustrated and gives up. When you see this happening, you:

I get involve in the activity and show him how to solve part of the puzzle  or build part of the tower. I do this since I know scaffolding is very much needed to a child his age. By doing this he will learn to not depend, but he will learn how to follow and participate in doing things, and he will learn that not everything could be done by himself.

Q: You notice that Alexander Keith is less clingy lately, and often wants to be put down to explore rather than to be held. His favorite places to venture out are the park and the store.

I recognize this as a normal pattern, and continue to provide support verbally and by displaying sympathetic or approving facial expressions.

I do this because I know that at his age it is normal for a child to be an explorer of his surroundings since he is new to everything and would love to learn things on his own. But by letting him explore on his own doesn’t mean that I’m not looking after him, I still do by giving him approving and disapproving looks if what he does is good or the other way around.

Q: Alexander Keith sometimes prefers quiet activities in his room, and sometimes likes more active games or sports.

My partner and I encourage Alexander to participate in physical activities such as playing catch, climbing the jungle gym or kicking a ball around.

We do this since we both observe that he’s more of an active child so we let him practice his skills of being athletic because I believe that we should focus more on his talent and abilities and let him excel to it more.

Q: Alexander Keith tends to be slow to warm up to new people, but is outgoing and friendly with familiar people.

I introduce Alexander to new social situations in small doses and make sure to go slowly. We are sure to give him time to get used to the new people.