Go find your shoe
Early in the second year, understanding suddenly seems to run ahead of speaking — your toddler grasps far more than they can say back. As that quiet understanding grows, you can ask them to fetch something familiar that isn't even in sight, and let comprehension do the work a word still can't.
🧺 You need
- a familiar object your toddler knows by name (shoe, cup, favorite toy)
🛡️ Keep the hiding spot along a clear path with nothing to trip on or pull over — a toddler this age is a determined, wobbly walker, and the point is the finding, not a stretch or a climb.
Sources: AAP — Language Development: 1 Year Olds · ZeroToThree — Supporting Language and Literacy Skills from 12–24 Months · ZeroToThree — Supporting Language and Literacy Skills from 12–24 Months
🩺 Vuila shares play ideas, not medical advice — for questions about your child's development, talk to your pediatrician.
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