Your toddler's developmental milestones at 2 years (2024)

Social and emotional milestones at 2 years

Some of the ways you’ll see your little one learning to connect with the people around them at 2 years:

• Likes to copy adults and other children
• Gets excited when they'rewith other children
• Is more independent, even more defiant

Tips for parents

• Find opportunities to engage in play and conversations with your toddler. Playtime could be as simple as rolling a ball back and forth, handing you their toys or helping you with safe activities like folding clothes with your supervision. These types of activities can help develop pro-social behaviours by fostering a sense of belonging and collaboration with others.

Language and communication milestones at 2 years

How your toddler is expressing their needs:

• Says short sentences with two to four words
• Points to things when they are named
• Knows familiar body parts
• Recognizes familiar people
• Repeats words they haveoverheard and follows simple instructions

Tips for parents

• When taking themfor a walk, tell themthe names of things you see.

Brain development milestones at 2 years

How your child’s brain is growing:

• Starts to sort shapes and colours
• Can find things hidden under multiple layers
• Completes sentences in familiar books
• Plays simple make-believe games
• Builds towers with four or more blocks
• Can follow two-step instructions
• May start to develop a dominant hand

Tips for parents

• Encourage themto go looking around the room for objects you hide and give themhints.

>>Discover learning activities for 2-year-olds

Movement and physical development milestones at 2 years

How they’ll move through their environment:

• Can run, kick a ball and throw a ball overhead
• Climbs up and down from furniture without assistance
• Makes or copies straight lines and circles.

Tips for parents

• Create little fine-motor skills challenges for your toddler, like asking themto turn the page of a book.

Food and nutrition milestones at 2 years

What mealtimes look like at 2 years:

• Chews with full jaw movements
• Uses utensils with some spills

Tips for parents

• Be calm and accepting. Give your child positive attention when theydoeat, but don’t make it a problem when theydon’t eat. Just take the food away, cover itand offer it to themagain a bit later.

Things to look out for

While all children develop differently, you should speak to your paediatrician if your 2-year-old:

• Doesn’t know how to use common objects
• Doesn’t use two-word phrases
• Doesn’t copy actions or repeat words
• Doesn’t follow basic directions
• Can’t walk steadily
• Loses skills theyonce had

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