SP418-R-Healthy Children: 19-20 Months

Isn’t it nice that your child is like no other in the whole world? With every issue of HEALTHY CHILDREN, we have included a reminder to parents that perfectly normal children differ in the sequence and speed of their development, because parents often worry that their children are not developing as they should.

Those who study young children agree that the one predictable thing about children’s development is its variability. Normally developing children may walk as early as 7 months, but many do not walk before they are 18 months old. Normal children may begin talking at 8 months or at 24 months, and so it is with all learning.

Your child naturally enjoys learning new skills. You can support and encourage this learning, not by pushing or criticizing or comparing your child with other children but by teaching, encouraging and celebrating her own successes.