Toddler Questions

1. Walking is between 9 and 18 months, usually. And he should sit in a high chair until he can sit in a chair like a big boy.

2. Sometime between 16 and 20 months old (but he'll still try to eat the crayons).

3. In my experience, between 20 and 30 months old!

4. I don't remember this one, but not by 15 months yet.

5. 18 months was the first time my son played in the sandbox, although he didn't enjoy it. Playdough, my son was more like 2.

ETA: My answer for the cup is only for an open cup. A child should be off the bottle by 15 months at the latest and using sippy cups for drinks.

I have a child the same age, and have grown up around tons of kids. My kid was walking at 13 months, ut there is such a range with that. My child will draw for about 2 seconds, then eats the crayons...VERY NORMAL for a long while. They don't have much of an attention span for anything, by two and a half or three yes they can sit and do some activities. My child also drinks from a cup, but spills a lot, he also eats with his hands on his own all the time, althought I give him a spoon, he is not 100% successful at using it and hands are easier...also normal. I let him play in a sandbox all the time, just watch thye don't eat the sand! He lvoes it though.

I would say, whenever he is ready! Give him opportunities to do all of the things you mention. If he seems to enjoy it and be comfortable, keep at it. If he resists (or eats the playdoh, for example) put it away and bring it out again in a couple months. Even if he is not making things with the playdoh, it is still a good sensory experience to feel it and squish it, etc.

I stressed out a lot about my son's milestones, although I always tried to keep each experience positive for him and never tried to force anything. Looking back, it was just a matter of time for him to get to each of them. About a month ago I was sure he would never poop in the toilet -- and now he does it like a champ every single time. It just takes persistence and time. Good luck!

Kids start walking at widely varying ages. Standard age is about 12 to 15 months, give or take a couple of months.

High chairs in restaurants? As long as they fit. My oldest still wanted to use those when she was 3+ yo. I'd let her as long as there weren't any little ones who really needed them.

My dd loves drawing and has probably been making scribbles more than eating the crayons since she was 20-22 months. She is now 26 months and is really good at making circles/spirals. But, this varies a lot.

My daughter still uses a sippy cup (and probably will for another year). She also can use a drinking cup, but has a tendency to play with that more. She is also reasonably proficient with a spoon and fork. 15 months is a bit young for this. Maybe 18 to 20 months?

My youngest doesn't like to sit for long because she's very active. So the "want to stay" question is incredibly variable. She will sit to read a book, though.

Sand box, when they can sit up and are interested in it. Play dough, the same as a sand box. My little one has been interested in both since around 18 months, but not all kiddos are (or ever will be).

Mine's 13 months. Here's our milestone list (your mileage may vary):

Doesn't quite walk
no coloring
"activities" last a few minutes
sits in high chair
feeds self finger food (demands it, and rejects baby food now)
drinks from a sippy cup
bottles are put away
Sand box - my BIL has one and he'll get to play when its warm
play-doh - no way (yet)

Mainly, he's a very active explorer. He lifts weights every morning via clearing out the pots and pans cabinet. He then gets his color recognition in the coozy drawer. He then delves deep into the mysteries of the lazy susan. And then he crawls to his room and tries to get into the diaper pail.

That's every morning.

Mixed in with that throughout the day are practicing walking, playing with toys (although he mainly just pokes and looks at them), reading a book, antagonizing the dog and unrolling toilet paper.

We're new parents too - hang in there. :)

They sit in high chairs and restaurants until they are big enough to sit at the table. This is not an age thing necessarily, but a "big enough" thing.

Coloring or drawing doesn't come really until about 4, but at 3 they will be interested in writing on paper for crayons.

Mine have always drank from a cup by the age of 1 because they are off the bottle by then. They can start trying to feed themselves at about the same age, but only finger foods. Spoons are a bit much at this age, but I would give him one when he eats just so he becomes familiar with it but don't really expect him to use it.

I don't do sand boxes so I have no idea about that. Just keep in mind if the sand box is outside that all the neighborhood cats see a sandbox as a bit litter box. That's why I don't do them.

As for play dough, around 3 or so for that also. My grandkids could/would occupy themselves for hours with play dough.

Enjoy your little guy! Lots of exciting things to come!

I pretty much agree with everyone else so I'll try not to repeat too much...

15 months and not walking isn't abnormal, but what did his doctor say about it? Is he close? Is he cruising? I wouldn't worry that he isn't walking yet, he is definitely within the normal range, especially if you feel like he's pretty close, but I would make sure to talk to your doctor if you don't feel like that.

