Before your toddler even begins to talk, he is thinking about many different things. You can see the changes happening almost daily. There are many ways you can help with these changes, if you pay attention.

Even talking to your little one and getting him to respond to you are probably the most important things you can do for him.

Some of the ways you can help:

• When your baby makes sounds, remember that this is his way to talk with you long before you might hear actual words coming from his mouth.

• Your toddler understands a lot more than your baby did just a few weeks ago. She recognizes when you are happy and sad, and also when you want her to stop doing something she shouldn’t be doing.

• As he continues to grow, stories and books help him think and learn. As he sees you reading the newspaper or a book, you are teaching him to read. If he sees that reading is important to you, it helps him learn to value reading.

• Games, toys and puzzles help him even more as she learns to play in different ways.

• In this stage he can now sort shapes, sizes, colors and different kinds of things. He is learning to follow simple directions and notice different things around him. Be prepared to hear him ask constantly about why something is what it is. His curiosity is expanding rapidly and he learns in leaps and bounds.

• She will then be into drawing and painting to get him thinking about the things around him. She wants to get these things onto the paper. The painting and drawing also help develop his coordination even when they don’t look exactly like she had planned.

• Now music gets him thinking about rhythms and sounds which you are likely to hear him try to imitate. This is his attempt at music.

• Even as a toddler, cooking with you teaches her about tastes. This is especially true when she likes the taste. Just nibbling on the veggies as you slice them up opens her to new tastes. This is also another way for her to spend time with you.

Opportunities to learn

You don’t need to set out to teach your child at this age, though you want to give him lots of chances to learn.

He learns the things that he should know at this age by playing with other children and developing his manipulation skills. He learns more about the physical and social world and about his ability to trust adults who help him, comfort him, show him new things which all make him feel good about learning each day.

Be excited as you see her developing. You are making a little person ready for a big world. You are being her first teacher and probably her most important teacher.

Cynthia Martin is the founder of the First Teacher program and former executive director of Parenting Matters Foundation, which published newsletters for parents, caregivers and grandparents.