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MONTH 22 - MONTH 24
Please
keep in mind that all children are unique.
Whether your child reaches milestones early or late,
she has her own developmental path to follow.
The dividing lines between these months are very
fuzzy. If you have any concerns or
questions about your child’s development, please check with
her health care provider.
No
Longer a Baby
Before
your eyes, your cuddly baby has blossomed into an active,
opinionated, independent toddler.
She wavers
back and forth between desires to separate from you and wanting
to be cuddled. At times she wants to
be held and other times, she’ll say ‘NO’ to your advances.
For these reasons, we have all heard this dynamic period
unfortunately referred to as the “terrible twos.
Accepting the challenges of this age is
the first step toward maintaining your sanity – patience and
a good sense of humor also help. Understanding what is happening
inside the minds and bodies of these little people will also
give you the support not only to survive this part of child
development but also to enjoy life as a parent of a two year
old.
What’s
Happening With Physical Growth?
Have
the lovely folds on your child’s legs and arms just about
disappeared? Is her head starting to look
more in proportion to the rest of her body? During this year, her legs
and trunk will start to lengthen. That pudgy belly that seemed
to always hang over her waistband will flatten – helping her
develop a straighter looking back.
Overall, she’ll look more like a preschooler with a
leaner, longer body appearance.
But despite these changes in appearance, she may appear
to be eating relatively less than when a baby. Relative to body size, her
caloric needs are fewer.
Some days she’ll devour her meals and other days –
she’ll push it away.
Don’t worry -- her growth will be well maintained by
your consistent offering of nutritious meals and snacks.
To
support the changes in physical appearance, make sure she
has plenty of time to stretch her legs.
Besides releasing bound-up energy, she’ll be practicing
her motor skills – learning to run smoother, turn corners
easier, go up and down stairs and jump.
Put her in a room or better yet outside and she’ll
find things to do that are challenging and interesting.
Language
– The Big Leap
During the previous
year, gross motor accomplishments, sitting, crawling, standing,
walking, were the obvious developmental milestones. This year, her language development
will astound you. There are two different
language skills at play – receptive and expressive. By now, she can understand
just about everything you say to her. She can follow commands and
understand your questions (though she may at times pretend
to not hear you).
Expressive language skills though vary
according to the individual child. It is very hard not to compare
with other kids her age – but try once again to respect her
individual path of development. With most kids, all of a sudden
in this year, there is an explosion of language. You may hear her practicing
to say some of her favorite words – words that are based on
her individual interests -- when she is by herself. And soon she’ll start
putting two words and simple sentences together.
What
you can do to support language development is continue the
routine of daily reading.
Have her select the books that she wants to be read. Talk about what is happening
on each page. This
sort of loving interaction cannot be replaced by any educational
videos or flashcards.
Most of all she wants to share her discoveries, including
learning words, with you.
Even 5 or 10 minutes a day of lap-time reading will
be an enormous support to her development of language.
What’s
Happening Cognitively?
The best way to understand what is ticking
in your toddler’s mind is by watching her play.
You may have noticed that her play has become more
complex. She also may be able to stick
with one activity that interests her for a longer period of
time. Her thought
process has shifted from learning about the world through
physical and sensory manipulation to mental concepts, thoughts
and ideas.
Her job this year is centered on independence.
She probably displays behaviors characteristic of this
age that may at times push your buttons but demonstrate her
“exercising” of new mental skills.
Some of these behaviors include:
-
Rituals
and repeating actions or words – This is important for her to master
a new skill. Even
when it seems quite obvious that she has learned the skill,
she’ll still enjoy and take great pride in repeating a
particular action for you to watch
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Testing
limits – As an independent little
girl, it may seem that she will do anything not to hold
your hand when walking down a busy sidewalk. But she really
wants to know that she is safe.
Her feelings of security come from established
limits and rules that cannot be broken – even with her
continual challenging
-
NO! Me do it!
-- She
needs to challenge to establish herself as separate from
you. Her achievements give her great confidence and set
the stage for positive self-esteem.
-
Exploration
and then Clinginess
– Her goal is to become a separate individual but every
now and then she needs to refuel in the warm arms of a
loving caregiver. Also, she may revisit feelings
of separation anxiety as her abilities to remember you
and hold a picture of you in her mind sharpen.
Puzzles
and manipulates are perfect activities to hone fine motor
skills, eye hand coordination and challenge young minds with
new ideas. Check out our selection of
these and more toys for toddlers.
What’s
Happening Socially?
At
this age, your child is able to remember peers and show preferences
for other children.
But she is still what the child development experts
refer to as ‘ego-centric.’ The world revolves around her. For this reason, she still
may not understand concepts about sharing. When there are conflicts over
toys, describe to her what is happening.
This will be a big year for her to learn about the
feelings of others, develop the important skill of impulse
control and use language to communicate with her peers.
If she is not in childcare or around other kids her
age, some tips for starting a playgroup for your toddler.
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