Social emotional development to a 1-2 Year old kid

It is in the course of this year that your toddler understands that he is a completely separate person from you. This not only causes him to worry about the possibility of you leaving him but also causes the much repeated words "me" and "mine". The whole notion of owning something needs first to have a self to own it. Having his "own" way or declaring an object "mine" is, by repetition, a way of coming to grips with this exciting and rather frightening new idea. It is hard to understand what something is unless you also know what it is not, so your toddler may also be into opposites - probably mostly the opposite of what ever you are suggesting at the time!

Although they can often understand many words, children in their second year cannot grasp abstract concepts - they are strictly concrete thinkers. They often do not respond to spoken commands and need to be lifted down, moved away, distracted from and picked up very often indeed - even though they seem to understand 'no' they are unable yet to control their impulses so they will still do the forbidden. Parenting an 18 month old is physically as demanding as a strenuous course at the gym.

• Your child will be curious and energetic but he depends on an adult's presence for reassurance and needs a lot of adult attention.
• Your child is very attached to and dependent on parents and likely to be afraid of separation because he does not yet fully understand that you will come back.
• He enjoys playing with an adult and likes repetitive games.
• He shows interest in other children but usually plays alone. He has no idea of sharing at this age and cannot be expected to share.
• He will imitate actions and games of others, eg talking on a toy telephone.
• He may be more cooperative in dressing because of a desire to imitate adults and "do it myself".
• He may want to "get it right" and experience unbearable frustration if he can't achieve mastery over a task.
• His ability to feed himself is slowly improving and he is likely to be choosey about what he eats.