A Brief Insight to Toddler Brain Development
By Dr Lin Day
By the time the toddler turns three, the brain will weigh 80% that of an adult’s and it will have twice as many connections. Increases in weight are the result of brain cells growing larger and the development of connective pathways between them.
Physical Development
Brain Development
After months of learning to walk, the brain has built strong connective circuits between the visual cortex (back of the brain) and the motor cortex, which runs across the left and right hemispheres (ear to ear). Repetition and practice strengthen the connective circuits and make movements such as walking and running more fluid and coordinated.
Milestones
In the second year, most toddlers can climb on and off furniture, ascend and descend stairs, throw or kick a ball, brush their teeth with help, catch balloons, and chase bubbles.
Hand-eye coordination is still developing, but most toddlers can build a tower of five blocks, use both hands to unscrew stacking barrels, and steer a ride-on vehicle. They can also take off their socks and shoes.
In the third year, toddlers can balance on one leg for a few seconds, stand on tiptoe, scribble circles, and keep the colouring on the page.
Activities
Activities such as cleaning the car, going up and down stairs, crawling through boxes or tunnels, and clambering over obstacles develop gross motor movements and coordination. In the playground, climbing, twisting, turning, and wriggling develop balance and controlled use of the feet.
Fine motor skills can be promoted by giving toddlers dough to manipulate, crayons and pencils for scribbling, sponges and brushes for painting, and tools for sand play and cooking.
Language Development
Milestones
In the second year, toddlers may produce four- or five-word sentences, respond to simple instructions such as “Sit down” and “Give me your cup”, name objects, express their likes and dislikes, and make animal sounds such as ‘moo’ and ‘baa’.
By the end of the second year, toddlers recognise when something is wrong for example, calling a cat a dog. They may point to objects using the words ‘look’ and ‘see’, follow a short story, and name at least six body parts. They may understand up to three hundred or more words, say about one hundred words and combine them to make phrases.
In the third year, toddlers soak up new words at a phenomenal rate. They begin to understand abstract concepts such as ‘sooner’ and ‘later’ and opposites such as ‘big’ and ‘small’. They can also hold a conversation and ask questions.
Activities
Talking to toddlers and asking questions can help them to listen and unlock the meaning of words. However, continual background noise from the television or stereo can interfere with the ability to develop language.
Vocabulary can also be increased through rhymes, action songs, stories, and interaction with soft toys and puppets. Pointing out objects and using words such as ‘big’ and ‘small’ and ‘under’ and ‘behind’ to describe size and position also increases understanding.
Emotional Development
Brain development
The left side of the brain decodes emotional messages, but the right side is primarily responsible for expressing them. When toddlers experience fear or anxiety, the amygdala, a small, almond-shaped area in the temporal lobe (near the ear) processes the emotion and alerts the hippocampus (temporal lobe), which in turn triggers the release of the stress hormone, cortisol.
Stress signals reach the frontal lobes of the brain involved in thinking and reasoning. Because the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex are still developing, the two-year-old is unable to work out and solve conflicts, triggering an emotional outburst or tantrum.
By the end of the third year, maturation of the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus enables toddlers to solve problems and gain better control of their emotions.
Milestones
Toddlers experience a wide range of feelings and emotions in the second year. Although they can be awkward, aggressive, and impatient, they can also empathise with the feelings of the people closest to them.
Shyness is common in the second year. Girls tend to be shyer than boys, but this could be the result of social conditioning. However, toddlers can also be very self-contained and independent.
In the third year, toddlers gain more control of their emotions. If they have developed a strong attachment to a loving adult, they will cope better with stress and conflict than in their second year.
Activities
Although toddlers do not gain a concept of time until their third year, a regular routine helps to establish a sense of order and predictability. If toddlers know when to expect meals, play time, naps, and outings, there will be fewer emotional outbursts during the day.
Toddlers gain emotional satisfaction from clapping and patting games. They also enjoy dancing to music, banging on pots and pans, constructive and mechanical toys, and playing with an adult.
