Seems like it’s just yesterday when your baby was born but now there are already on their little journey exploring their world. Times really flies so fast and they are now a ball of energy enjoying walking, climbing, and playing on their own.
What you can read in this article:
- What does your 2-year-old should know by now?
- When to be concerned about signs of delay
Every day they grow curious about everything and learn new things that shape their own character.
Nobody said that it is an easy task caring and teaching a 2 year old child. This is the start of the period where they learn to say “no” in everything and will take a lot of patience for you to handle.
Your child starts to build their own character and all you can do is let them and just provide a healthy and safe environment for them while they explore.
But don’t worry as we’re here to help you!
This article is made to help you navigate parenthood and tell you what should a 2-year-old know. Continue reading so we can provide you insightful information you can use while handling and caring for your babies.
What does your 2 year old should know by now?
Mommies! In your baby’s second year, they start to go through big changes and they’re not so little anymore, aren’t they? In this year they are a toddler already and start to want more independence as they start to sail their own little adventures and explore new things in their environment.
Here are the things and skills you should look out for in what should a 2 year old know by now.
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Physical Development
You’ll probably notice your child’s love in showing off their developing motor skills. The staggering they experience while walking from the past months have appeared less and less as the days go by and their way of moving such as walking or running has transitioned to a much smoother pace that resembles how an adult does.
Your baby is much more coordinated in the heel-to-toe movement that he can walk, run, climb, and even kick. You’ll probably see him climb over furniture, walk backward sometimes, run on short distances or kick a ball and even stand on one leg (with a little help from you or things he can lean on).
The fine motor skills of your baby also develop at this age though it is expected to still lack coordination. Fine motor skills are defined as the ability to use small muscles in our hands and wrists to make movements so you may see your baby holding a pencil or crayon and make lines and circles. Turning a doorknob or unscrewing a container is also possible as he has more coordinated movements.
These motor skills can be developed naturally as he navigates his way through playing and running around. It is good to let them explore things on their own to improve these skills more, just supervise them in doing those so you can ensure their safety without being overbearing.
The other skills he can physically do now is:
- Build and stack at least four blocks tower or more
- Stand on their tiptoes
- Walk up and down the stairs while holding and leaning on
- Throw a ball (but still without a proper aim)
- Scribble and paint
- Climb up and down to some piece of furniture without any help
- Turn into corners
- Sliding down slides
- Turn boxes and containers around and pour their contents
- Turn pages of a book
- Put shapes or pegs such as circles or squares into their respective holes
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Cognitive Development
This development refers to the ability of how a child thinks and reason. This includes the language and speech development of a child in which you can see their quick growth.
You will notice that they can form a simple sentence instead of just putting two or three words together and also solve little problems on their head.
They can understand the concept of time and numbers now so you can teach them counting and saying things such as “we’ll eat cookies after breakfast”.
Your child will understand what you say more now and they also know more than what they can say. Do not worry though if your child is a bit delayed compared to other children’s ability when talking as some kids really start talking a bit later than the others. Reminder, that some boy’s language skills develop slower than girls so expect them to talk less at this age.
You can help your child in building their cognitive skills by talking and even reading to them. They may start exploring and figure things out while playing. You can ask them to name things – repetitively or not – so they may further develop their skills.
Image from iStock
The other skills your baby can do now:
- Can form at least two to three-word sentences
- Begin singing songs such as the ABC Song
- Learn to sort colors and shapes
- Find things you’ve hidden under two or three layers
- Know different names of people such as parents and family members as well as objects and body parts
- Follow simple instructions such as “get your shoes then give it to me”
- Point pictures or things when instructed
- Repeat words they heard in conversations
- Start to play make-believe games
READ MORE:
How your Child’s brain develops from birth till the age of 6
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Social Development
At this stage, your kid and all the other kids still do not have the sense of others. They all thought that the world revolved around them and still do not know the concept of sharing. This is why sometimes, they do not go to other people unless they want to have what they have.
There are times that you must notify your baby of throwing tantrums and asking you to intervene when faced with situations where they have to share toys or things with other people. Also, you must see your child not wanting to play with other children, but don’t be upset as it is just normal.
Though they might not like socializing at times, don’t be surprised that they still loved to be surrounded by people. Use this time to let them interact with other people or children to further develop their social skills and learn about social interaction. Give them the opportunity to play with other kids to learn social cues.
The other social skills he can do now:
- Have and want more independence
- Gets excited all the time especially around other children
- Copy and imitate others especially adults and other children
- Showing resistance and disobedience when told off not to do something
- More aware of themselves than other people
- Play beside other children instead of playing with them
- Starts to engage in the play pretend with other people
- Shows episodes of separation anxiety when separated from parents
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Emotional Development
Image from iStock
This age is where you can expect the start of temper tantrums, it is as they say “terrible two’. Your baby begins to express their emotions such as frustration, anger, sadness, and even hunger.
As a 2-year-old still cannot form the right words for what they feel and experience, they are more likely to show it in the form of tantrums.
Independence is a big thing for toddlers which is why they often throw a fit when you want to assist them. Other times, tasks are too difficult for them to do which also leads to them making a big fuss as they are frustrated. It is good to make them have a comfort item when situations like this occur.
The other emotional skills your baby can do now:
- Frequently shows a variety of emotions such as happiness, sadness, or anger
- Shows episodes of separation anxiety when separated from parents
- They get happy when getting things done on their own such as dressing up or combing their own hair
- Develop their own sense of humor
- They experience mood changes at this age and you can see them controlling their emotions
When to be concerned about signs of delay
Mommies and daddies! Those are the list of skills and development of what should a 2 year old know. But always remember that every child is different, meaning that they develop at their own pace.
You should not compare your child to other kids about their capabilities and understand that they will get to certain development at their own pace.
However, if you think that there is a delay in your baby then do not hesitate to check on their doctor. There is a list of things that you should look for in case your children experience them. These are:
- Your baby can not walk properly. At this age, your baby should be able to walk steadily
- Say any word or at least a two-word sentence such as “more milk”
- Can’t follow simple instructions
- Remember any skills and development they have before
- Imitate your actions or words
- Doesn’t know the use of common things such as spoon, cup, or toothbrush
Early signs of autism
You should also remember to make sure your child will be tested for autism within his 18th or 24th month. The common signs of autism in a 2 or 3 year-old child are:
- Unable to speak or have limited speech
- Have a hard time following simple instructions
- Have limited sounds and gestures
- Totally not interested in playing with others
- Do not use their things or toys properly, instead organizes it like lining them up