As far as cups, he should be on a sippy by now. I'd say a regular cup around 2. It could be as early as 18 months or even go to 2.5, but I'd say within that range is best to do a regular cup. I think if you haven't already you should be giving him a plate and silverware. He might not use it correctly, but he should be able to use it at least sometimes. Don't necessarily require him to use it but offer it at every meal.

As far as things like playdoh and sand, I'd personally just wait. Unless you are around kids who are using those things, it's not worth your time to get out the mess. Most likely he will just eat them or tear the playdoh into bits or throw the sand and get it in his hair and eyes. If you're feeling adventurous it's always okay to introduce them to the these "messy" things but just be prepared for it to get crazy! ;)

As far restaurant entertainment...keep them in the high chair for as long as he'll sit there! He will probably start scribbling with crayons in the next few months. I do think you should introduce crayons and other writing implements, but it's normal that all he wants to do is eat them! Just keep taking them out of his mouth and encouraging writing on the paper! I always keep a bunch of other little toys in my purse like race cars, tiny rubber ducks, a "fake" set of real keys (I found a bunch of old keys that didn't belong to anything and put them on a key chain with other fun key chains and gave one to each of my kids. They loved them and still play with them b/c they are real and look official!) etc. Pretty much whatever you can play with while at the table and still fits easily (and lightly) in your bag!

Oh, mama! It all depends. My daughter started coloring at @ 18 months, my son closer to 36 months. My daughter would crawl and climb to get herself into a toddler table, and then sit their and eat snacks happy as she could be at @ 10-12 months. She is now two and does not sit in a high chair or booster. I kept my son in one longer because he needed to be strapped in or he would run away.

Your son can do sandbox and play dough now - but he may just want to eat the play dough. Just watch him to make sure he doesnt eat all the sand. It probably wont hurt him, though. i took my son to the beach at 14 months and I think he ate half of it.

He should be able to feed himself now with finger foods and snacks and even be able to get some food in with a spoon (but mostly make a giant mess). He should also be able to drink from a sippy cup. At some point, he'll decide he wants to do it himself. You wont be sitting in the college meal hall feeding him when he is 18. Its up to you if you want to wait on him to start eating independently, or try to encourage him to start by refusing to do it for him.

Don't worry - all kids are different and will do things at different times.

Hi new mom. It's hard not knowing, isn't it?? I would be so ticked when I heard people say about me or others..."She's a new mom and hasn't learned yet." Grrrrr. Now, I kinda get what they were saying. I think what they were trying to tell me is to not worry about everything, every kid IS different, and comparing will just make us go mad. :)

I have two kiddos now.....completely different creatures.
*The first walked at 16 1/2 months, the second at 14 months.
*The first drew around 2 ish, the second around 18 months...without eating the crayon.
*My first can and will sit for long periods of time. The second....umm no. The first would still sit in a high chair or booster if we let her and she's 4. Our 22 month old hasn't sat in a booster or high chair in several months. We go out often and have learned to just get a both and put her in the corner where she won't annoy anyone. She stands a lot or sits on her knees, but is happy and will allow us to eat.
*Both fed themselves without silverware around 10 months and had sippy cups around 11 months. Both used silverware OK around 14 - 16 months. *Both could drink out of a regular cup if we supported it around 1 year.
*First didn't play with play-doh or sand until around 15 months on playdates, the second has played with play-doh since she was 14 months and still tries to eat it on occasion.

He sounds pretty typical. If you have concerns, always feel free to call his pediatrician....that's what they are there for. :)

- Walking 12-18 months unassisted
- High chairs are safe as long as they are safe! Keep him in there as long as you can. My son is on the small side, but we had him in a high chair until he was about 2 then moved him to a booster.
- Fine motor skills develop long after gross motor. Using crayons (to draw) becomes interesting around age 2
- Tabletop activities don't appear in preschools until age 2 and only for a few minutes at a time. Reading on the couch and exploring play doh at this age is about all he can handle.
- By 18 months most children can drink from an open cup, definitely by age 2. He should be feeding himself by 18 months with his fingers, starting to use utensils around age 2 and definitely using utensils at age 3.

Remember that developmental milestons happen often on a "need to" basis, so give him opportunities where he "needs to" do these things so he can practice! They don't all happen "naturally"- the "natural" ones are survival related. The others are more socially and experientially driven.

You could google "toddler milestones" and get more information than you could possibly read. I think it's in "list" form so that should help. He sounds too little to do the things your suggesting. Probably at least 6 more months....

You should join http://www.babycenter.com It's free and you get monthly updates on milestones your child should be hitting and what you can do to help guide him, activity ideas and such.

Here is all their topics for the 15 month old:
http://www.babycenter.com/303_15-months_###-###-####.bc

First of all remember every child does everything at their own pace!!!

