toddler
young child / walking infant
Noun
pl: toddlers
The term evokes the specific physical image of a child who is unsteady on their feet, characterized by the wide-based, wobbling gait typical of early walking. It carries a warm, domestic connotation, focusing on the developmental transition from infancy to early childhood. While it primarily describes a developmental stage, it is used as a standard age-category label in pediatric and psychological contexts to denote the period between one and three years of age.