We continue on our journey through the growth of babies, and having seen all the characteristics of children from one to two years we stop at the next stage of their development. In the growth calendar children from two to three years they experience important advances not so much physically as intellectually.
Two-year-old child feeding
Between 2 and 3 years the second molars appear, so that your milk teeth will be completed and they are already able to bite and chew very well. We should have already replaced the porridge with the food in pieces: children need to chew and appreciate different textures in order to strengthen good eating habits.
With 24 months, the child coordinates his movements very well and during this stage they will start eating with the cutlery alone, although they will still need to help themselves with the fingers or adults with certain foods that cannot peel or with which it is more difficult to handle , like soups.
Meat, fish, cereals, legumes, eggs ... are already part of the child's diet. A healthy and balanced menu for children aged two to three must include all of these foods and must be varied so that children's preferences can be diversified. Excessively fatty, caloric and sugary foods should not be placed "within reach" of the child and should be the exception in their diets.
The example of adults, also in regard to food, is essential, and if we eat in a healthy way it is easier for them to be healthy.
Whether the child keep drinking breast milk As if you take dairy products (artificial milk, yogurts, fresh cheese), half a liter a day of milk is recommended. The children have to make all the meals of the day, placing special emphasis on a complete and balanced breakfast that helps them cope with the day with energy.
From two to three years the child already eats at the table with the parents whenever possible. Sharing meals with the child means communicating with him and making that moment a pleasant family gathering.
As a complement to a healthy meal, after meals you have to help the child to brush your teeth and encourage him to gradually do it himself.
The dream in two-year-olds
Children from two to three years have established a more or less stable pattern of sleep. Some still take a nap in the morning, although this habit is disappearing, and another in the afternoon. The night hours of sleep are lengthened, although it may be that they continue to wake up during the night, since mature sleep does not really arrive until 5-6 years.
In total, they sleep about 10-13 hours, although each child is different and some may need less time to rest. In any case, sleep is very important for the well-being of children and we must ensure that they get enough sleep and that rest is desired, with pleasant routines when going to bed. They love to listen to stories or to remember what we have experienced during the day.
It may be that children during this stage are still waking up, probably not because of hunger, but because they have had a nightmare, ask us for water or just want to know that we are there to accompany them.
Two-year child development
Regarding the development of two-year-olds, the most important milestone was achieved in the previous stage: its first steps. From then on it makes very rapid progress towards physical autonomy. These are some of the features that characterize the development of two-year-olds:
- Walk without help and start running.
- Drag toys behind him while walking.
- Load one or more toys while walking.
- He stands on tiptoe.
- Go up and down stairs alone, one step each step, holding on to the railing or the hand of an adult.
- Open doors.
- Climb the furniture and get off them.
- Use the spoon and cup more or less correctly.
- Turn a container over to take out what's inside.
- Shoot and throw a ball into the air.
- He makes towers with cubes and assembles them online if he is taught.
- Make scribbles, lines or circles spontaneously with a chalk or a wax.
- He washes and dries his hands.
- You may begin to show preference for using more one hand than another, although sometimes it is too early to know if you are right or left handed.
- Enjoy imitating adults, both in movements and gestures or words.
- Some children control the sphincters during the day around 30 months of age, although it is usual that up to 4 or 5 years is not achieved at all.
As we see, the child has gained in motor independence, which means that he is exposed to more dangers than before. We will have provide a safe environment in which they move with the minimum possible danger and now secure the upper parts of the home (televisions, vases on tables ...), the electrical sockets and all the cabinets or drawers containing dangerous products or objects.
We cannot lose sight of the child for a moment, because in a matter of seconds he could put himself in danger and suffer some damage.
Language and sociability
The two-year-old child is more aware of himself as a person independent of others, so he begins to refer to himself with his name or family appellants. Show that you understand many words but not all of them can say and still abbreviate many terms.
He gets excited with the company of other children with whom they love to play (also with adults) and is progressively more independent. Begins to show a nonconforming and sometimes challenging behavior before the limits imposed by adults. The separation anxiety of parents suffer ups and downs during this age.
These are some of the language characteristics of two-year-olds:
- He refers to himself by name.
- You can have a limited vocabulary of 15 or 20 words, and even put them together in sentences of up to 3 words.
- Respond to simple verbal orders or instructions.
- Point to objects and images when they are named
- Recognize the names of close people, objects and body parts
- Use simple phrases, 2 to 4 words
- Repeat words you've heard in other people's conversations
- He hums the songs he knows
As the months go by the child develops a clearer and easier to understand speech. As in the previous stage, the children they love to play and imitate, and since they learn through play, we have to facilitate that development by accompanying and encouraging them. They love to listen to stories, songs and see illustrated books.
They also show more interest in cartoons on television, a habit that must be limited so that you don't miss other opportunities to interact with others.
At home, at school or on the street, children have fun every time with more varied activities, watching stories, drawing, running, in the bathtub, playing cooking, climbing on the swings, playing musical instruments ... Any activity can be a game that stimulates them.
The greater confidence and independence of the two-year-old child will collide with what he cannot do or achieve and therefore will react with anger to his limits or the taxes imposed by his parents: they are the tantrums, who come from the previous stage and will accompany us even for months.
Our patience, our help and support is essential to overcome your anger. As much as we think they do not understand us and the behaviors that caused the anger to repeat itself, it is a matter of time for the child to learn to express himself better and to control those outbursts.
His sociability, his relationship with others, will depend on his character but also on how we interact in family and how we deal with the child every day, how we have fun and how we overcome anger, how we play and how we talk to them ...
Soon we will return with a new stage in the development of the child after having seen how two-year-old children grow and learn.
Photos | originallittlehellraiser, homo_sapiens and juhansonin on Flickr
In Babies and more | Baby calendar
