One minute your sweet baby is cooing and babbling, eating mashed peas, kicking their little feet, and relying on you for every single thing.
And the next minute, you’ve got a walking, talking, opinionated — ahem — independent toddler on your hands. What just happened?
You blinked, and your baby grew up. Your child is in a whole new phase of life and you’ll need to step up your game to meet their changing needs.
But when, exactly, is the big transformation from baby to toddler? Here are 13 signs that your baby is no longer a baby. (Spoiler: It’s probably sooner than you expect.)
According to the
Up next for those who simply go by age? Turning into a preschooler, or a child aged 3 to 5.
Do you know why they’re called “toddlers”? Because their uncoordinated movements while they’re learning to walk look like “toddling” (which, coincidentally, also looks like stumbling around as if they’ve had too much to drink… have we mentioned toddlers are a handful?).
Seriously, though, one of the biggest indicators that your baby has taken the leap into toddlerhood comes with some literal leaps — off the couch, down the stairs (put one of these baby gates on your shopping list!), across the playground, and out of your arms — to explore the world on their own two feet.
Toddlers will also perform more complicated gross motor skills, like jumping, climbing, squatting, and throwing a ball.
Coincidentally, this and other indicators below may happen before or after the age of 1 year.
Oh, your baby used to happily wear whatever you picked out, eat whatever you served, and go wherever you wanted them to? You can kiss those days goodbye now that you have an independent-minded toddler.
The word of choice for kids in this developmental phase is “no,” and they will never get tired of saying it right to your face.
It’s all totally normal — as kids start to realize they have their own preferences, they learn that saying “no” sometimes means they get more of what they want and less of what they don’t. Again, normal… but annoying.
No, not that kind (we hope!). Think waving, clapping, and pointing to objects as a means of communicating with you. Your toddler may not be able to say they want the yellow truck on the top shelf just yet, but they’re learning that if they point at something, it can still get their message across.
We’ve used the word “independent” a few times already, and that’s because there’s no better adjective to describe just how badly toddlers want to set themselves apart from their parents and figure out their role in the family.
They want to put their own shoes on. They want to buckle their own car seat. They want to choose their own clothes and brush their own teeth and carry their own snack to the living room, and they do not want your help at all.
Don’t feel offended — learning how to take care of themselves is an important developmental milestone.
Speaking of your little one learning to take care of themselves, there is a bright side: You’re going to get a bit of a break.
Remember how you used to have to sit next to their high chair and feed messy spoonfuls of applesauce into their mouth? No more! Your toddler can sit (supervised) at the table and feed themselves now, freeing up your hands.
Other things your toddler may start doing by themselves include getting dressed, putting away their toys, and getting their own drinks or snacks.
Toddlers still partake mostly in parallel play (e.g. side-by-side playing rather than truly interactive cooperation), but you might start fielding more requests for playdates as your toddler develops preferences for certain peers and their socialization skills start to take off.
Your child may ask for other children by name, wondering what Benjamin from day care or Hazel from down the street is doing today.
Naptime, bedtime, bathtime, dinnertime… really any “time” of day your kid is supposed to be doing something is an opportunity to argue. Why?
Toddlers don’t have a lot of control: We tell them where to go, what to do, what to eat and wear, when to sleep — and it all flies in the face of their growing autonomy.
In an effort to gain even just a teensy bit of power, toddlers may fight about literally anything and everything, no matter how insignificant.
By the time they’re 12 months old, most kids don’t need a bottle or breastfeeding session during the night. That means they may actually be sleeping for one gloriously long block of time (anywhere from 8 to 12 hours) every night.
Toddlers also need one or two daily naps; according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, their total sleep per day should add up to 11 to 14 hours.
While your toddler’s actively growing independence and curiosity may make napping a little trickier, uninterrupted nighttime sleep should be much easier to come by in the toddler years.
Language skills absolutely erupt during the toddler years, with most 1-year-olds adding about 50 words to their vocabulary before their second birthday (and anywhere from 200 to nearly 1,000 by age 3!).
Where your baby might have only been able to say “Mama,” “Dada,” “baba,” and “up” on their first birthday, pretty soon you won’t be able to do anything or go anywhere without hearing a nonstop stream of descriptors.
Favorite stuffed animals, foods, and objects — as well as familiar people and places — will all have names, allowing you and your toddler to communicate verbally more than ever before.
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One of the coolest things that develops in the toddler years is an active imagination. Your toddler may start:
- telling you silly stories
- drawing colorful pictures
- practicing their dance moves
- engaging in dramatic play involving lots of pretend scenarios
Memorization is a key way that toddlers learn — and repetition is usually the fastest route to memorization. There are several ways for your toddler to practice numbers and letters every day:
- singing songs
- counting toys
- playing hands-on games
One caveat about relying on screen time to teach numbers and letters. If you want to introduce classics like “Sesame Street,” try to watch with your toddler. The AAP recommends limited “co-viewing” from 18 to 24 months, and then just 1 hour of high-quality screen time daily.
