Hello, friends!
Today, I'd like to discuss how to properly write babies and toddlers for your stories. What I'd like to focus on is their developmental differences, and what they're capable and incapable of doing.
The accuracy of the information you're sharing in your stories is important, since you're about to influence a lot of people who read them. Don't spread misinformation🩵
Let's get into it!
BABY
• stage of life since birth to one year of life
• basic emotions a baby experiences: anxiety, contentment, curiosity; initially, their source is the body's internal states
• around 2nd month of life the social connections become increasingly important, emotions of anger and sadness appear
• somewhere around 6-9 months the baby develops an attachment style (see next slide), depending on the relationship with their mother
WHAT IS A BABY CAPABLE OF?
• around 8th month the baby is able to sit on its own
• around 9th month they are developing a pointing gesture (as in “show me!”)
• around 10th month it's able to stand (while holding onto things)
• around 1 year it starts walking or attempting to walk
• communication: at first only by crying, then starts to make sounds like “ooh”, “aah”
Examples of how you can properly describe a baby in your story:
→ they shouldn't do much, because the real babies also don't do much - so, you can describe how the people from the house have to be quiet not to wake the baby up, how the baby wakes up numerous times at night, how the parents aren't getting enough sleep, how they have to buy new diapers again etc.
TODDLER
• stage of life from 1 year to 3 years old
• year 2 - “first resistance” - a toddler discovers that their own will can conflict with parents' wishes, which creates negative emotions and can lead to arguments
• new emotions: guilt, embarrassment, shame, pride
• doesn't differentiate between an emotion (fe. joy) from its expression (fe. laughter)
• before the end of this period the toddler should learn how to use a spoon and a pencil
• communication: creates shorter sentences
Examples of how you can properly describe a toddler in your story:
→ they can try to join a conversation between the adults and add something of themselves, like “I like dogs, I will have a dog when I'm older!”
→ they can be described drawing some very basic drawings or even simply trying out colorful crayons
→ they can be described refusing to be washed and causing a scene
And I have to say it, because I've seen it in stories way too many times before…
If your character has a baby or a toddler, they WILL spend most of their time with them, and if not, you should explain who's taking care of them and how is that going. The mother also very often experiences instincts to go back to her baby and make sure they're alright, so it's not the best time for an adventure of her life.
Nevertheless, the same thing opens up new paths to go: for example, the descriptions of a mother and her baby having to survive in a war-striked territory can be truly dramatic and it's something experienced by mothers all around the world.
But let's not only focus on negatives! Let's remember that those little creatures don't yet know how to communicate efficiently, and things like crying are very often the only thing they can do to “talk”. And having a baby, although exhausting on many levels, has its bright sides as well. Remember about it when writing your story.
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