Helping with household chores builds self-esteem and confidence and keeps toddlers busy and stimulated. Even two-year-olds can be encouraged to put away their toys, clear the table after a meal, and help with the laundry.
Toddlers are active learners, and they need to be on the move, so opportunities to run around outside and let off steam are a must. Exercise also improves the ability of the hippocampus to handle stress, which protects the brain from damage and disease.
Social Development
Brain development
Studies show that the frontal lobes play a part in the development of social skills, which suggests that social development may be partly biological in origin.
The right hemisphere of the brain is largely responsible for social functioning in two-year-olds, but by the end of the third year, social intelligence is thought to occur on the left side.
Milestones
In the second year, toddlers may play alongside other children, but they will fiercely protect their toys. Bouts of anxiety in new social situations are common.
In the third year, toddlers begin to cooperate with other children and there may be some materials shared. Although relationships may be short-lived, they may start to single out a friend who has made an impact. They also become more aware of gender differences.
Activities
If parents and practitioners serve as role models in social situations, toddlers will imitate their behaviour. Eating out can be a valuable social experience for toddlers because they get the chance to model adult behaviour and act out a real-life situation.
Involving toddlers in household chores, games, action songs, and musical experiences encourages them to take turns and develop social skills. However, forcing two-year-olds to take turns can frustrate and confuse them.
The development of social skills also depends on interaction with other children. Even though toddlers do not share or make friends until their fourth year, the foundations for cooperative play and relationship building will be formed.
Imaginative Development
Brain development
The cerebral cortex is associated with imaginative thinking. The left side visualises and memorises events that have happened, whereas the right side creates something that has not yet occurred. Other parts of the brain such as the amygdala and hippocampus are also involved in creative imagination.
Milestones
Imagination develops at about 30 months when toddlers use objects such as toy cars and plastic animals in pretend play. They may cuddle their teddies or dolls that have tears or holes to make them feel better, ‘read’ pictures in books, and imitate the actions of adults and older siblings.
Activities
Materials which encourage pretend play include dressing up clothes, small world figures, model farms and garages, play kitchens and plastic tea-sets. A creative area where toddlers can paint, explore water, sand, soil, dough, and other materials will also develop imaginative skills.
Picnics also foster imaginative thinking. Packing things in a lunch box or making a pretend sandwich to eat on the way gives toddlers the opportunity to think beyond the obvious.
Cognitive development
Brain development
The frontal lobes or the cerebral cortex are responsible for a variety of functions such as thinking, language and motor actions. Maturation of the frontal lobes at the end of the third year leads on to other intellectual functions such as problem-solving and reasoning ability.
Milestones
In the second year, toddlers can recall events such as visiting grandparents and where certain items such as a favourite teddy or toy have been placed. They can place rings on a stacker in order, match lids to appropriate containers, and complete a 5-piece puzzle. However, attention span is limited.
In the third year, toddlers begin to understand the concept of classification. For example, they can sort toys by shape, colour, size, and other characteristics. They may recognise five or six colours and take part in planning what they will wear.
Activities
Learning is acquired mainly through exploration and repetition. Examples include clapping games, action rhymes, interaction with toys and objects, filling and emptying containers, and going under, over, around and through things.
Free-flow play offers endless opportunities for exploration, problem-solving and imaginative thinking. Structured activities and play with other children also teach toddlers important skills such as negotiation, reasoning, cooperation, and organisation.
Summary
As toddlers grow up, they go through different stages of brain development, which influence the acquisition of physical and mental skills.
With increasing brain maturity, toddlers gradually develop the skills that they will need in their adult lives. Even so, the brain must be ready to move on to the next stage of development. Parents and practitioners may worry that they should be doing more to help toddlers, but they can only hurry them on so much. Each toddler is unique and will develop at his or her own pace.
The most important thing that parents and practitioners can do is provide a loving, supportive and consistent environment. A happy contented toddler learns easily and quickly.
Toddler Sense
Toddler Sense is a great place to for toddlers to play, and develop their language, social-emotional, physical, creative, imaginative, and intellectual skills.
