Hellobee

At 18-24 months, our little one started wanting to do things on his own, had a huge language explosion leading to full sentences and showed us how much fun imaginative play could be! He developed a better memory, able to recite lines from books and sing songs. There was so much to love about this age!

Climbing all by himself!

Biggest Challenges:

• Tantrums. While tantrums improved during this time period and we had less full scale meltdowns (likely because Lion’s language skills really skyrocketed around 18 months). I still find tantrums tiring. Often times, I feel like I made the mistake of trying to ward off the tantrums by trying to figure out what Lion wanted and giving him too many choices. Whenever Lion was on edge, I would be desperate to try to avoid a tantrum, but that just exhausted me. I learned that when I was able to ignore the tantrum, I was left with more energy.

• Getting ready in the mornings. Is it just me or do toddlers deliberately move at half speed when it’s time to get ready to head to school? We had fights over breakfast, getting a jacket on, getting shoes on, etc. And, of course, the moment we would urge him to hurry or say that we’re running late, a complete meltdown would ensue. Honestly, when we stopped saying “we’re late!” mornings started going more smoothly. But it still seems like getting ready in the mornings takes five times as long as it should.
• Doing things by themselves. This was simultaneously a source of frustration and joy for both parent and child. I loved seeing Lion assert some independence and show interest in doing things by himself. Of course, at the same time, letting Lion do things himself takes much longer (see above on getting ready in the mornings) and could be frustrating for him when he didn’t want help, but also lacked the skills to fully do it himself. At 20 months, Lion loved trying to climb into his carseat by himself, but it literally took about 15 minutes to do if he refused our help.

Things I Loved:

• Full sentences. While Lion collected words quickly between 15 and 18 months, I would say the language explosion really happened right at 18 months. At that time, he moved from 2-3 word sentences to longer sentences. His vocabulary skyrocketed and he was really able to communicate. The increased communication skills really helped avoid a lot of tantrums and listening to this little tiny human express himself was adorable.
• Singing. Lion learned most of the words to various songs around 20 months. “Ring -around-the-Rosie,” “Five Little Monkeys,” and “Once I Caught a Fish Alive” among others. So cute to hear him singing, especially when accompanied by dancing or hand movements.
• More imaginative play. I love watching imaginative play. At this age, Lion went from pretending with props to creating worlds out of nothing. For example, he would sit on an ottoman and tell us that he was riding on a train. When my dad visited at 22 months, he asked Lion where the train was going and Lion responded, “Going in a tunnel.” My dad then asked what Lion saw out the window of the train and Lion said, “Train going in a tunnel. No light in tunnel!”
• Empathy. Lion has always been a very sweet child, but we saw a lot of empathy form beginning at 18 months. I wonder how much of it had to do with the fact that he had a baby brother enter the home and he was always concerned when Panda would cry. He would run to us and say, “Baby sad! He needs milk!” Or he would try to share his toys with Panda. At a parent-teacher conference, his teacher told me that Lion was always generous with hugs and would try to make other kids feel better if they cried. While we hope that Lion is many things, above all, we hope he is kind and empathetic and possesses a servant’s heart.
• Memorization of books. I absolutely love reading with our kids and at 18 months, Lion surprised me by telling me what was happening on each page of some of our favorite books. While reading Where the Wild Things Are, for example, he would point to a page and say, “I’ll eat you up,” then we’d go to another page and he would say, “Roar terrible roars! Gnash teeth!” then we’d get to the last page and he would say, “It was still hot!”
• Sibling interactions. While not everyone has a new sibling in the 18-24 month range, it’s not totally uncommon and I loved watching Lion bond with his little brother instantly. From the moment he met Panda, Lion showed interest and generosity. We gave Lion a toy that was from Panda, but Lion immediately put it on top of his brother and told us, “For baby.” When we brought Panda home from the hospital, Lion wanted to immediately share his toys, would sit in front of the bassinet or bouncer and watch over Panda, and give his baby brother lots of hugs. We saw Panda give Lion his first smiles and Lion light up. Their bond continues to warm my heart, but those first days will always be amazing memories for me.

I really loved this stage with Lion and look forward to when Panda hits this age. The language explosion is amazing and it is so fun to watch their personalities blossom.

What were your favorite and least favorite things about the 18-24 month age?