2 years old Toddler
Motor:
Runs well. He can walk upstairs and downstairs, one foot at a time. Opens doors. Climbs on furniture. Jumps.
Fine Motor:
She can make a tower of 7-9 cubes. Scribbles circular strokes. Imitates horizontal strokes. Folds paper once when shown how to do it. She can handle a spoon well and helps to undress.
Language:
He can say 2 words sentences. Speech is ½ understandable to a stranger. He has a vocabulary of at least 50 words. She can points to pictures when asked, "show me". Understands ‘soon’, ‘in’, ‘on’, and ‘under’. Can differentiate “you’ from “me”. Can formulate negative judgment like “a pear is not a cookie”.
Social:
Helps to undress. Listens to stories with pictures.
Emotional:
He is impatient and gets upset easily. He shows anger by crying out or striking out. She wants to have her own way. She will assert herself by saying “no” to everything. She may show sharp mood swings and can revert back to baby behavior at times.
Time Out Technique:
Time out consists of immediately isolating the child to a boring place for a few minutes whenever she misbehaves. It provides a cooling time for both child and parent and allows regaining their emotional control.
Time out is most useful for 2-4 years old aggressive, harmful or disruptive behavior that cannot be ignored. It could be a designated chair in a boring location like facing a wall or corner. It could just be a corner or a designated room that is a safe place for the kid. When you are in the same room as the kid, carefully avoid making eye contact with the kid. Forbid turning on radio or stereo or video games during time out period.
Time out should be short. A good rule of thumb is 1 minute per year of age. After age 6 you can tell them to remain in time out until “ you can behave”.
Potty Training
Lots of toddlers are ready for potty training right around the time they turn two, or soon after. (Boys are ready a little later than girls). It’s possible that your child might be ready a little sooner. You’ll know she might be ready if she:
- Have bowel movements on a fairly regular schedule. (You can almost predict when she’ll have a dirty diaper.)
- Doesn’t always have a wet diaper. This means her bladder can hold urine.
- Can and will follow instructions.
- Wants to imitate her parents or brothers and sisters in the bathroom.
- Can tell you, or even show you by a change in activity or a look on her face, that she knows her bladder is full, or that she’s about to have a bowel movement. Tells you when she peed and poopped.
You can help your child get ready for potty-training just by keeping her potty chair nearby and talking to her about the whole process. Keep in mind that the more she understands about it, the less scared she’ll be about it. Keep in mind, too, that your child must want to take this big step. She’ll be ready when she wants to become more independent and please you too.
When she is ready, encourage her, but don’t pressure her. Let her know how proud you are of her successes, but don’t make a big deal out of the accidents (and there’s sure to be some of those).
If you think your child is ready for potty training, you can:
- Let her sit on the potty chair with her clothes on. Just tell her about the chair, and what it’s for, and when to use it.
- Let her sit on the chair with her diaper off, her feet firmly on the floor. Try to make the potty part of her routine...have her sit on it several times a day.
- Try changing your child’s diaper while she’s sitting on the potty chair, and empty it into the pot under her...this shows her what the chair is for.
- Encourage her to use the potty in the right way. You might let her play near the potty without a diaper, reminding her to use it when she needs to. Remember, praise success, and don’t fuss over accidents.
- Switch from diapers to training pants once you think she’s gotten the hang of it.
- Remember that naptime and nighttime training may take a little longer. Plastic mattress covers can help you get through it.
Vitamins: Poly vi sol or half a chewable vitamin a day. A toddler need supplementation as his diet is not varied.