The Biggest Toddler Surprises

If you learn anything in your baby's first year, it's to expect the unexpected -- which is actually good prep for what's ahead. Because while those early months of your child's life seemed like an action movie, the period between his first and second birthdays is its sequel, upping the ante with stunning developmental twists and turns, like these six:

1. Distractions don't work anymore.

Remember the good old days, when if your baby grabbed a fragile knick-knack off your coffee table, you could take it away and simply hand him something else? Sorry, but shortly after your child turns one, the ol' switcheroo isn't likely to do the trick." Toddlers' ability to focus on one particular item increases around now. They've also learned about object permanence -- that an item still exists even if you hide it out of sight -- and at this point the concept is really cemented itself in their minds," says Rahil D. Briggs, a psychologist and infant/toddler specialist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and at Children's Hospital at Montefiore in Bronx, NY.

The best tactic: Toddler-proof your home to minimize the chances your child will latch on to objects he shouldn't. And if it's time to wean him from something like a binky, don't just put it on a high shelf (especially if he's watching!) Throw it away together, permanently, so he really understands it's good and gone.