Sure, babies have personalities — but it’s nothing compared to toddlers, who really let their true colors shine between the ages of 1 and 3. Is your child more silly or serious? Introverted or extroverted? Athletic or artistic, impulsive or observant?
All the nuances of personality begin to make themselves clear during the toddler years, as kids not only understand their place in the world but develop ideas about what part they want to play in it.
The toddler years sneak up on you, so once your baby is inching close to their first birthday, get ready!
This phase is full to the brim with challenges, but watching your squishy, immobile little baby turn into a personality-packed tiny human with a mind of their own is worth every power struggle (trust us).
FAQs
Is a 4 year old a baby or toddler? ›
Ages and Stages of child development
These ages work as a general rule: Newborn/baby: 0-12 months old. Toddler: 1-3 years. Preschooler: 3-5 years.
There's no official definition of the upper limit of toddlerhood; however, most people consider the end of the toddler age to be around the time a child is ready to transition into preschool, around 4-years-old.
At what age does a baby become a toddler? ›Toddlers (1-2 years of age)
What are 4 year olds called? ›Preschooler (3-5 years old) | CDC.
What are 6 year olds called? ›Middle Childhood (6-8 years of age)
What ages are called child? ›Legal definition of child
The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as "every human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier".
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines child as, "A human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.” This is ratified by 192 of 194 member countries.
Is 5 still considered a toddler? ›Put simply, the official toddler age range is described as 1 to 3 years old, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
What is the last age of a toddler? ›Toddlers (2-3 years of age)
Is a toddler still a baby? ›A toddler is a child approximately 12 to 36 months old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child of this age.
What is a child called after toddler? ›
Some age-related development periods and examples of defined intervals include: newborn (ages 0–4 weeks); infant (ages 1 month–1 year); toddler (ages 1–2 years); preschooler (ages 2–6 years); school-aged child (ages 6–12 years); adolescent (ages 12–18 years).
What defines a toddler? ›: a person who toddles. especially : a young child usually between one and three years old.
What do you call a 5 year old child's age? ›Young Children Age Range
After toddlers comes the young children stage, which can be defined as kids between the ages of three and five years old. Young children can be given more freedom than toddlers and infants.
1–5 years old.
Toddler sizes are often identified by the age range in months (12–24) or years (1–5).
Teen = 13-19 yrs. Adult = 20-39 yrs. Middle Age Adult = 40-59 yrs. Senior Adult = 60+
What are 10 year olds called? ›Kids between 8 and 12 are called “tweens” because they are in between children and teenagers.
What are the 7 stages of child development? ›Infancy (neonate and up to one year age) Toddler ( one to five years of age) Childhood (three to eleven years old) - early childhood is from three to eight years old, and middle childhood is from nine to eleven years old. Adolescence or teenage (from 12 to 18 years old)
What are 9 and 10 year olds called? ›A tween is a child between the ages of 9 and 12. A tween is no longer a little child, but not quite a teenager. They are in between the two age groups and their behavior and emotions reflect that. Approaching puberty: Big changes are going to start or have already begun to happen to a tween's body.
Is 7 years old still a baby? ›Middle Childhood (6-8 years of age). American Academy of Pediatrics.
At what age do you become an adult? ›Most states have set the age of 18 as the age of majority. However, Nebraska (§43-2101) and Alabama have set 19 as the age of majority. Mississippi is the only state which has set the age of majority at 21 (S1-3-27).
Is a 10 year old still a baby? ›
As children reach the age of 10, many will start to think of themselves as being almost teenagers. While some 10-year-olds will start looking and acting more mature, others will remain more child-like, both physically and emotionally. "Ten-year-olds are emerging adolescents.
Why does my 11 year old act like a toddler? ›Sometimes, what looks like immaturity may have a different cause. Early signs of ADHD, some learning disabilities, anxiety, and autism can be mistaken for immaturity. Behaviors that seem extreme, or that don't fade over time, mean it's time to talk to your child's pediatrician or a clinician.
What is considered baby vs toddler? ›To summaries children age range, a baby till the age of 2 months is called a newborn, till the age of one is an infant, a toddler till the age of 3 years, and a preschooler after 3+.
What is the stage from 2 to 6 years called? ›Ages 2 through 6 are the early childhood years, or preschool years. Like infants and toddlers, preschoolers grow quickly—both physically and cognitively.
What is your first child called? ›A firstborn (also known as an eldest child or sometimes firstling) is the first child born to in the birth order of a couple through childbirth.
What age is an infant? ›Infants (0-1 year of age)
Is a 9 month old a toddler? ›For many parents, the 9-month mark seems like a monumental time. While your little one is still an infant, they are getting much closer to the toddler years. This can be both exhilarating and stressful as your baby's skills improve—and their sense of independence expands.
