Ages 12 to 36 months
A toddler handbook for parents of children 12 to 36 months
A handbook for the parent holding the phone. Pick the season your child is in, open the one problem running the week, and walk into the visit with a clearer question.
Best for: parents, grandparents, and other caregivers of children 12 to 36 months who want one page on sleep, food, behavior, or the next visit.
The week
What question is usually running the house?
The one that matches the month you are actually in. Nights get loud. Plates come back full. A form shows up at the clinic.
Most 1- and 2-year-olds need 11 to 14 hours in a day, including naps. Start with a wind-down you can repeat.
The plateYou offer. They decide. Whole milk, water, and food from the family table.
The visitThe 18-month visit uses a standardized screen so you and the clinician can talk about what you see at home.
The guide
Three seasons, then one page.
Children do not switch bands on a birthday. If you are between seasons, read both. Then open the post that matches this week.
First steps, first words
Walking, pointing, and a few words besides mama or dada.
Independence with a look back
More words, more will, and the questions worth taking to the visit.
Sentences and self
Two-word phrases stretch toward conversation. Pretend play gets plots.
Everyday pillars
Hours and a wind-down
Most 1- and 2-year-olds need 11 to 14 hours in a day, including naps.
You offer. They decide.
Whole milk, water, and food from the family table. Juice is optional and small.
Wanted behaviors first
Name the feeling, keep the limit, and notice the behavior you want tomorrow.
Sleep, food, and behavior are the weekly topics. The Topic guides hold the eight questions parents keep asking.
How it works
A short path for a long month.
- 01Name the season.
12 to 18, 18 to 24, or 24 to 36 months. Start here if you want the path written out.
- 02Open one page.
Sleep, food, or behavior when the week is a habit. The blog when one problem is running the house.
- 03Bring the question.
Write what you see. The clinician examines your child. CDC's line still holds: you know your child best.
What you can check
Public guidance, and the week in front of you.
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CDC milestones
Language follows CDC Learn the Signs. Act Early. The lists describe what most children can do by an age.
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AAP screening ages
General developmental screening at 9, 18, and 30 months. Autism screening at 18 and 24 months, plus any time a parent or clinician is concerned.
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A family of six
Three adopted. Half boys, half girls. Lived all over, and parented on both thin and comfortable budgets. Read the story.
This week
What to bring to the 18-month visit
The American Academy of Pediatrics asks clinicians to use standardized screens at this visit. The page walks through what to write down before you sit down.
Questions parents ask
Before you open a page.
Who is this for?
Parents, grandparents, and other caregivers of children from 12 to 36 months.
What do I get when I start?
A season page for your child's age, then one article for the problem running the week: sleep, food, behavior, a visit, or safety. The same Start here path is on every page.
Where do the milestone lists come from?
CDC Learn the Signs. Act Early. The lists describe what most children can do by an age. They are a conversation tool for the well visit. CDC explains monitoring and screening.
When does the well visit include a screen?
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends general developmental screening at 9, 18, and 30 months, and autism screening at 18 and 24 months, plus any time a parent or clinician is concerned.
What are the quizzes?
Seven short choices and a label you can text to the group chat. The handbook and the well visit stay the standard. They live on the quiz hub.
Who writes it?
A family with six kids, three of them adopted, who have lived all over the country and parented with both thin and comfortable budgets. If a week has no new AAP or CDC reason to publish, we skip. That story is on About.
From the handbook
All posts
First daycare drop-off
A short goodbye. Tears at the door are common.
Picky eating at 2
You offer. They decide. A full plate coming back is ordinary.
Potty readiness signs
Watch for a cluster of signs, not a birthday.
Screen time limits ages 2-3
About an hour of high-quality media, with you in the room.
18-month sleep regressions
Keep the day total and a boring wind-down.
From our family
Six kids. Every kind of month.
- Six kids
- Three adopted
- Half boys, half girls
- Lived all over
- Been poor and rich parents
ToddlerGuide is built by a family with six kids (three adopted, half boys and half girls) who have lived all over the country and been both poor parents and rich parents. We’ve done the 2 a.m. googling, the hand-me-downs, and the “is this normal?” spiral. This site is the ages-and-stages handbook we wish we’d had on our phones: warm when you need a friend, careful when safety matters, and never pretending every toddler is the same.