How do you evaluate a toddler?

[rosiev]

I just had our little one attend an evaluation/monitoring session as part of the process for trying to get into a school. He is only 19 months old and going through a phase where he is afraid of strangers - normally he is very social and outgoing, but at this time he is not. However, I was wondering what the evaluator might look for - I mean he is still an unpredictable baby afterall - the process seems a little too pressured unless I am reading this entire thing wrong... Any thoughts?

[1stwahine]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler????

Uhhhhh...I like say sumting but I scared....cause you called me COMBATIVE before.

(Runs and hide....)

Auntie Lynn

[MyopicJoe]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler????

the process seems a little too pressured unless I am reading this entire thing wrong

As if being a parent wasn't stressful enough!

I would hope any school worth its salt will not judge a 19 month old too harshly. Our kids are going to public elementary school, so I've got no advice or insight for you. Just a supportive post.

I'm sure experienced folks will chime in soon :_)

[scrivener]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler????

I would hope any school worth its salt will not judge a 19 month old too harshly. Our kids are going to public elementary school, so I've got no advice or insight for you. Just a supportive post.

"Judge" is probably too strong a word. I like "evaluate" as it's used in the title of this post much better. Listen: Those people know kids. All they're looking for is whether or not the kid is going to fit in well and succeed at their school. They get shy kids all the time, so don't worry about that. If your kid is not accepted there, you should consider it a blessing, because it means (in all likelihood) that your kid would have had difficulty there or that those teachers wouldn't know how to work with your kid. You want your kid to go to the school that wants him. Just relax.

[MyopicJoe]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler????

"Judge" is probably too strong a word.

You make a good point, Scrivener.

As a parent facing such an experience for the first time, intellectually I may know it's just an evaluation, but emotionally I'd feel like my child, and hence myself, were being judged.

Come middle school time we may consider private school. I'll try to keep your advice in mind and just relax.

You want your kid to go to the school that wants him.

So true! It also applies to jobs and relationships.

Unfortunately we're under a lot of pressure from outside sources telling us what they think is the right job, the right spouse, the right school is.


Anywho, sorry for slightly derailing the topic. Looking forward to what others have to say about the OT.

[rosiev]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler?

exactly - it wasn't as if someone had explained to us the entire purpose of this or what he or she was looking for. However, someone made a great point which is that it is for the best if my little one didn't get into a school where he wouldn't fit in.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler????

Listen: Those people know kids. All they're looking for is whether or not the kid is going to fit in well and succeed at their school.

They can "evaluate" that much at 19 months of age??? I'd be worried about too much labeling and pigeonholing of someone that young - they still have several years of personality development ahead of them.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler?

Each child care facility typically will have their own brand of eval/assessment tests they will administer. There is no one cut and dry method of assessment but the single most important assessment is one of how that toddler will integrate with other children in a group setting.

Social skills are very important at that age where school readiness is the main concern, so how a child adapts to a group setting is very critical.

Other areas of concern during any kind of assessment or evaluation include language skills, that is how that child uses his/her words in a conflict situation instead of resorting to physical means of resolution. Biting and spitting are common ways children of that age express their discontent with their surroundings.

Another is self help skills. Can your toddler pull up their own pants, do they show some level of understanding regarding toileting such as letting you know when they need to go to the bathroom.

How independant is that child. Child care providers will observe how a child will adapt from their parent to another child care provider during that transition period

At 19-months the key issues of any evaluation will focus on self-help/independance skills.

These are areas of concern regarding the child.

The other very important area is the socio-economic status of the school. Some pre-schools like to have a good mix of families from various socio-economic backgrounds to provide a well-balanced group.

There are probably other areas but academic aptitude isn't ranked high on most asssessments or evaluations at that age level. Academic skills come later when that toddler has developed their cognative abilities to the point where they can recognize and differentiate between patterns, shapes, colors and quantity.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler?

Each child care facility typically will have their own brand of eval/assessment tests they will administer. There is no one cut and dry method of assessment but the single most important assessment is one of how that toddler will integrate with other children in a group setting.

