Difference Between Infant and Toddler


Main Difference

The main difference between Infant and Toddler is that Infant defined as a child from birth to 1-year-old, and a toddler defined as a child who is just learning to walk or one who strolls.

Infant vs. Toddler

Babies about to the 0 to 1 year of age-group are called infants. However, a toddler, as the word means, signifies a little child who strolls or toddles. It utilized for a kid between the ages period of one and three. For an infant, it is the main year of a child. In that year, babies learn or absorb a lot of things, such as exploring the things from place to place, focusing their visualization, reaching out, and much more. And for a toddler, many variations happen in the kid for these years. Such as generally, in the first year of period, the heaviness of the child becomes tripled.


An infant can recognize and distinguish things by name or title and comprehends rare simple spoken commands while a toddler initiates replying to sounds and begin saying some words and managed to get some considerate of the linking of names with things.

The word ‘infant’ derived from a Latin term, ‘infans,’ it implies unable to speak. At this stage of a baby’s development, they are completely dependent on adults for all needs and care. Whereas the word ‘toddler’ comes from the word ‘toddle.’ ‘Toddle’ means to walk with small, uncertain steps. Someone that has been around a baby that is learning to walk understands how this applies to the tottering or wobbly first steps they take.


Comparison Chart

It is used to mention a baby who is 0 to 12 months old.It is used to mention a child who is 1 to 3 years old.
Learns through senses, Development of trust, Minimal language, Learn to focus vision, Learns reaching out, Able to walk with one hand held, and much more.Developing language skills Seeks independence. Throughout the second year, a toddler able to walk on a couple of feet and much more.
From the Latin word infans which means ‘unable to speakFrom toddle, Middle English.
Food Needs
Needs fewer entire proteinsNeeds extra entire proteins

What is Infant?

The word “infant” normally applies to little kids for less than one year. An infant is a proper or specified substitute for “baby,” the very little children of a human. In the first or primary year, babies or children pick up to concentration their apparition or vision, explore, reach out, and learn or find out about the belongings that are all over them. Intellectual or brain growth means the process of learning and teaching of language, memory, reasoning, and thinking.

For the period of this phase, babies also are mounting or developing the love and trust bonds with their blood relation or parents and else in the context of communal and emotional growth. The way parents play, hold, and cuddle with their baby will set the base for in what way they will interrelate with them and others.

Being a parent, can do to support your baby throughout this period such as talk to your baby, answer when your baby makes sounds by repeating the sounds and adding words, praise your baby and give her lots of loving attention, distract your baby with toys and move him to harmless areas when he starts moving and touching things that he shouldn’t touch, etc.

Development And Growth

  • Among birth to the age of 1 year, babies develop and grow at an amazing rate or speed. They acquire to roll over, smile, wave, sit up, babble, pick up objects, clap, crawl, and some can even start by saying little or few words.
  • They acquire to link with and trust their caretakers.
  • Babies delight in simple games, movement, and music.
  • At the end of this time or period, a lot of babies are walking and standing up, holding onto tables, chairs, etc.
  • Babies grow about 6 to 8 inches in this period.

What is a Toddler?

A toddler is a child 12 months or one year to 36 months or three years old. In this term, the child is progressing from early stages toward and into the playschools or preschool ages. Throughout this period, child motor development and physical growth will slow, but you can assume to see some incredible social, intellectual, and emotional variations.

As a toddler’s parent, it can be both hard-working and amusing. Toddler-hood is a vast experience curve for the parents, and it may feel like the whole thing you erudite or learned about child-care and parenting; although your child was just a baby is insignificant now and curved into a toddler.

Some of the steps you, as a parent, can do to help your toddler during this time such as read to your toddler daily, encourage them to explore and try new things, respond to wanted behaviors more than you punish unwanted behaviors, Play matching games with your toddler, like shape sorting and simple puzzles, etc.

Development And Growth

  • As children enter their life of the second year, they develop more movable and more liberated, exploring the lot they can approach.
  • They’re as well learning how to speak, to recognize and emulate the persons nearby them, and to follow simple directions or commands.
  • As they grow older, they acquire to express or state more feelings, say in sentences and phrases and can assist in achieving themselves ready and dressed for the day.
  • They like simple rhymes, songs, games, and they can start knowledge of colors, alphabets, and shapes.
  • They soak up the lot, so memorizing comes relatively simply.
  • The typical toddler has generally extended among 53 percent and 57 percent of his or her mature height.

Key Differences

  1. An ‘infant’ is under a year old baby. Whereas a toddler is young children than infants from 1 year to 3 years.
  2. An infant and a baby would be any child who has not yet learned to talk in sentences, and/or who has not begun to walk. And a ‘toddler’ is a young child over a year of age that is leaving the ‘baby’ stage of life and learning to walk and talk.
  3. The word “infant” comes from the French and means “without speech” – although even the youngest infant will still find fairly effective ways of communicating. The term or name toddler is resultant from “to toddle,” it implies to walk unstably, similar to a child of this phase or age.
  4. Generally, once an infant begins walking (however, unsteadily!), they become a “toddler.”
  5. In communicating, an infant’s cry is its basic communication while a toddler begins to say 2-word phrases.
  6. Infants only drink milk through breastfeeding or in bottles while toddlers are starting to eat solid foods by using a spoon but still drink milk.
  7. Infants don’t have teeth, while toddlers have some teeth, and they are continuously growing.
  8. Infants can barely hold objects, as for toddlers, they are happy throwing and picking up objects.


To sum up, an infant is a baby that entirely relies on you for everything. A toddler is generally defined once a baby begins to ‘toddle’ around hence the name toddler.

Aimie Carlson
