Developmental Milestones: 2 Year Olds (2024)

What are some of the developmental milestones my child should reach by two years of age?

Your baby enters her second year and becomes a toddler, crawling vigorously, starting to walk, even talking a little. Exploring the boundaries established by your rules and her own physical and developmental limits will occupy much of her time for the next few years.

Here are some other milestones to look for.

Movement milestones

• Walks alone

• Pulls toys behind her while walking

• Carries large toy or several toys while walking

• Begins to run

• Stands on tiptoe

• Kicks a ball

• Climbs onto and down from furniture unassisted

  See Also

  2 Year Old Child Development Milestones - Children's Hospital of Orange CountyCommunication and Your 2- to 3-Year-Old (for Parents)Your baby's health and development reviewsTraining Module 2 | Watch Me! | Learn the Signs. Act Early. | NCBDDD

• Walks up and down stairs holding on to support

Milestones in hand and finger skills

• Scribbles spontaneously
• Turns over container to pour out contents
• Builds tower of four blocks or more
• Might use one hand more frequently than the other

Language milestones

• Points to object or picture when it’s named for him

• Recognizes names of familiar people, objects, and body parts

• Says several single words (by fifteen to eighteen months)

• Uses simple phrases (by eighteen to twenty-four months)

• Uses two- to four-word sentences

• Follows simple instructions

• Repeats words overheard in conversation

Cognitive milestones

• Finds objects even when hidden under two or three covers

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  5 Signs Your Child Is Verbally Advanced and Ways to Support Them

• Begins to sort by shapes and colors

• Begins make-believe play

Social and emotional milestones

• Imitates behavior of others, especially adults and older children

• Increasingly aware of herself as separate from others

• Increasingly enthusiastic about company of other children

• Demonstrates increasing independence

• Begins to show defiant behavior

• Increasing episodes of separation anxiety toward midyear, then they fade

Developmental health watch

Because each child develops at his own particular pace, it’s impossible to tell exactly when yours will perfect a given skill. The developmental milestones will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect as your child gets older, but don’t be alarmed if he takes a slightly different course. Alert your pediatrician, however, if he displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range.

• Cannot walk by eighteen months

• Fails to develop a mature heel-toe walking pattern after several months of walking, or walks exclusively on his toes

• Does not speak at least fifteen words by eighteen months

• Does not use two-word sentences by age two

• Does not seem to know the function of common household objects (brush, telephone, bell, fork, spoon) by fifteen months

• Does not imitate actions or words by the end of this period

• Does not follow simple instructions by age two

• Cannot push a wheeled toy by age two