Sensory processing continues to refine and mature at this stage. Your child is integrating sensory information more efficiently, using what they see, hear, touch, and feel to make increasingly sophisticated sense of the world around them.

Your toddler is on the move — walking, running, and soon even climbing stairs. Their advancing mobility makes them all the more eager to explore. They're probably comfortable walking while pushing or pulling things.

What you can do: Set up obstacle courses. Walk up stairs together, one step at a time. Provide push/pull toys that give walking more purpose.

Your little one is fascinated by tiny things. Bits of fluff, small objects — nothing is too small to be examined and (still) put in the mouth, so keep watching. With developing dexterity comes a desire to make things happen with small, precise movements.

What you can do: Offer activities that require fine precision: puzzles with smaller pieces, stacking with smaller blocks, simple lacing cards.

Balance and coordination continue to refine through active movement and physical play at this stage. Activities like climbing, dancing, kicking a ball, and riding toys all build the vestibular sense and body awareness that underpin confident physical development.

Your toddler is learning new ways to explore the world using all their senses. They probably use the basic language skills they've developed to ask questions about what they see, touch, hear, and smell. They love touching objects with different textures and delight in performing small tasks — they've discovered their sense of accomplishment!

What you can do: Let them do things themselves — zip their jacket (partially), stir the batter, wipe the table. The process matters more than the result.

Imaginative play is your little one's newest tool for processing information. They may substitute one object for another — a banana for a telephone — and interact with their toys in concrete, imaginative ways, like putting them to bed when it's their own bedtime.

What you can do: Follow their imaginative lead. If the banana is a phone, talk into your banana. This validation supercharges creative thinking.

Your little genius is using their imagination to solve problems and achieve goals. If they've been talking for a while, they've learned enough language to make themselves understood and ask for help when needed.

What you can do: When they get stuck, wait before helping. Ask "What do you think you should try?" Even if they can't answer, the question teaches the habit of independent thinking.

Language skills are most likely blossoming. If they started early, your toddler now speaks up to 200 words, combining them into simple phrases. They love being read to and looking at pictures in books. Toward the end of these six months, they may begin to understand that one object combined with another makes two objects — the most basic principle of mathematics.

What you can do: Count everything. "One shoe, two shoes." "One block, two blocks, three!" This counting of real objects is how number sense begins.

Your toddler wants to help! She is more interested in what you're doing, especially activities that have to do with her. They probably want to brush their own teeth, dress themselves, feed themselves, and may want to turn the pages when you're reading.

What you can do: Let them help with everything — even when it takes three times as long. The doing IS the learning.

Your little one is eager to connect with you and other adults and enjoys playing games to discover new concepts. If an early talker, they use words and phrases to ask questions about what's happening in the world around them.

What you can do: Answer every "why" and "what" question with genuine engagement. You are their primary encyclopedia right now.

Your little one is experiencing the full range of human emotions and learning how to express them — happiness, anger, even envy. They also have an emotional response to music they hear and probably like dancing to its rhythm.

What you can do: Dance with them. Make music together. Name every emotion you observe: "You seem really happy right now!" This emotional vocabulary is foundational to regulation later.

Emotional security continues to be built through consistent routines, predictable responses, and a safe relationship with primary caregivers at this stage. Your calm, steady presence is the most important source of security your child has as they navigate an increasingly complex world.