As children go through their developmental stages, they also encounter changes in their environment and in the tasks they’re expected to take on.  Toddlers are learning about self and language, preschoolers are learning about how to get along with their peers and other people in their social world.  This is part of their developing “personhood.”

The expectations for what skills need to be developed and how they are used depends on one’s culture.  For many people in Western societies, school success is important.  So, some of the toddler’s tasks are to learn the skills necessary to become a successful pre-schooler who can cooperate with others and pay attention to the teacher.  Pre-schoolers need to develop good listening skills in order to become a successful kindergartner, and so on.

Increasingly, the idea of “transitions” is considered when talking about child development.  The transitions from infant to toddler and from toddler to school child require learning on the part of the individual, but also involvement of parents, whole families, community members, teachers and other professionals, the wider society, and government.

See the Resources section for links to other web sites that may be
helpful.