Article: One and two year olds are working to master gross motor skills like walking, running, and jumping; they are also picking up fine motor skills like using a spoon, drinking from a cup, and unfastening buttons. These new skills go hand and hand with a developing sense of self: the idea that they are independent beings who can control their own actions. These are normal and exciting developments, but for parents and teachers, the toddler stage is a tricky one. Toddlers will engage in many behaviors that are not appropriate or acceptable (including fighting over toys), and adults have to respect their developmental stage while teaching them to respect reasonable limits. According to Erik Erikson, the psychologist who developed a widely-used theory of psychosocial development, toddlers are in the midst of resolving a particular developmental crisis: "Autonomy (Independence) vs. Doubt (or Shame)." In other words, they are working to resolve the tensions between self confidence and self control. Emotions tend to run high during the toddler years. They feel tremendous excitement about all of the new and different things they are able to do, but, at the same time, they have to deal with "separateness." Parents may leave them to play independently or expect them to occupy themselves temporarily, and this separation can be scary. The concept of independence, of course, hinges on the basic understanding of "me." Once toddlers understand the distinction between themselves and others, they also begin to focus on the concept of ownership: "mine" as opposed to "not mine." Fighting over toys is a completely normal manifestation of this emerging knowledge. Sharing threatens toddlers' perceived ownership of particular items.

What is a summary?
Know that toddlers are working toward independence. Accept that toddlers are highly emotional. Understand that normal toddler development leads to fights over toys.