Development at 20 Months
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Activity 1
Age Appropriate Cognitive Development
Spontaneously Shifts Familiar Pictures Into Upright Position.
 Now that I am 18 to 24 months old, I know that some objects are supposed to be placed in a specific way. If I see a familiar picture (e.g. a photograph placed upside down) that is upside down, I will reach out and turn it the right way up. Let me show you how I do this! |
Steps
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Show a picture that is upside down.
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Demonstrate turning it the right way up.
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Now show your child another picture that is upside down.
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Give it to him. Observe if he turns it the right way round.
Feedback
By righting the familiar pictures, your child understands that there is a right orientation of things in space. A wrongly placed picture, upside down, does not make sense to him and he can take steps to correct it. If your child shows some difficulty in this task, do try to analyze where his difficulty may lie e.g. :
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A)Are the pictures you use familiar to him? If not, use clear pictures of only 1 person/object in it.
B) Is your child finding it hard to grasp the picture with his hand? Then use thickened pictures for ease of righting the picture.
C) Does your child not understand what a picture represents? Then start with real objects first like a teddy bear and car. Place them upside down and watch whether he rights it. |
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Your child will soon start to appreciate even more complex relationships of things and objects in space, like righting a colored picture and a book. Look at the suggested activities for creative ideas to play and develop this skill with him.
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 Use your child's body and turn him upside down in front of a long mirror for physical play. You can do so by holding his legs up in the air with him supporting himself with his hands. Swing him and sing a song like "swing, swing, upside down". Wait till he indicates that he wants to stop, then incidentally say, "Oh you want to be put the right side up?" Make this game short, full of giggles and fun so that you can repeat a few times.
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Place your child's drinking cup the wrong way up. When turned the right way up, reward him immediately by giving him his favorite drink and lots of praise.
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Use a familiar toy and turn it upside down. He has to turn it right side up for it to work.
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Pretend to read a favorite story book the wrong way up. Give your child the opportunity to correct you before you read with him.
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Activity 2
Age Appropriate Gross Motor Development
Squats and Picks up Toy from Floor
 I am learning to squat down to pick up my toy! When I am in the standing position, place my favorite toy on the floor and encourage me to pick it up. Observe if I am able to squat down to pick up the toy without losing my balance. I usually develop this ability when I am between 15 and 23 months old. |
Steps
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When your child is in the standing position, place one of his favourite toys on the floor beside him.
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Is your child able to squat down, pick up the toy, and stand up without losing his balance?
Feedback
Your child is developing good lower limb strength and control at this stage. Moving into the squat position and back to stand again requires your child to control his hips and knees well while maintaining his balance too. Although it appears to be a simple task, it is actually quite a feat! You may look at the suggested activities for more ideas with this task.
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Provide your child with lots of opportunities to perform this movement. Create a little game where your child needs to pick up little fridge magnets from the floor and then place them high up on the door of the fridge.
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 You may also encourage him to play in the squat position.
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Place the toy close to a wall on the floor and have your child hold onto the wall as he squats down to pick up the toy.
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Sit down behind your child and hold onto his hips. As he moves into squat, provide him with some support at his hips. Slowly decrease your hand support.
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