Who is a toddler ;)

[carmel23]

So my baby boy is 8 months old and beginning to walk independently... So I've been thinking of him as a toddler... since he spends a lot of time toddling. :

But he really isn't a toddler, he's still a baby, yk?

My DD is 3.5, but I haven't thought of her as a toddler since she was 2, weaned, and could communicate with everyone (not just her family). I've considered her a preschooler since she was 2 and old enough for Montessori Casa...

All of this has got me thinking, what is a toddler? Do some kids enter toddlerhood earlier and do others leave it sooner?

When did you begin to think of your LO as a toddler, and if you still consider you 2.5+ child a toddler, why?

[gagin37]

I guess when ds started walking well, which happened around 13 months. Although looking back, he was still such a baby then, and is all toddler now at 24 months.

[Norasmomma]

I have a an almost 11 month old toddler, he is trying to communicate, walking fairly well, and is into everything. To me that is toddlerhood.

My DD was the same way, by the time she was 2.5 people often thought she was more around 4 and now people think she's going into kindergarten(she's going to be 4 in a couple weeks). She has always been very precocious, but much of her attitude was very toddler-ish until last year. She still had MAJOR flailing freak-out, meltdown, screaming tantrums most days.

My son is full on toddler now, it's funny his sister was walking at 12 months and she just looked so much less baby-ish. We laugh because he looks too little to be doing half the stuff he does, climbing, walking, but that's all toddler things to me.

[carmel23]

Yeah, after I typed this my 3.5 year-old has a freak out. Its interesting because they can be different people all at the same time.

[ellemenope]

If he is toddling he is a toddler IMO no matter how young. Good for him!

DD is 25 months and I mentioned to my mom the other day that I didn't know where my toddler went. It is hard to explain. She communicates everything she wants, she argues, we are completely out of diapers, and she takes care of her pottying all by herself. She is so independant.

And, she just carries herself differently. definately not toddling anymore.

On the other hand, she is only 23 lbs. No one would ever mistake her for anything but a two year old. And, I love that I can still pick her up a cuddle her.

If you'd ask her she just recently 'graduated' from little girl to big girl. And, she will definately correct you if you call her a baby. And, she is into doing everything all be herself. So, that is 100% toddler right there.

[butterfly_mommy]

I'm an ECE so I always think of the terms of classification based on my schooling

Infant is 0-18 mons but once they start walking and talking we would call them older infants

Toddler is 18-30 mons

Preschooler 2.5 - 4 years

School age is anything over 4

DS is now 31 mons today and I have found lately less and less to relate to in the toddler section (but I still love to read it)

[kcstar]

As DS' third birthday approaches, and we started him in Preschool, I've been thinking of him a lot less as a toddler and more as a preschooler. I keep wondering when my group will move to The Childhood Years

But I also have continued to see toddler behaviors. We just weaned in the last couple of months... and he still asks for milk practically every day. We're still in early stages of potty learning (I don't feel like there's much I can do to help this, as WOHM, especially compared to SAHD). He's talked for a long time, but it's becoming more frequent, more comprehensible, and more complex since May. He still gets frustrated sometimes.

It's a mix.