When Does A Baby Become A Toddler?

Transitioning from baby to toddler begins around the age of one. I like to think of full on toddler-dom being anywhere from 18 months old to 35 months old. But according to the experts, babies become toddlers when they hit 12 months or 1 year of age.

My son is currently 32 months old and I still consider him a toddler. I won’t consider him a preschooler until he hits age 3 or a little older.

The toddler stage can be somewhat difficult for the parents & the toddler because this is a time of learning independence, defiance, frustration, emotions, and an “I’m the center of the universe” attitude for the toddler. These are all normal developments and emotions.

It’s also one of the most important and crucial developmental stages in a child’s life so make sure you empathize with your toddler in this normal stage they are going through. Parent with patience, understanding, gentleness, and love. Positive parenting goes a long way. Do not physically discipline or a punish a child of this age. Appropriate toddler discipline can be done if the form of time outs or natural consequences. Here is a great article on age-appropriate toddler discipline

Overall, be involved in your toddler’s life, stay engaged, and show them the world in a positive & loving way! Provide them with a loving & nurturing home, nutritious food, tons of books, and lots of creative activities & play!

July 9, 2008 · Filed Under Toddler Activities, baby care

posted by admin

Comments

2 Responses to “When Does A Baby Become A Toddler?”

georgie on May 15th, 2009 12:57 pm

Well I dont know about the experts but for me I’d say a baby becomes a toddler at about age 2 when they can go get into everything and I do mean everything even though I would whole-heartedly consider a baby to be baby up to age 2-3 yrs of age.So what Im saying is a baby is a baby then it progressed to baby toddler then at age 3 and over it’s just a plain toddler. I know a little confusing but that’s how I feel about it.
June Summers on July 2nd, 2010 5:38 am

I personally agree with the post that real toddlers start from about 18 months. The ‘experts’ official age of 12 months just seems a little old to me. In response to Georgie, I agree that there is more of a grey area with the terminology but 3 years old seems to me to bit a bit late…sorry.

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