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Toddlers learn through 3 primary processes: observation/imitation, exploration, and play. Imitation begins within the first 72 h after birth as newborns imitate mouth openings and tongue protrusions [8]. Young children continue to learn by observing and modeling [9]. Exploration occurs through toddlers’ developing sensory and motor skills, illustrated by their interest in touching, smelling, and putting things into their mouth – both food and nonfood items. Through play, toddlers practice their emerging skills, initially by touching items to experience their sensations and then by manipulating them to figure out how they can be used. By approximately 2 years of age, toddlers develop symbolic thinking and the capacity to solve problems mentally rather than exclusively through trial and error (e.g., ability to place a square block into a square hole). In Piagetian terms, by mid-toddlerhood they progress from the sensorimotor period of relying on their senses to the preoperational period of figuring out how things work or how they come apart. Applying imitation and exploration through active play enables toddlers to learn and to develop autonomy and a sense of mastery – understanding their environment through their own actions.

The desire to explore and touch is so strong that toddlers will repeatedly touch things, even if warned that the objects are dangerous or off limits. Toddlers often strive to engage in activities and touch things that they observe family members doing even if they lack the prerequisite skills. Consequently, the prevalence of unintentional injuries is high during toddlerhood. In 2018, the prevalence of deaths due to unintentional injuries among 2-year-old children in the United States (9.9/100,000) exceeded the prevalence of deaths among children aged 4–15 years more than twofold (3.9/100,000), with deaths among 3-year-old children at 6.7/100,000 [10]. It was not until children reached 16 years of age (the age when youth can obtain a driver’s license) that the prevalence of deaths exceeded that of toddlers (11.4/100,000). Although toddlers are increasing in mobility, exploration, and problem-solving skills, their ability to recognize danger is not well developed, and their risk of injuries is high. Thus, toddlers require careful supervision to avoid potential hazards, often within their home.