It seems as if your toddler’s first birthday just went past but she’s already two years now. That’s how time flies when you’re around kids. Here are some of the 24 month old baby development milestones you should expect in your toddler little one.
In this article:
- Physical Development Milestones
- Cognitive Development Milestones
- Social & Emotional Development Milestones
- Language & Communication Milestones
- What You Can Do As Parents?
- 24 Month Old Toddler Behaviour
- Baby Care for Your 24 Month Old
Physical Development Milestones
- Your little one can run well without tripping or falling.
- Can walk up and down the stairs holding the rail or the wall. May walk 2 or 3 steps up the stairs without support.
- Can kick a ball from a standing position and running into it. Can also throw a ball.
- Will climb up and down the furniture fast and a lot more confidently without any help.
- Is gradually getting better at balancing himself standing on one foot, which aids her to climb.
- Can eat confidently and comfortably with a spoon and drink from a glass or a cup with very little or no spill.
Cognitive Development Milestones
- Your toddler will start becoming aware of the gender differences.
- Will take initiatives to sort out her things and organise them.
- Uses one hand more than the other.
- Can sort shapes and colours.
- Can draw lines and circles.
- Can stack anywhere between 4 to 6 blocks.
- Is getting better at finding misplaced things and even those that are hidden.
- May sometimes play with more than one toy at a time.
- Knows how to use switches, knobs or buttons on a toy.
- Will point out to things in a book when asked.
- Can point out at least 4 to 7 parts of the body when asked.
Social & Emotional Development Milestones
- Your little one has become quite social by now and is happy and excited when she is in the presence of other children.
- Mostly plays on her own beside other children and will include them in certain games.
- Since she is becoming more independent, may sometimes behave defiantly and throw temper tantrums doing things that she is not expected to do.
- Her sense of empathy is growing fast, which makes her feel sad or even cry when she see others looking sad, hurt or cry.
- Observes you closely and pays attention to your face to understand how you react to some of her words and/or deeds.
Language & Communication Milestones
- Her communication skills is getting better by the day.
- Can point to almost all objects, animals and birds you name in the books you read to her.
- Can recognise and name members of family and larger family.
- Will have a vocabulary of around 50 words by now.
- Will use 2 to 4-word sentences to tell or ask something or even voice her concerns.
- She can pick up instructions like “Please pick up your toys and put them in the box” and will respond saying “Okay”.
- Can identify and name many if not most parts of the body.
- Can complete sentences and rhymes in books that are familiar to her.
- Is good at observing others and will copy words of older children and adults.
What You Can Do As Parents?
- Give her things upside down like a crayon, pen or a spoon and check if she is flipping and holding the right side up. This is a subtle way to check on her observation and fine motor skills.
- Every time your child points at some object or holds something, tell her what it is by referring to its name.
- Facilitate your little one to articulate her needs and wants in words. Once in a while, act like you don’t understand what she is saying. This may encourage her to take efforts to be choosy about words, talk clearly and express herself fully.
- Introduce her to caregivers, starting with close family members. Make her get used to being with others for 30 to 45 minutes and gradually increase the duration over time. This will help a great deal when it is time for her playschool.
- Once in a while, set up objects and furniture in the room in such a way that she has to navigate around to reach where she wants to.
- Acknowledge what she is saying, even if you can’t grant her request. For instance, you could say, “I understand you want to go out, but it is nap time now so we can’t go out now. But we will definitely go later after the nap. Okay?” This makes her know that you not only understood what she wants, you also want to give her a clear reply that she deserves.
- Introduce her to potty training through books but never insist her to adopt it. While some may adopt it before their 30th month, many will only later. When she is ready, you will know.
24 Month Old Toddler Behaviour
It is normal to feel flustered because of her temper tantrums, but try taking conscious efforts to be patient with your child. One of the advantages of keeping calm is it helps you sort out tough situations quickly than otherwise.
During her tantrums, instead of being angry and getting aggressive, try being assertive instead. Your assertiveness will only encourage her to respond positively instead of reacting mindlessly in most if not all situations.
Developing discipline in your child is more about teaching and making her understand what acceptable behaviour is, and less about making her do what you want her to do.
For instance, if it is her bed time but she wants to play, instead of retorting “No. This is not play time “, you may try “Let us read a nice book together and go to bed. We will surely play tomorrow after breakfast. Okay?“
In both cases, what you want to communicate is the same (that it is bed time not play time). The difference is in the words you choose and the manner in which you put it across.
Focus more on how you want to convey things to her than what you want to convey. The rest will fall in place.
Baby Care for Your 24 Month Old
- Involve her in setting up her bed, spreading her favourite bed sheet and placing her favourite stuffed toys on it.
- Allow her when she wants to join you in household chores. Chances are, she may want to join you with the intention of helping you out, which you will know only when you pay close attention to your child.
- The prospect of eating using cutlery on her own may be exciting for your child but may sometimes result in a lot of mess. But let her be. After all, this is only a brief phase and will be gone sooner than you can imagine.
- Since she may sometimes be a fussy eater, try creative with her food. It can be something as simple as making it look colourful and well decorated when served.
- Make nutrition a non-negotiable aspect of her everyday diet by including a range of fruits and vegetables.
- You will have to face her whining from time to time and that’s okay. As always, continue to distract her with some interesting toy or engage her in some activity.
- Her new found freedom and independence will make her move around and be all over the place across the day. That’s why baby-proofing your home is critical.
Your 2-year old child is a work on progress as she gets more active to explore the world around her. As parents, it is important to provide her with ample support and encouragement while being with her during different activities – with lots of love and affection, of course!
As she enters her third year, you will see her cross some remarkable milestones before she turns three. Enjoy her journey along with her. And most of all, cherish the journey, as these wonder years with your wonderful toddler will breeze past before you know.
Note: Each baby is different and therefore tends to grow at a different pace. Chances are that your little one may have crossed certain milestones already, or is probably a little behind on a few others, which is normal. If you still feel there is something of concern, do speak to your paediatrician/registered professional child healthcare provider.