Expert Guide for Parents with Children Under 3 Years

Babies and Toddlers are complex creatures. I have an extensive background in this stage of life. I studied with the pioneer of children under three, a legend in her own right Magda Gerber. I have four years experience working as a toddler teacher and one-year with infants. I am also certified in infant massage. It would seem that babies just eat, sleep, and poop and don't do much else- or don't they?

Physical Development: Babies and Toddlers

Babies and Toddlers don't do things by grown up standards. From what I have observed they really don't get that much opportunity to take any action because everyone wants to hold them, hold them upright, confine them to a contraption, distract them and dare I say over power them. I worked in an infant center where we held them if they needed to be held. I am not saying there is anything wrong with holding a baby, but they also need time to explore the world on their terms. At the center we held them for bottles, nap time, upsets, nurturing, etc. The environment had infant toys and a modest developmentally appropriate structure. Most of the floor was clear for crawling, interacting with other babies, exploring, and playing. There were a modest number of infant toys to manipulate and play with. There were simple pictures on the wall at their level.

A wonderful exercise I had to do for my first child development class was to crawl around for an hour a day (or as long as physically safe and possible) Doing this exercise is a great way to get wonderful insights into the perspective of an infant. I highly recommend this exercise.