This is from a babycenter.com article titled ‘Your 15-Month-Old's Physical Development: Moving Forward’:
“Every day you watch your toddler attempt and accomplish something new, but the 15th month is one that pediatricians and developmental experts consider a "milestone" period. Most babies (around 90 percent) are walking now, and it may seem like with her first steps your baby walked right out of babyhood. Suddenly she wants to sit at the dinner table - or stand on a chair at the table - instead of in her highchair, she wants to talk on the telephone, push the vacuum cleaner, anything she can do to help you. Even if she's not totally confident on her feet, she's still very keen to experiment with different ways of moving: climbing, trotting, running, jumping, and ... dawdling. Shopping and marketing can be challenging during these early stages of toddlerhood, since your mini-explorer is much too curious to be strapped into a grocery cart or stroller - she'd much rather stand or walk. (Some babies this age are more content to ride in a backpack.) She also wants to pull things off of shelves and then try to carry the objects while she walks around. While this can be frustrating for you, she's not intentionally trying to cause trouble - she's just putting her new physical skills to the test…”
This is so Lily. She loves to climb up steps and frequently tries to step off of them as she apparently doesn’t realize that she lacks the balance to do so without someone holding her hand. She also tries to walk up her slide ever since she saw the older neighbor boys do it even though it is quite dangerous for her as she has almost fallen off attempting it a few times when I had my back turned for mere seconds. She doesn’t know the limits of her physical abilities. She always wants to get out of her stroller and push it when we are on walks and insists on helping by pushing the shopping cart in the grocery store. She is no longer content to sit still and observe the world around her- she wants to participate!
“…Other developments: Busy hands. Keys, pencils, lipsticks, a watch, anything you have in your wallet: All are likely to be fascinating to your toddler. Not just because they're fun to look at, but because she sees you using such objects and she wants to do the same. The problem is, you might not want her trying on your lipstick! Your challenge is to find ways to satisfy her need to mimic the things she sees you do, but safely. Consider getting her a set of plastic keys all her own. You can also give her an old purse of yours and put in a hairbrush and comb, and maybe an old wallet.”
Lily loves watches and always makes Paul or I take off our watch and give it to her. She then tries to put it on her own wrist and practices threading the band through the catch. She is actually quite good at it. Lily could never be fooled by giving her alternate toys to play with as the article suggests, she definitely knows the difference between her play keys and phone versus ours and she wants the real thing!
This is from a babycenter.com article titled ‘Your 15-Month-Old's Social and Emotional Development: Pay Attention to Meeee!’:
“Whirlwind. It's a word that aptly describes a typical 15-month-old, and life with a toddler this age is never dull. His attention is equally divided between his toys and you. Children thrive on their parents' attention, and if you happen to leave the area where he's playing, he'll come looking for you within a few minutes because he wants to know that you're paying attention to him. "See! See!" is probably a common refrain in your house as your child tries to balance his drive to be more independent with his need to know he can depend on you.
Until now, your toddler has been preoccupied with checking out his surroundings and the objects in his world. Now he's just as curious about the effects of his behavior on other people, and his connection with you is vital to his confidence. During this period of social exploration you may see him trying to get your attention anyway he can. He'll shout, imitate gestures he sees you and other adults making, pinch, poke, shove, whine, and cry, all in an attempt to see how you react, and what it takes for him to get what he wants. He will quickly realize that various behaviors get different results from the adults who surround him. He may learn that he gets what he wants faster if he laughs instead of whines. Or that whining will get him what he wants from his grandfather, but not from his mom or dad. This experimentation is all part of socialization, and if you are consistent with enforcing limits, he'll soon learn which behaviors are acceptable and which aren't...”
Lily definitely thrives on our attention, even when she is not paying attention to us. If she is playing quietly in the living room and I sneak into the laundry room to wash some clothes, she promptly comes to find me. She is quick to notice when my attention shifts to something other than her and is eager to get it back. Lily is also very interested to see what kind of reaction her behavior elicits. When I put her at the top of her slide, she will hang a leg off the side of it and look at me curiously, waiting for me to say “no” and will stand on her chair waiting for me to tell her to “sit down”.
“...Other developments: A budding sense of humor, Mom vs. Dad, and nightmares. Everyone loves a clown, and your 15-month-old already realizes this. Once he recognizes that a certain behavior - dancing, crawling like a baby, doing somersaults - gets a positive response from you, he'll do it over and over not just because he can, but because he loves to be the center of attention. After a silly dance performance, for instance, he'll look around the room just to see what kind of effect his moves have had on the audience, and if he has everyone's attention, he'll offer an encore.
Don't be surprised if your toddler already seems to treat you and your spouse differently. Whichever parent he spends the most time with will be the one he demands more of and is hardest on. If Mom's around more, Dad will be treated like someone special, and vice versa. While this may make one of you feel jealous, know that it's normal and is your child's way of testing out his relationship with each of you. Family dynamics, and your child's shifting loyalties, will be more and more evident during the next few months as he becomes increasingly independent.
Finally, as toddlers begin to experiment with imaginative play, they also sometimes start to have nightmares. A 15-month-old is reaching an age where he can start to think on a symbolic level and is able to transform reality into fantasy (not that he could explain this to you!). It will be several years before your child can distinguish between dreams and reality. Since he probably can't use words to tell you about his dreams, you'll have to rely on unusual behaviors to alert you. Children who are stressed or anxious (usually related to tension in the family or problems with daycare or preschool) are prone to nightmares. If your usually sound sleeper awakens crying in the night and can't tell you why he's upset, try talking to him in a soothing voice and rubbing his back until he settles down.”
Lily definitely has a sense of humor. She loves to hold out food or toys to us then snatch them away laughing right before we grab them. She also does treat Paul and me differently. I am the one that she wants to cuddle with when she is tired, hurt, or unhappy. Paul is the one that she wants to take her outside to explore the plant and animal life. She is definitely more independent around him and more dependent around me. I don’t know if Lily’s had any nightmares because she has always been a horrible sleeper and wakes up crying frequently but since her waking times are pretty consistent, I am going to have to guess that she hasn’t, thank goodness. Apparently Lily is a pretty normal 15 month old!
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