The 2 year old: what can he do?

You have certainly heard of the   terrible two years , an age between 18 months and 3 years in which the child shows his desire for independence even through constant mood swings. The child wants to do it on his own, in his own way and doesn’t want to hear reasons!

This desire for independence is also supported by the awareness of the achievement of some important skills. Let’s see which ones.

Motor skills of a 2 year old

At this age, your child should be able to:

• stand on tiptoe
• kick a ball
• try to run
• getting on and off the sofa
• go up and down the stairs holding on to the handrail
• throw a ball with your hands
• carry a large toy or several toys while walking
• hold one or more toys in hand while walking

You will have noticed that the child no longer staggers while walking but performs the correct movement of the foot as adults do (heel-toe movement).

Over the next few months his running will become more coordinated, he will learn to walk backwards, and, with a little help, to stand on one leg.

 Hand skills of the two year old

The child should be able to:

• scribble at will
• turn a container upside down and pour its contents
• build a tower of four or more blocks

The two-year-old is able to coordinate the movements of the wrist, fingers and palm of the hand so that he can turn a handle or unscrew the lid of a jar. He may also hold a pencil or pen in his hand, even if the grip isn’t ideal. Despite the imperfect grip, he manages to draw some lines and circles on a sheet of paper (and sometimes even on the walls!)

His attention span is longer than at 18 months of age and now that he can turn the pages of the book, he is more willing to participate in reading.

His favorite activities besides being outdoors and drawing are games with bricks suitable for his age .

At this age you will be able to tell if your child is left-handed. There is no need to pressure him to choose one hand or the other. Some children develop a preference later, others can use both hands equally well. Let everything happen naturally.

The ability to get anywhere, to open boxes and containers, exposes him to the risk of coming into contact with things that are not suitable for his age. Secure your home to avoid the risk of domestic accidents and suffocation .

Language skills of a two year old

At this age, the 24-month-old child should be able to:

• point to things when they are named
• know the names of parents, brothers and sisters, body parts and objects
• say a sentence with two or four words
• follow simple instructions
• repeating words heard in a conversation

Not all boys talk in the same way, some talk more and some talk less and boys tend to start talking later than girls.

You can help your child acquire language skills by talking to him a lot and reading him lots of stories. You can prefer books that ask him to touch or name objects or repeat words (you can do this too with any picture book by simply asking the child questions as you read).

Cognitive abilities

The two year old should be able to:

• find things even when they are not perfectly visible
• select objects by shape and color
• complete sentences and rhymes when reading a book that is very familiar to him
• follow the instructions in two consecutive steps such as: ” Drink the milk, then give me the cup “

His command of language is continuously improving, as are his reasoning skills. He’s also starting to understand temporal concepts like ” I’ll read you a story after you brush your teeth .”

They will begin to understand the concept of number, so you can introduce counting, for example counting the steps as you go up or down stairs.

Talk to the pediatrician if at two years old

• doesn’t walk properly
• does not speak a two-word sentence
• it does not imitate actions or words
• it does not follow simple instructions
• has lost previously acquired skills