'Challenging' is a word that comes to mind for many parents when describing their
two-year-old. It's not called the 'terrible twos' for nothing. But this is a time
of intense learning and of fast-growing independence, as you see your relatively
helpless baby blossom into a child with a personality and mind of her own. Stay
calm and loving - and enjoy!
What will she do next?
By two-and-a-half, your child can:
- Climb easy nursery apparatus
- Walk upstairs and downstairs confidently, using a rail, two feet to a step
- Jump with two feet together from a low step, and stand on tiptoe if you show her
how
- Throw a ball, rather stiffly
- Kick a large ball, but softly and lopsidedly.
Speak easy
At two years your child can:
- Act on simple commands
- Use at least 20 words and join two or more words together
- Recognise simple pictures of objects.
At two-and-a-half she can:
- Use three words together
- Join in songs and understand simple short stories and conversation.
Your two-year-old will talk more when there are adults around than when she's left
to play with other toddlers. But by her fourth birthday, the presence of adults
will actually inhibit fantasy play and imaginative language.
Questions and Answers
Q: My two-year-old seems to be asking me questions all day long! How do I deal with
them?
A: It may sometimes seem as if your toddler is trying to test your patience, but
she's actually practicing the art of conversation.
- Give short, simple answers, not long complex ones
- Give real, concrete examples. If she asks: ‘What does breakable mean?' show her
some things that are breakable and remind her of a time that something was broken
- Be truthful. If you don’t know the answer, tell her. Suggest you try to find out
together.
Did you know?
At around 20 months, toddlers start to grasp an endearing new skill – how to tease.
They might hide your purse or you car keys when you're going out, usually with a
coy smile. Toddlers with older brother and sisters may learn to tease even earlier.