What is the fifth child called? ›What is the name of the 5th. Explanation - It is mentioned in the question that "What is the name of the 5th". On reading the question again we realise that the sentence does not have a question mark, which indicates that it is actually stating that the name of the 5th child, which is "What".
How do you describe age groups? ›You can use decade-specific descriptors if desired (e.g., octogenarian, centenarian). Generational descriptors such as “baby boomers,” “Gen X,” “millennials,” “centennials,” “Gen Z,” and so on should be used only when discussing studies related to the topic of generations.
How do you categorize age groups? ›- Neonates or newborns (birth to 1 month)
- Infants (1 month to 1 year)
- Children (1 year through 12 years)
- Adolescents (13 years through 17 years. They may also be referred to as teenagers depending on the context.)
- Adults (18 years or older)
- Older adults (65 and older)*
What is a female child called? ›
A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son.
What are the 6 life stages and ages? ›...
The six Charting the LifeCourse life stages are:
- Prenatal/infancy. ...
- Early childhood. ...
- School age. ...
- Transition to adulthood. ...
- Adulthood. ...
- Aging.
- children and young adolescents (under 15 years old)
- the working-age population (15-64 years) and.
- the elderly population (65 years and older)
A person between 30 and 39 is called a tricenarian. A person between 40 and 49 is called a quadragenarian. A person between 50 and 59 is called a quinquagenarian. A person between 60 and 69 is called a sexagenarian.
What is my 4 year old considered? ›By most definitions, a 4-year-old is not a toddler. Though some people consider toddlers to be kids between the ages of 1 and 4, most consider 4-year-olds preschoolers. You will likely notice that your 4-year-old is ready to learn and experience things that toddlers aren't quite ready for yet.
Is a 4 year old a child? ›While it's true that 4-year-olds are usually more reasonable than 2- or 3-year-olds, they are still young children, and can be difficult to parent at times. In certain ways, they are even more willful than when they were younger, and their verbal skills make them more able to argue about even the littlest thing.
How old is a 4 toddler? ›| U.S. Size | Age Range | Length (in) |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5 | 3-12 months | 4.25″ |
| 4 | 9-24 months | 4.5″ |
| 4.5 | 9-24 months | 4.63″ |
| 5 | 9-24 months | 4.75″ |
Put simply, the official toddler age range is described as 1 to 3 years old, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). But it's important to remember that all kids are individuals, and the precise age range or technical definition of the developmental stages matters less than when and why we use them.
Is a toddler age 5? ›According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) , kids between the ages of 1 and 3 are considered toddlers. If your baby has celebrated their first birthday, they've automatically been promoted to toddlerhood, according to some.
Can 4 year olds count to 5? ›The average child can count up to “ten” at 4 years of age, however it is normal for children to still be learning to count to 5 while others are able to correctly count to forty.
What stage is after toddler? ›
Some age-related development periods and examples of defined intervals include: newborn (ages 0–4 weeks); infant (ages 1 month–1 year); toddler (ages 1–2 years); preschooler (ages 2–6 years); school-aged child (ages 6–12 years); adolescent (ages 12–18 years).
What is 9 year old called? ›Kids between 8 and 12 are called “tweens” because they are in between children and teenagers. It's very normal for kids this age to start to move from being very close to parents to wanting to be more independent. But they still need a lot of help from their parents. Kids this age go through big physical changes.
Should a 4 year old be able to write their name? ›The simple answer is don't worry about it. There is no age that your child must know how to write his name. It will probably start emerging around 4 years, maybe a little earlier or later. If your child is too young developmentally to be expected to write, then the same applies to his name.
What is a 2 5 year old called? ›Toddlers (2-3 years old) | CDC.
What age does 5T fit? ›| Age | Size | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Years | 3T | 32 - 35 lbs. 15 - 16 kg. |
| 3 - 4 | 4T | 35 - 39 lbs. 16 - 18 kg. |
| 4 - 5 | 5T | 39 - 45 lbs. 18 - 20 kg. |
| 5 - 6 | 6 | 45 - 50 lbs. 20 - 23 kg. |
| Size | Age | Height |
|---|---|---|
| 2T | 2 Years | 33.5 - 35" 85 - 89 cm |
| 3T | 3 Years | 35 - 38" 89 - 96 cm |
| 4T | 4 Years | 38 - 41" 96 - 104 cm |
| 5T | 5 Years | 41 - 44" 104 - 112 cm |
Toddlers (1-2 years) Toddlers (2-3 years) Preschoolers (3-5 years) Middle Childhood (6-8 years) Middle Childhood (9-11 years)
What are 3 years kids called? ›To summaries children age range, a baby till the age of 2 months is called a newborn, till the age of one is an infant, a toddler till the age of 3 years, and a preschooler after 3+.
Is three years old still a baby? ›Summary. The most important thing to remember is that your two or three year old is still a baby.