Social skills are very important at that age where school readiness is the main concern, so how a child adapts to a group setting is very critical.

Other areas of concern during any kind of assessment or evaluation include language skills, that is how that child uses his/her words in a conflict situation instead of resorting to physical means of resolution. Biting and spitting are common ways children of that age express their discontent with their surroundings.

Another is self help skills. Can your toddler pull up their own pants, do they show some level of understanding regarding toileting such as letting you know when they need to go to the bathroom.

How independant is that child. Child care providers will observe how a child will adapt from their parent to another child care provider during that transition period

At 19-months the key issues of any evaluation will focus on self-help/independance skills.

These are areas of concern regarding the child.

The other very important area is the socio-economic status of the school. Some pre-schools like to have a good mix of families from various socio-economic backgrounds to provide a well-balanced group.

There are probably other areas but academic aptitude isn't ranked high on most asssessments or evaluations at that age level. Academic skills come later when that toddler has developed their cognative abilities to the point where they can recognize and differentiate between patterns, shapes, colors and quantity.

[scrivener]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler?

They can "evaluate" that much at 19 months of age??? I'd be worried about too much labeling and pigeonholing of someone that young - they still have several years of personality development ahead of them.

Craig's got it right. We're not talking about pigeonholing anyone: We're talking about whether or not that kid will fit in and get along at that school at that time. It's not an evaluation for life! It's an evaluation for now.

I haven't seen these evaluations at that level, but at the kindergarten level, it's often stuff like, "can you line these bunnies up from smallest to largest?" "can you point to the green bunny?" "can you make the blue bunny lie down?" I would imagine that for a one-and-a-half-year-old, we'd be talking about stuff like, "can you sit on the carpet?" "can you walk to the sink and wash your hands?"

[Amati]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler?

The best evaluation of a 19 month old is how the child responds to a morning hug from mommy, a mid day romp with a playmate, a happy smile when awakening from a nap, how loud the giggle when tossing bread crumbs to birds in the park at lunch, and the delight of seeing daddy come home from work. [The caregivers are interchangable, but the theme remains the same - moms, dads, tutus, aunties, foster parents, etc - family is irreplaceable in the life of a child.]

Yes, some of us think infants and toddlers do best at home, not dropped off in daycare (call daycare what you want, it isn't home!). Ok, blast away.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler?

Poor little kid....only nineteen months old and already the parents are freaking that he'll fail to gain a place at university...oops, kindergarden.

[sinjin]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler?

Yes, some of us think infants and toddlers do best at home, not dropped off in daycare (call daycare what you want, it isn't home!). Ok, blast away.

And some of us don't have a choice unless we intend to leave the city. I also happen to think that preschool can be far more stimulating than mommy.

[Karen]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler?

I would hope....that "evaluate" at this age would mean to simply "take note" of what type of personality the little person has, like are they more vocal or quiet, do they talk with their hands and/or expressions? do they seem more like the quiet, thoughtful type or an artist type....silly as I may sound, I think somone trained in what to look for might be able to realize the likelihood of these things in young kids.

One child at that age may stand back and study people, another may want to sing and dance a lot, another may prefer to draw.

Maybe "evaluate" at that age also means to see who is more emotionally expressive and who is not, who is terribly shy and who is not.

I then wonder if the various schools look for things in the children/evaluations that are very different, school to school.

My parents sent me and my two sisters to public school our entire schooling-lives. If I were evaluated, they should have discovered that I was the kid that was more quiet and serious, was born to analyze, wonder, question and.....the perfect example of this is that when I was only 5yrs. old, I got our new Comptons encyclopedias out, and found what I had suspected, that Santa Claus was not real, he had different names and customs that accompanied belief in him, in the various countries. I took that to Mom, me as the youngest of her three daughters, and showed her that I had found the truth for myself. LOL...

[Leo Lakio]

Re: how do you evaluate a toddler?

Rosiev - I hope you're spending more time evaluating the schools than the schools are evaluating your child. It can't be easy - good luck to you.