Toddler’s developmental milestones at 2 years

 

     Research shows that 80% of a child's brain development occurs within the first 1,000 days of life – making those three years important for lifelong health, learning, and success.

   By the age of 2, your toddler is talking, walking, climbing, jumping, running and bustling with energy. Your child now has a growing vocabulary and acquires new words on a regular basis. They can sort shapes and colours and may even show an interest in potty training. As your little one grows more independent, they may show signs of defiance as they begin to push boundaries and explore the world around them.

 

Social and emotional milestones at 2 years

Some of the ways you’ll see your little one learning to connect with the people around them at 2 years:

• ·        Likes to copy adults and other children
• ·        Gets excited when they're with other children
• ·        Is more independent, even more defiant

Tips for parents

Find opportunities to engage in play and conversations with your toddler. Playtime could be as simple as rolling a ball back and forth, handing you their toys or helping you with safe activities like folding clothes with your supervision. These types of activities can help develop pro-social behaviours by fostering a sense of belonging and collaboration with others.

 

Language and communication milestones at 2 years

How your toddler is expressing their needs:

·        Says short sentences with two to four words

·        Points to things when they are named

·        Knows familiar body parts

·        Recognizes familiar people

·        Repeats words they have overheard and follows simple instructions

Tips for parents

·        When taking them for a walk, tell them the names of things you see.

Brain development milestones at 2 years

How your child’s brain is growing:

·         Starts to sort shapes and colours

·         Can find things hidden under multiple layers

·         Completes sentences in familiar books

·         Plays simple make-believe games

·         Builds towers with four or more blocks

·         Can follow two-step instructions

·         May start to develop a dominant hand

Tips for parents

·         Encourage them to go looking around the room for objects you hide and give them hints.

·         When taking them for a walk, tell them the names of things you see.

 

Movement and physical development milestones at 2 years

How they’ll move through their environment:

·         Can run, kick a ball and throw a ball overhead

·         Climbs up and down from furniture without assistance

·         Makes or copies straight lines and circles.

Tips for parents

·         Create little fine-motor skills challenges for your toddler, like asking them to turn the page of a book.

Food and nutrition milestones at 2 years

What mealtimes look like at 2 years:

·         Chews with full jaw movements

·         Uses utensils with some spills

Tips for parents

·         Be calm and accepting. Give your child positive attention when they do eat, but don’t make it a problem when they don’t eat. Just take the food away, cover it and offer it to them again a bit later.