The "What Happens If I Push This?" Factor

Young children don't learn merely by observing life around them; they use all their sense and motor ability to learn about the world. When they see a ball, they want to feel it, taste it, listen to the noises it makes, determine how it moves, and smell the material it is made of. Then they want to watch the ball knock things over and ricochet off floors and walls. When they are about 18 months old, they check to see your reaction to the ball bouncing off windows, floors, walls, and stairwells. Are you going to respond with horror, interest, exasperation, or glee?

Toddlers are on the go with no inner controls, and they like to make things happen. They pull strings to make lights go on and off, push buttons to turn the TV on and off, and turn dials to hear music louder and then softer. There will be many days when you wish your toddler had come with a pause button of his own, and you could push it for just 5 minutes.

Toddlers are so busy exploring the world around them; no parent can take an eye off them for even a second. 18 month old children are little scientists and psychologists testing their hypotheses about such substances as water, milk, and juice, and then watching the parent's reaction as they deliberately spill that substance on the floor.