17 Months Old!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Here's the monthly rundown of where Kye's at compared to What to Expect the Toddler Years. Enjoy some cute pictures from right after his first hair cut (don't you LOVE a boy with a fresh hair cut? adorable!).

Kye can do all the things a 17 month old "should" be able to do including (if you're using this to see how your own child compares to the book then please note if they haven't yet reached these milestones by the recommended ages then you may want to check with your pediatrician):

use 2 words (should be by 16 1/2 months)
drink from a cup

He can do all the things a 17 month old "will probably" be able to do including:

build a tower of 2 cubes

He can do most of the things that a 17 month old "may possibly" and "may even" be able to do including:

walk up steps (by 16 1/2 months)
"feed" a doll
build a tower of 4 cubes (by 16 1/2 months)
identify 2 items in picture by pointing
throw a ball overhand

Things to work on with Kye include:

remove an article of clothing
combine words (he can say "golf golf golf" does that count? haha)
speak and be understood half the time (um, at the rate he's going this won't be happening until he's 10...or we learn German)

Pretty much nothing from this chapter applies to us: I see chunks of food in Kye's stools but I never even worried about it b/c duh he swallows chunks, he doesn't know how to chew! He doesn't throw everything and if he starts to throw stuff other than a ball then he'll get a spanking and stop it pronto. He is nothing close to clingy in a playgroup setting and is excellent at sharing (if you consider sharing just letting the other kids have the toys). He has yet to pick up any annoying habits from a playgroup setting (except trying to climb up the slide ROBYN haha just kidding! I couldn't help myself!). He does not run around the house screeching and screaming. He doesn't take off his diaper. He does have a comfort object (his monkey) but we don't allow it out of the crib so it's not an issue of him carrying it around everywhere. He does not suck his thumb...but he does use a paci. However, this chapter really only discussed paci use outside the crib so I think we're in the clear for now. I agree with our pediatrician that the 2nd birthday is the magical good-bye paci age.

So not too useful of a chapter for me, at least the first half of it! The second half covered discipline and I have a blog entry I wrote months ago saved to post about our discipline methods! I'm going to do a 2-part one probably and cover what this book says versus what we do and believe :) I know you're mega pumped for it!

At the end of the chapter the book discusses manners and this IS something important to me! Ways to encourage proper manners include:

laying the right foundation: teach the manners that come from the heart not just from a book
set an exemplary example: to teach respect and consideration, respect and consider your toddlers feelings at all times
set an exemplary table: even if your toddler eats like a barbarian now, consistent exposure to civilized eating conditions will eventually instill an appreciation for them
speak for your toddler: hearing you repeat the "magic words" over and over in social situations at home and away from home will teach your toddler much more about common courtesy than any amount of nagging
keep the pressure off: children who are nagged about manners won't feel positive about them and are likely to ignore them completely whenever they are out from under the eye of an enforcing parent
keep the campaign on: pressure isn't appropriate, but reminders are.
listen to your toddler: children who are listened to make better listeners and being a good listener is an important part of being a polite and considerate person
have age-appropriate expectations: it'll take many years of etiquette exposure and reminders before your child matures into polite company but if you persevere one day you'll hear "your child has such good manners!"

It seems like every month I'm inspired by this book to be a better, more mindful parent. Last month it motivated me to get a more structured learning time into our day and I've done that (post to come) so this month I'm inspired to work on manners. Sure, Kye may not be able to say "please" and "thank you" but I need to do a better job of saying them for him until he can say them for himself. From birth I've ALWAYS sang the "clean up" song and constantly have him watch me clean up his toys and now he's awesome at cleaning up so I know that learning by watching works!