| Fun and Learning at Two |  |  |  |
There’s so much to do at 2! Take advantage of your child’s newfound independence and growing curiosity to teach her about the world. Check out the list below to see what your child is learning to do now and how you can help her grow with activities, games and videos and you'll find that the terrible twos are not terrible at all!
Physical and Health Development
At 2 years old, your child may be able to:
- Balance on each foot for one to two seconds
- Learn through the 5 senses (sight, taste, touch, smell, hearing)
- Jump backwards and sideways
- Do two-hand activities like folding and pasting
- Catch a large ball
Keep your child’s physical development in mind when you play together. Focus on fun ways to practice good hygiene, eat right, and move your body, so your 2-year-old can grow up healthy and strong.
Easy as A, B, C
Start your child on the road toward good personal hygiene. Encourage frequent hand-washing — particularly after using the toilet, going outside, or before eating. Sing the ABC song as your child washes her hands. Two times is all it takes to get all rid of the germs and dirt!
The ABC song can help your child learn to brush her teeth regularly, too. Dental health is important for overall health, so encourage your child to brush her teeth at least twice a day. Brush up, down, side to side, and all around, remembering to brush every tooth! Do this for as long as it takes to sing the ABC song once.
Anytime Foods
2 -year-olds love to do what you do, so be a positive role model about healthy foods and meal time. Keep a variety of healthy “anytime” foods around and available at home for your child to choose from. An “anytime” food means something we can eat every day, such as fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean meats, lowfat dairy, and water.
The ABC song can help your child learn to brush her teeth regularly, too. Dental health is important for overall health, so encourage your child to brush her teeth at least twice a day. Brush up, down, side to side, and all around, remembering to brush every tooth! Do this for as long as it takes to sing the ABC song once.
Anytime Foods
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Toddler in Action
Give your 2-year-old lots of chances to run, climb, jump, hop, throw and catch balls. This helps him develop gross motor skills, or the ability to control the large muscles of the body. To develop fine motor skills, the ability to control the small muscles of the body, give him opportunities to scribble, and do puzzles.
Provide your child with some clay or play dough and have fun creating his favorite Sesame Street friends. Choose Elmo’s color, then encourage him to make a circle for his head and an oval for his body. Now attach his face, arms and legs. Elmo is ready to play!
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Emotional and Social Development
At 2 years old, your child may be able to:
- Show independence by making some decisions on his own
- Continue to enjoy one-on-one interaction with adults
- Become increasingly inquisitive
- Start to “make believe” — the sign of an emerging imagination
- Use the word “mine”
Children cooperate better with others, make more responsible decisions, cope with disappointments and stress, and effectively communicate feelings when they’re emotionally and socially well-adjusted. Model good communication skills and talk together about feelings to nurture your child’s social and emotional well-being.
Empathy and Sharing
Dicuss considering others’ emotions with your child to help her develop empathy: "How do you think Matthew felt when you took that toy away from him?"
Continue to gently encourage your child to share, while maintaining reasonable expectations. There are certain times when it’s understandable that your toddler won’t want to share— a favorite toy, for example. If possible, provide more than one of the same kind of toy. This allows your child to choose one toy that he can share with others, as well as one toy he can play with himself. He may feel better about sharing and taking turns when he can make his own decisions.
We’re Unique
Make sure your child is aware that, no matter where you go, you can see people of various backgrounds working and playing together. These people may have different accents, customs, abilities, languages, and can be different ages. Let your child know that these differences are reaons to celebrate, and so are the many ways we are all the same.
Dicuss considering others’ emotions with your child to help her develop empathy: "How do you think Matthew felt when you took that toy away from him?"
Continue to gently encourage your child to share, while maintaining reasonable expectations. There are certain times when it’s understandable that your toddler won’t want to share— a favorite toy, for example. If possible, provide more than one of the same kind of toy. This allows your child to choose one toy that he can share with others, as well as one toy he can play with himself. He may feel better about sharing and taking turns when he can make his own decisions.
We’re Unique
Make sure your child is aware that, no matter where you go, you can see people of various backgrounds working and playing together. These people may have different accents, customs, abilities, languages, and can be different ages. Let your child know that these differences are reaons to celebrate, and so are the many ways we are all the same.
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Literacy and Cognitive Development
At 2 years old, your child may be able to:- Understand concepts of shape and color
- Develop a deeper understanding of size differences, concepts of big and little
- Begin to understand spatial relationships (up, down, over, under, etc.)
- Begin to understand size
- Be easier to understand — speak more clearly
- Name familiar objects
- Make words plural
- Answer simple questions
Meaningful conversations with parents and caregivers helps young children develop language and literacy skills during the early years through language-rich experiences. Pointing to and labeling things in the environment, describing feelings, or telling stories together is a powerful way of introducing children to new words and ideas.
Exploration and Curiosity
When you're outside, encourage your child to ask questions to invite curiosity and creativity. Then, investigate the answers to these questions. Sometimes it's good to turn the question back to your child and say, "Why do you think this is so?" or "I'm not sure. How can we find out more about this and figure it out?"
2-year-olds love to get into and out of things, like boxes. This helps them explore ideas such as size and shape, but also crucial language concepts such as "into," "out of," "on top of," and "under." Have fun creating an obstacle course in your living room. As you go around, over, and under boxes, pillows and toys, talk about what you’re doing to work on these important math and literacy skills.
Using Words
When you're outside, encourage your child to ask questions to invite curiosity and creativity. Then, investigate the answers to these questions. Sometimes it's good to turn the question back to your child and say, "Why do you think this is so?" or "I'm not sure. How can we find out more about this and figure it out?"
2-year-olds love to get into and out of things, like boxes. This helps them explore ideas such as size and shape, but also crucial language concepts such as "into," "out of," "on top of," and "under." Have fun creating an obstacle course in your living room. As you go around, over, and under boxes, pillows and toys, talk about what you’re doing to work on these important math and literacy skills.
Using Words
The words you use when you talk to your child can help expand her vocabulary. She may already know that water is wet, but use bath time to add more sophisticated words and concepts, such as "splash" and "float." The vocabulary your child develops now will help her later when she’s working on her reading and writing skills.
Read Together
Read to your child every day and make story time your time together. Set aside a special time and place to read books to your child and give her an increasingly active role in choosing books. Bring the book to life as you’re reading — stop to point out and label the pictures and words, and encourage her to repeat favorite phrases with you.
Read to your child every day and make story time your time together. Set aside a special time and place to read books to your child and give her an increasingly active role in choosing books. Bring the book to life as you’re reading — stop to point out and label the pictures and words, and encourage her to repeat favorite phrases with you.
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“Parenting two 2-year-olds is challenging at times, but I wouldn't trade this stage of their development for anything. Their energy, enthusiasm and curiosity help me see the world with a fresh perspective!”
—Rebecca Z. Jones
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