Sensory Development in Toddlers

By the time children reach the toddler stage, they have learned to use of their senses---particularly hearing, seeing and touching---to help them understand the world around them. Parents should be aware, however, that children's integration of sensory skills is a particularly important marker in their development.

  1. Sight

    • Although a newborn baby's eye is only 75 percent of the size of an adult's, a toddler's eyes and vision are fully developed. Toddlers begin to develop eye-hand coordination and depth perception.

    Hearing/Speech

    • Toddlers are usually able to change the way they speak according to the audience. They have been able to pick up cues when listening that show them how to speak differently to a friend, a younger child or a parent.

    Tactile

    • Toddlers are sensitive to the texture of the clothes they wear, and sticky fingers often bother them as do soiled diapers---an aid to toilet training.

    Sensory Integration

    • By the time children are three, they are learning to integrate the senses and, in doing so, to be able to do such combined activities as sing while scrubbing in the tub, or draw a picture while listening to music.

    Concerns

    • Children with delayed speech do not necessarily have a hearing problem, but parents should have any child's hearing checked if he or she is not speaking by the age of three.

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