On Becoming Pretoddlerwise ─ From Babyhood to Toddlerhood (Parenting Your 12 to 18 Month Old)

The period between twelve and eighteen months places a child on a one-way bridge to the future. Infancy is a thing of the past and toddlerhood is straight ahead. A baby still? Not really, but neither is he a toddler and that is the key to understanding this phase of growth. This is a period of great of exchange: baby food is exchanged for table food; the highchair for booster seat; finger feeding replaced with spoon; babbling sounds transition to speaking, the first unsteady steps are conquered by strides of confidence, and the list goes on. Moving forward at a lighting pace, pretoddlers are driven towards a new level of independence, equipped with a mind of their own. Whether a parent is ready or not, a toddler's natural inclination and challenge of 'I do myself' will become increasingly apparent, not to mention frustrating. The drive toward independence is very strong yet, unpredictable. He is always in motion and not easily restrained, directed or controlled, but he needs to be! Boundaries will be tested, rules understood as suggestions, and curiosity will become a force to reckon with. How will a parent meet the unfolding challenges? The answer begins with understanding the various growth transitions of the one-hundred and eighty days linking babyhood with toddlerhood.

26 year Pediatrician and father of four - Dr. Robert Bucknam, M.D. says:
"Change! It seems to be a way of life for parents. In our rapidly expanding, knowledge based society where technology changes everyday, new innovations impact life styles and the way people learn. Parenting curriculums, once designed to cover large blocks of developmental time are less effective today than years gone by. Precision teaching with concise thoughts for specific age ranges seems to be the way of educational life. Our newest curriculum reflects these changes. The communication and dissemination of early childhood principles are easily and naturally divided into four developmental stages, starting at birth and going to thirty-six months. Each stage represents new growth transitions requiring parents to accommodate the changes taking place as their child's grows. Our early childhood curriculum now include:
Stage One: Birth to 5 months-- On Becoming Babywise
Stage Two: 5 to 12 months -- On Becoming Babywise 11
Stage Three: 12 - 18 months -- On Becoming Pretoddlerwise
Stage Four: 18 - 36 months -- On Becoming Toddlerwise
Stage Five: 36 - 84 months -- On Becoming Childwise
We continue this series where Babywise 11 left off. During the next 180 days, the newly emerging walking, talking, exploring, child begins a developmental metamorphosis from babyhood to toddlerhood."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Robert Bucknam, M.D., F.A.A.P. is the founder and director of Cornerstone Pediatrics in Louisville, Colorado where he resides with his wife, Gayle, and their four sons. He has served thousands of parents in Colorado for the last 26 years as their Pediatrician. With a targeted interest in preterm and high-risk newborns, Dr. Bucknam's opinions are highly respected within the pediatric community; He has expanded his practice into multiple hospitals in the area where he works closely with 37 licensed Pediatricians. Dr. Bucknam's work on Parent Directed Feeding is being utilized by 6 million parents worldwide in 16 languages. Stay connected to his further findings on Twitter @_wisebooks and online at babywisebooks.com