Developmental Milestones For 2 To 3 Years Toddlers: Understanding The Growth Of Your Child

As a child grows, they develop skills that help them grow and assist them in the future. Of course, the milestones are not specific to each kid, and not every child will have the same skills. However, understanding the general developmental milestones for 2 to 3 years toddlers will help you determine whether your child is behind other kids or not.

Sometimes slow development may also be concerning for your child. So if you want to understand different milestones and skills that kids of age two to three develop, you’re in the right place. Here is a complete guide to help you.

Physical Development

Kids of age two to three grow in weight and height and are also developing motor and gross skills. These affect their balance and coordination throughout their lives. Some kids master these skills at an early age, while it takes some time for others.

So physical development of each kid will vary depending on their size and understanding ability. It would help if you also watched out for these key milestones that will help you determine whether your child’s growth is up to par:

• Gross Motor Skills

These skills mainly require large muscles such as the legs, trunk, arms, and neck. Most two- to three-year-olds can walk easily and balance themselves on a low beam. They may also be able to skip and gallop without effort.

Such toddlers are also able to ride a tricycle with parental supervision. Some kids can also catch a ball easily in this age range. Two- to three-year-old children can walk stairs as long as adults hold one of their hands. They may also learn how to walk backward.

• Fine Motor Skills

These skills are essential for kids to perform daily tasks and involve the use of small muscles. They include using hands and fingers. The skills in this category are washing hands by themselves, dressing up with little parental assistance, and turning pages of a book.

Many two to three years old toddlers can easily perform these actions. Few preschoolers in this age range can also hold pencils or colors with their fingers instead of fists. However, you will have to help the child to ensure they develop this skill thoroughly.

Key Takeaway And Tip For Parents

The major takeaway in physical development for two to three-year-olds is that you can potty train them. As a parent, you should also avoid forcing your toddler to perform the earlier actions or preventing them. It is better to let the kid roam freely instead of telling them to stay still.

Your instructions matter a lot in the development of your kids. This is why you should do actions that will facilitate their growth. The toddler will also require your help to do specific things, such as holding a pencil with their fingers. So you must help your kid develop the skills to improve their balance and coordination.

Mental Development

Brain development and mental skills start gathering in a child’s brain from birth. As they grow, the brain learns new skills and, with time, refines. From birth, a child observes everything but cannot understand the environment.

As the brain develops, it understands things and creates the meaning of everything. By the time the child is around two years, the brain is well developed. The mental skills are measured by the activities a child does.

Mentioned below are some activities that can be labeled as milestones.

• Match shapes
• Organize colors
• Complete small puzzles
• Identify body parts

Emotional Development

As every part of the brain develops with age, once a child is on its way to turning 2, the emotions are on the finish line of development. A two-year child will have to be very emotional and require independence. Handling a two-year child in public is challenging as they walk towards things by themselves.

The temper tantrums are at their highest during this age. In addition, many three-year-olds are attached to their parents or caregivers. This is why the child cries so much when being dropped off at school. All these are part of emotional development.

Speech Development

Many people may consider it a mental milestone, but it should be addressed separately. For example, a child starts by blabbering, but when he reaches the age of 2, the letters and words start making sense to them.

They refine their mental skills by reading and being familiar with the letters at the start. Then, once the children grasp the words, they try to say them.

Children may speak words by copying someone, but the flow of speaking isn’t created. However, by the age of 3, the child starts speaking fluently. By speaking fluently, they gain confidence and memorize the words.

Soon after, the comprehension starts improving and reaches an excellent level. Read also: 20 – Month – Old Speech Delay.

Social Development

During year two, the parents and caregiver are the two people who are the child’s best friends. However, as they grow, you can see those making friends and spending most of their time in that group.

However, children of such age don’t know how to maintain relationships. Therefore, they may need some help to navigate through those friendships. During this age, a child’s best friend is his parent.

But with time, they will start developing friendships. In addition, during this age, every new thing fascinates the child. Keep in mind; that toddlers are influenced by the thing they love. So if they have always seen peace in the relationships of his parents, it will be easier for him to start.

What does A Parent Do If The Child Hasn’t Developed Like Every Three Year Old?

Not every kid is the same, and you may get to experience some challenges when your child is growing. However, some kids are fast learners, and when they are three years old here, skills and development are at their peaks.

However, if you observe that your child shows some signs that may lead to slow development, it is best to consult your child’s doctor. Mentioned below is a list of behavior that child may exhibit.

If these behaviors are observed, that may mean that your child is going through slow development.

The signs include:

• Not social and shy in front of everyone
• Cannot grab or work with something
• Avoids eye contact and always has their head down
• Difficult to play puzzle
• Speech gets affected
• Can’t speak fluently

Suppose your child is exhibiting these signals that somehow their development is slow. The parents need to take their child to the doctor.

How Do These Milestones Help?

These milestones are essential and tell us a lot about what a child has to achieve in the age bracket. For example, the milestones and development we mentioned above tell us about children up to 3 years old.

The milestone lets us know what the child has to be like. Every child develops early. And it is not only the mental development that makes their brain work, but other developments help refine various components of critical thinking.

The milestones also convey what a regular kid learns in such a short time. Failure to learn and reach the milestones would mean that the child is a slow learner, or something may be wrong. Therefore, when you think your child’s mental and physical capacity is not up to the mark compared to the age and other similar children.

Final Words

That was your complete guide for developmental milestones in toddlers. This gives a good idea of how a child is transformed from birth to three years old. All these milestones are important for your child’s healthy and natural development.

Every milestone plays its role, but somehow all of them are connected to the cognitive system that works in coordination.  Read also: Jean Piaget 4 Stages of Cognitive Development