Is it hard to believe you are already reading a blog about “How to play with your 18 month old?! When my littles approached this toddlerhood era, I couldn’t believe how fast it had come and all the changes that they had made! Honestly this may be one of my favorite ages. Your child is truly understanding play routines, moving independently, and is starting to be able to communicate basic wants and needs with more and more independence! It is truly such a fun age!

One of the other best parts of this age is you have already set a great foundation for their milestones to flourish so now you just build off what you have already been doing. So even though your little one is still rapidly changing and progressing in all of their skills, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel! (If your little one isn't quite 18 months old yet, but sure to check out our 15-month-old blog for some activities, too!) So let’s talk about how to build off your already sturdy foundation!

18-Month-Old Expectations

Here are a few milestones that you should expect to see at this age:

Matches puzzle pieces
Turns 2-3 pages of a thick board book
Says 10-50 words independently, especially with a variety of sounds like “b, p, m, n, t, d”
Speaks with ~25% intelligiblility (meaning you can understand what your little one is saying about a quarter of the time or more!)
Follows 2-step directions with models from you (e.g., Pick this up and put it in the trash, please!)
Points to identify common vocabulary (including body parts)
Carrys toys while walking
Pushes and pulls toys while walking

Are you starting to see a trend with the milestones at each stage? They are just building off of eachother! I know milestones can be overwhelming and scary, but just think of them as building blocks not as brand new foundations at every stage! You can see all of the milestones and how they connect with our 0-24 months milestone checklist! The Eat Play Say Team brought together the speech-language pathologists, an occupational therapist, and physical therapist to make a comprehensive milestone checklist!

You can download the FREE 0-24 months milestone checklist here!

Putting Two Words Together

Right around 18 months is when we expect to hear little ones start producing what we call “two word utterances” or phrases. If your little one hasn’t started doing this yet, that’s okay! These phrases can emerge a little later (closer to 24 months), but keep your ear out for them because they are likely coming soon.

What is a Two Word Utterance?

A two word utterance are two words that your child has produced separately in isolation FIRST and now is putting them together. For example “car go”. These two words have been produced in isolation and are now being produced together! There is a misconception about phrases like “thank you” or “all done” being 2 word phrases because when you write them down, yes, they are two words, But, they do not have meaning to your little one when they are said separately, so they count as ONE word.

The Steps BEFORE a Two Word Utterance

There are a lot of other steps that your little one needs to be doing BEFORE they start to form two word utterances! First, your little one needs to understand lots and lots of words, especially action words! We cannot create a phrase made up of only nouns (little fun fact for ya!). We need words like verbs, prepositions, and adjectives to attach to those nouns! This is why activities like flash cards and drill-type scenarios that require you to ask “What is this? What is the name for this?” aren’t ideal for helping littles learn language. It limits the amount of exposure they have to words. PLAY is the best place for littles to learn language, because you naturally label, comment, request, and model during play time!

The Best Ways to Play at 18 Months Old

Even though you have all the tools to play with your 18 month old it’s always fun to introduce new activities too!

Tea time! A tea set is absolutely perfect for pretend play! Let your little one’s imagination take over while they play with it. It’s also a great way to indirectly have your little one follow directions in a fun way! (Remember this is an important concept to understand while they progress their vocabulary)This set is super durable and cleans easily so don’t worry about any rough play.
Play sink! This will provide hours of independently fun play! This particular sink actually has running water! It comes with a variety of dishes including cups, utensils, and plates. Your little one can imitate what they have watched you do in the kitchen! Pro tip- put a towel under the sink to soak up any spilled water! Set your little one up in the kitchen in a toddler tower and do the dishes together.
Mr. Potato Head! Yeah you might have thought Mr. Potato Head was a toy of the past, but let me tell you it is still the perfect toy for this age group! There are so many milestones that can be tied to just this single toy! It’s the perfect mix of play and learning body parts, as well as adding adjectives like “wiggly, big, bumpy” to the body parts. This is a really great toy to imitate 2 word phrases with nouns + actions (example “eyes on” and “hat off”).
Movement Play! Let your new toddler move about on a balance bike! These bikes can be used outside and inside! All your little one has to do is push with their feet and legs! This is a great activity to get some zoomies out and gain some gross motor development!
Crayons or chalk! When giving you little one some type of drawing utensil, there is no expectation! What I mean by that is at this age they don’t need to be coloring inside any lines or tracing any particular shape. Just allow their creative spirit to go, and model how to scribble and make lines. Try out these crayons and chalk- they are chunky for your child to be able to easily grip!

Bring Your Little One Along

I love providing new and fun activities for you and your little one to enjoy together, but honestly the best advice I can give you is letting your little one be involved in your everyday tasks! Even though we might think doing laundry is boring or going to get the mail is a simple task, those are new experiences for your little one so it’s not a chore to them! Remember language is EVERYWHERE! You are rocking this parenting thing!