With that said I will tell you when my daughter did the things you listed. She is right now 17months

She was an early walker(10months) which was hell!!! She does not use a highchair at home but instead a booster but is still in a high chair at restaurants because she can not reach the table in their boosters yet.

She just started having an actual interest in coloring and painting but I started doing it with her around 14months

At about 15months is when she started to sit at a little table ... That was when she was able to get herself in and out of the little chairs.

I took away her bottle at 9months so she only ever drank from a cup from them on. She just started on regular cups (non sippy)

Sandbox and playdough I would say as long as you are using non toxic play away the biggest concerns with both of those would be them putting in tthere mouth

Here is just one web site that talks about milestones. http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/devmile.htm

He is okay for the walking. If he is not holding on to stuff and walking around that way he needs to see the doc.

My 5 yr old still sits in a high chair anytime we go to McDonalds, Burger King, a restaurant of any kind because he will get up and take off, he is a runner and will make life hell of left to his own freedom. I choose to put him there so that if he starts to run I can hold on to him and redirect him.

A toddler usually will not have the fine motor skills to hold a crayon unless it is a really fat one and they won't be able to draw or write anything, they may be able to color but not stay in the lines or recognize that is desirable. it is beyond their capabilities.

A 2 yr. old still is moving their hand from the upper arm or elbow area, not having the fine motor skills to actually make legible markings. Tracing letters and shaped is a good activity at this age. We din't even have craft tables in my 2 yr. old classrooms. They had their lunch table and they used it some but the kids were not ever very interested. Puzzles and finger painting is fun at this age. Very basic and beginning sitting to do activities.

A 3 year old can old a marker or crayon a lot better and start to use their wrist for hand movement. As they get closer to 4 they should have the ability to start writing letters, tracing letters, much more ability.

As a child develops their fine motor skills they will start to feed themselves better if the food is appropriate. Finger foods are easy for a toddler to pick up and feed themselves. Spaghetti is nearly impossible for them to do with out using fingers. Same with any food they can't pick up and eat like a nugget or fish stick.

Until a full age 3 and they don't put stuff in their mouths anymore is a good rule of thumb.

Kids who are still putting stuff in their mouth should be considered to not be choke safe. If it fits through a toilet paper center roll it is too small for a child to have access to. In my child care center the parents were often upset I would take away hot wheels cars. They don't even touch the sides of a toilet paper roll. They are one of the most dangerous choke hazards in a play room. Lego's are next. Sand and other items they can eat are things I would not let them be around without total supervision. At our local park the kids often find needles, razor blades, cigarette butts with only God knows on them, etc...I don't let the kids play in the sand at any parks. I know, I stink at this job.

Kids need a parent to be smart and protect them. Kids love small objects but they are not safe for little ones.

There isn't anything on your list that he absolutely should be doing but most kids will do some of those things between 12 and 18 months depending on the kid. I had an early walker and a late walker. I was told that you can get early intervention services if they are not walking at 18 months. After months of being almost there my daughter finally was walking at 17.5 months. It can be hard not to worry. Sippy cups you can introduce around a year but some kids take to them faster than others. Everything else varies a lot depending on the kid.

Ok, let my try and hit all your points here 1) My kids are big boys and both have used high chairs into their 2 yr. My middle who is two now still uses them sometimes, like if there aren't enough chairs at the table and we can squeeze him in in a high chair, at 15 months both mine were always in a high chair 2) At that age both of mine ate crayons too, totally normal, he will actually color more and more. With my second he still prefers to eat crayons at two, but he also colors, but man I have to watch him bc it's like crayons are a delicasse or something! 3) A child's attention span is about as long as their age in years, so a 15 month old's is like 1 minute and maybe like 20 seconds. They are too young to do much of anything for a real long time, although once in a while they might surprise you, but most of them time they bounce from one thing to another, sitting anywhere and focusing for any length of time comes much later 4) He could start drinking for a cup anytime, but there is no law against a 15 month using a bottle either. As far as feeding both of mine were doing that at that age. Does he like fruit? Maybe give him cut up strawberries or grapes cut in half, banana chunks etc and just see it he will get a bit more interested. I still shovel bites into my 2 year olds mouth though, it is sort of a team effort. Heck if my 4 yr old gets too slow I might pop a bite in his mouth to get him going! 5) We got a sand box right before my middle guy turned two, he is my little eater and he has eaten a healthy amount of sand and pours it into his thick curly hair on a regular basis. So I think safety wise it's fine, but the young ones do get crazy with the sand. But both my kids LOVE their sandbox.
Hope I helped!!!